有意切换单光致变色三联体。

Deliberate Switching of Single Photochromic Triads.

机构信息

Experimental Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.

Applied Functional Polymers, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.

出版信息

Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 31;7:41739. doi: 10.1038/srep41739.

DOI:10.1038/srep41739

PMID:28139764

原文链接:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5282491/

Abstract

Photochromic molecules can be reversibly converted between two bistable conformations by light, and are considered as promising building blocks in novel macromolecular structures for sensing and imaging techniques. We have studied individual molecular triads consisting of two strong fluorophores (perylene bisimide) that are covalently linked via a photochromic unit (dithienylcyclopentene) and distinguished between deliberate switching and spontaneous blinking. It was verified that the probability for observing deliberate light-induced switching of a single triad (rather than stochastic blinking) amounts to 0.8 ± 0.1. In a few exceptional cases this probability can exceed 0.95. These numbers are sufficiently large for application in sensitive biosensing, and super-resolution imaging. This opens the possibility to develop devices that can be controlled by an external optical stimulus on a truly molecular length scale.

摘要

光致变色分子可以通过光在两种双稳态构象之间可逆转换，被认为是用于传感和成像技术的新型大分子结构中有前途的构建块。我们研究了由两个强荧光团（苝二酰亚胺）通过光致变色单元（二噻吩基环戊烯）共价连接的单个分子三联体，并区分了故意开关和自发闪烁。已经验证，观察单个三联体的故意光诱导开关（而不是随机闪烁）的概率达到 0.8±0.1。在少数特殊情况下，这个概率可以超过 0.95。这些数字对于在敏感的生物传感和超分辨率成像中应用足够大。这为开发可以通过外部光学刺激在真正的分子尺度上进行控制的设备提供了可能性。