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Title: Exciton Delocalization in Indolenine Squaraine Aggregates Templated by DNA Holliday Junction Scaffolds

Journal Article · · Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Boise State Univ., ID (United States); Boise State University, Division of Research and Economic Development
  2. Boise State Univ., ID (United States)
  3. SETA BioMedicals, LLC, Urbana, IL (United States)

Exciton delocalization plays a prominent role in the photophysics of molecular aggregates, ultimately governing their particular function or application. DNA is a compelling scaffold in which to template molecular aggregates and promote exciton delocalization. As individual dye molecules are the basis of exciton delocalization in molecular aggregates, their judicious selection is important. Motivated by their excellent photostability and spectral properties, here we examine the ability of squaraine dyes to undergo exciton delocalization when aggregated via a DNA Holliday junction (HJ) template. A commercially available indolenine squaraine dye was chosen for the study given its strong structural resemblance to Cy5, a commercially available cyanine dye previously shown to undergo exciton delocalization in DNA HJs. Three types of DNA-dye aggregate configurations—transverse dimer, adjacent dimer, and tetramer—were investigated. Signatures of exciton delocalization were observed in all squaraine-DNA aggregates. Specifically, strong blue shift and Davydov splitting were observed in steady-state absorption spectroscopy and exciton-induced features were evident in circular dichroism spectroscopy. Strongly suppressed fluorescence emission provided additional, indirect evidence for exciton delocalization in the DNA-templated squaraine dye aggregates. To quantitatively evaluate and directly compare the excitonic Coulombic coupling responsible for exciton delocalization, the strength of excitonic hopping interactions between the dyes were obtained by simultaneous fitting the experimental steady-state absorption and CD spectra via a Holstein-like Hamiltonian in which, following the theoretical approach of Kühn, Renger, and May, the dominant vibrational mode is explicitly considered. The excitonic hopping strength within indolenine squaraines was found to be comparable to that of the analogous Cy5 DNA-templated aggregate. The squaraine aggregates adopted primarily an H-type (dyes oriented parallel to each other) spatial arrangement. Extracted geometric details of dye mutual orientation in the aggregates enabled close comparison of aggregate configurations and the elucidation of the influence of dye angular relationship on excitonic hopping interactions in squaraine aggregates. Furthermore, these results encourage the application of squaraine-based aggregates in next generation systems driven by molecular excitons.

Research Organization:
Boise State University, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; National Science Foundation (NSF); National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); MJ Murdock Charitable Trust; Idaho State Board of Education
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0020089
OSTI ID:
1670511
Journal Information:
Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry Journal Issue: 43 Vol. 124; ISSN 1520-6106
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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