Polyaromatic nanocapsules as photoresponsive hosts in water

Lorenzo Catti, Natsuki Kishida, Tomokuni Kai, Munetaka Akita and Michito Yoshizawa ()
Additional contact information
Lorenzo Catti: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Natsuki Kishida: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Tomokuni Kai: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Munetaka Akita: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Michito Yoshizawa: Tokyo Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Molecular containers that provide both stimuli-responsive assembly/disassembly properties and wide-ranging host capabilities in aqueous medium still remain a current synthetic challenge. Herein we report polyaromatic nanocapsules assembled from V-shaped amphiphilic molecules bearing a photoresponsive ortho-dianthrylbenzene unit in water. Unlike previously reported supramolecular capsules and cages, the nanocapsules quickly and quantitatively disassemble into monomeric species by a non-invasive light stimulus through structural conversion from the open to the closed form of the amphiphiles. Regeneration of the nanocapsules is demonstrated by light irradiation or heating of the closed amphiphiles. With the aid of the wide-ranging host capability, the photo-induced release of various encapsulated guest molecules (e.g., Nile red, Cu(II)-phthalocyanine, and fullerene C60) can be achieved by using the present nanocapsule in water. This feature can furthermore be utilized to switch the fluorescence of encapsulated coumarin guests through their controlled release.

Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09928-x Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-09928-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09928-x

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().