Self-assembly control of Liquid Crystalline Guanine Derivatives

Abstract

Molecular self-assembly and crystal structure of liquid crystals (LC) can be adjusted by the molecular structure, heat treatment, additives, etc. LC materials mostly use extensive self-assembly applications on the bulk. Herein, Self-assembly of guanine, mostly studied in small ranges such as DNA strands, was controlled at bulk scale using LC guanine derivatives. guanine-based LC molecules were synthesized containing guanine and peripheral alkoxybenzene part. Ribbon structures or G-quadruplex structures are formed by Hoogsteen hydrogen-bonding and molecules are designed to be adjusted these supramolecular structures depend on the alkyl chain length and the presence of cations. These supramolecular assembly structures show different crystal structures, thermal behavior, and spectroscopy analysis. Using these differences, conditions in which G-quadruplex, a high-order structure, is stable were investigated.