UV-responsive glycosomes as frameworks for FRET: The quest for bio-inspired energy transfer systems

Biological supramolecular assemblies have fascinated humans for centuries. The ability to mimic such natural architectures have been a long-standing goal for humans. Despite intensive research in the field of molecular assemblies, the ability to control morphology, utilizing two most basic segments of life viz. light and water is still a zone of immense challenge. Here we report the synthesis and aggregation studies of a pair of photoresponsive glycopolymers. These block copolymers which are assigned as PDACS-b-PBG was integrated utilizing controlled/living radical polymerization and comprises of a lyophobic stilbene block and a lyophilic glucose part. Our comprehensive morphological and photophysical examinations in aqueous phase uncovered that these glycopolymers form vesicular and cylindrical assemblies, which gets disassembled under UV light stimulus due to structural conversion from the trans to the cis form of the hydrophobic section. We further demonstrate that these vesicular nanocapsules have the capacity of confining hydrophobic guests and for certain fluorescent dyes these nanocages can act as scaffolds for FRET as affirmed by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. This feature can be additionally stretched out to switch the fluorescence of the captured coumarin dye through their control discharge.

Automated summary

This study reports the synthesis and aggregation studies of a pair of photoresponsive glycopolymers, which form specific morphological assemblies in aqueous phase and can disassemble under light stimulus. These polymers have the ability to confine hydrophobic guests, act as a scaffold for FRET, and switch the fluorescence of captured dyes through controlled release.