Self-assembly of porphyrin–DNA hybrids into large flat nanostructures

Abstract

The main aim of nanotechnology is to create functional systems by controlling the matter at the nanometer level. In this context DNA is a versatile building block for the fabrication of micrometer-scale objects with a subnanometer-scale resolution. Over the last 15 years, DNA nanotechnology has considerably developed with the invention of DNA origami, double crossover structures and molecule/oligonucleotide hybrids. Our interest is focused on the combination of short complementary DNA sequences with organic molecules with a view to create large self-assembled nanostructures. Here we report on the synthesis of porphyrin derivatives bearing up to four 21-mer oligonucleotides and we demonstrate that the combination of the molecular hybrids containing complementary DNA strands leads to the formation of large nanostructures with micrometer-scale size.