Final Report Summary - BIOMOLEC (Functionalized biopolymers for application in molecular electronics and in photonics)
The purpose of BIOMOLEC (Functionalized biopolymers for application in molecular electronics and in photonics) project was to render biopolymers such as DNA and collagen stable and applicable in photonics and in molecular electronics by appropriate funcionalizations. This project between the partners with different, although complementary expertise, allowed a multidisciplinary approach at the interface of organic chemistry, physics, materials science, molecular and material engineering for environment friendly technologies with sustainable, renewable resources.
Natural macromolecules are mostly water soluble, and this could be a problem for some applications. However, it is possible to improve their physicochemical properties through chemical or physical derivatizations. As an example, substitution of DNA sodium counter ions, from salmon sperm extraction, by hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMA) cations results in changing DNA solubility from water to low polar organic solvents such as butanol.
The DNA-CTMA complex, which is processable into good optical quality thin films has been shown to be a promising matrix for several applications. The most relevant results obtained during these 4 years are summarized in the following:
- In the field of photonics, DNA was shown to represent an improved environment for enhanced luminescence properties: due to the specific double strand helical structure offering a possibility of intercalation and/or a protective role, which minimise aggregation for small molecules, push-pull fluorescent chromophores have been shown to present a significant larger luminescence quantum yield in DNA-CTMA, compared to that observed in a synthetic polymer such as a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). This represents a promising results for bio-imaging applications.