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RESOLV Press Releases

Posted on 06/26/2018 by Emiliano Feresin

Guido Clever and Irene Regeni hold a 3D print of the peanut-like object ©Clever

The peanut-like objects self-assemble into a chain-like object (left, middle). The chain-like structures then aggregate into small discs (middle, red). DNA (green) disaggregates the discs and binds to the chain-like objects in water solution. ©Clever

Peanut-like nano objects self-assemble in solution, bind DNA

Angew. Chem.: Nano objects with spectacular shape and promising functions.

RESOLV chemist Guido Clever has just synthesized two nano objects showing unprecedented structures and properties. One object has two cavities, resembling the shell of a peanut. Another object has a complex chain-like structure and can bind to DNA.

The role of the solvent in the process is significant: Acetonitrile, a polar solvent, mediates the reaction between the organic components and the metal cations (palladium) involved in the process.The interaction with biomolecules like DNA suggests that these compounds may be used as potential diagnostic or therapeutic tools. The results have been reported as a VIP paper in the renowned journal ‘Angewandte Chemie International Edition’.

Original publication:

R. Zhu, I. Regeni, J. J. Holstein, B. Dittrich, M. Simon, S. Prévost, M. Gradzielski, G. H. Clever: "Catenation and Aggregation of Multy-Cavity Coordination Cages", in: Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201806047