DNA-Templated Assembly of Naphthalenediimide Arrays

p-Stacked naphthalenediimide (NDI) arrays are of interest as charge-transport materials. We have designed and synthesized an NDI derivative with two ZnIIcyclens that act as receptors for the thymine base in DNA. UV/Vis and CD spectroscopy, gel filtration, and molecular-modeling studies have shown that the bis(ZnIIcyclen)NDI can be assembled in the presence of oligo-dT to form p-stacked NDI arrays. The assembly of the NDI arrays was found to be dependent on the length of the oligo-dT and the temperature. The NDIoligo-dT assembly on a gold substrate exhibits photocurrent responses due to electron transfer through the p-stacked array.