Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) type chromophores are non-emissive in the molecularly dissolved state but become highly fluorescent in their aggregated state. In this emerging field, implementations of the AIE phenomenon include biomolecular sensing or optoelectronic devices, to name a few. DNA conjugates describe the fusion of natural DNA single strands with artificial nucleotide surrogates and thus, expand the scope of DNA. Supramolecular assembly of such DNA conjugates lead to functional constructs, with applications in materials science and DNA nanotechnology. In this contribution, we present our recent findings of a combination of the two previously described concepts.

DNA conjugates, terminally functionalized with AIE-active tetraphenylethylene (TPE) units, have been prepared. As visualized by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), these TPE-DNA conjugates self-assemble into two different vesicular constructs, varying in the alignment of the DNA hybrids. The accessibility of the two DNA architectures is demonstrated by ethidium bromide intercalation experiments and the incorporation of a Cy3-labelled DNA via strand exchange, leading to DNA-addressable, light-harvesting constructs. This dynamic behavior of these DNA-constructed vesicles renders them versatile intermediates for nanotechnology applications, such as DNA-triggered delivery devices.

Ju Mei, Nelson L. C. Leung, Ryan T. K. Kwok, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Ben Zhong Tang, Chem. Rev., 2015, 115, 11718–11940.
Caroline D. Bösch, Jovana Jevric, Nutcha Bürki, Markus Probst, Simon M. Langenegger, Robert Häner, Bioconjugate Chem., 2018, 29, 1505–1509.
Simon Rothenbühler, Ioan Iacovache, Simon M. Langenegger, Benoît Zuber, Robert Häner, unpublished.