Patricia Remon Ruiz

Chalmers University of Technology

A series of dithienylethene (DTE) photoswitches with aza-heteroaromatic cationic moieties was synthesized. The switches were characterized regarding their photochemical and photophysical properties in acetonitrile and in water. The efficiency of the switching and the photostationary state composition depend on the degree of π-conjugation of the het...

A set of nine boronic‐acid‐derived salicylidenehydrazone (BASHY) complexes has been synthesized in good to very good chemical yields in a versatile three‐component reaction. In an extension to previous reports on this dye platform, the focus was put on the electronic modification of the “vertical” positions of the salicylidenehydrazone backbone. Th...

The tailored design of a light-triggered supramolecular cascade results in an artifical machinery that assimilates the transduction of photons into chemical communication and the final release of a neurotransmitter. This...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon chromophores that show an ideal bipartition between fluorescence and singlet oxygen production have been developed.

The selective photodeprotection of the NVoc-modified FGG tripeptide yields the transformation of its 1:1 receptor-ligand complex with cucurbit[8]uril into a homoternary FGG2@CB8 assembly. The resulting light-induced dimerization of the model peptide provides a tool for the implementation of stimuli-responsive supramolecular chemistry in biologicall...

Light as input information of photoactivatable systems, that at the same time exhibit features of logic operations or information processing, constitutes an elegant means for devising smart molecules. The spatiotemporally and remotely controlled application of photonic signals is a valuable surplus for these systems, which in the case of reversible...

Stimuli-responsive chemical communication is enabled in a self-sorted system of cucurbituril host–guest complexes.

The composition of a supramolecular network, constituted by several cucurbituril receptors and guests, can be controlled by the reversible and all-photonic switching of a dithienylethene guest.

In this Minireview conceptual approaches towards the communication between (supra)molecular species are illustrated. The reviewed mechanisms include photophysical communication through energy transfer and communication mediated by chemical species that are released from precursors upon application of an external stimulus. The focus is on the stimul...

A new fluorescent acrylamide-type monomer bearing a hydrogen bonding- and polarity-sensitive benzocoumarin fluorophore was synthesized. The absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, and fluorescence lifetime of a model compound were measured in ten solvents with different hydrogen-bonding abilities and polarities to investigate the sensitivity of t...

A series of photochromic diarylmaleimide derivatives has been synthesized and studied with respect to the photochromic properties in aqueous solution. The main rationale is to investigate if these compounds could be used as photoswitchable units in biological contexts, motivated by the fact that the diarylmaleimide structural motif is identified in...

The photo-controlled shift of pH titration curves, describing the acidochromic behaviour of a spiropyran switch network, was harnessed for the realisation of a molecular triode. The intricate network can be correctly interpreted with respect to the pH dependence of the main involved species.

We show that FRET between Pacific Blue (PB) and Alexa488 (A488) covalently attached to a DNA scaffold can be reversibly controlled by photochromic switching of a spiropyran derivative. With the spiropyran in the closed spiro isomeric form, FRET occurs freely between PB and A488. UV-induced isomerization to the open merocyanine form shuts down the F...

A new approach towards the rapid identification of quality binders to cucurbiturils—those that combine high affinity with high selectivity for a particular homologue—was developed. The assay exploits macrocycle-specific optical fingerprints (colorimetric or fluorimetric) of carefully selected indicators dyes. The screening of a guest library reveal...

Aminonaphthalimide-BODIPY energy transfer cassettes were found to show very fast (kEET ≈ 10(10)-10(11) s(-1) and efficient BODIPY fluorescence sensitization. This was observed upon one- and two-photon excitation, which extends the application range of the investigated bichromophoric dyads in terms of accessible excitation wavelengths. In comparison...

New C60 and C70 fullerene dyads formed with 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide chromophores have been prepared by the Bingel cyclopropanation reaction. The resulting monoadducts were investigated with respect to their fluorescence properties (quantum yields and lifetimes) to unravel the role of the charge-transfer naphthalimide chromophore as a light-absorb...

The photochromic fluorescence switching of a fulgimide derivative was used to implement the first molecule-based D (delay) flip-flop device, which works based on the principles of sequential logic. The device operates exclusively with photonic signals and can be conveniently switched in repeated cycles.

A novel molecular system with characteristics of an OFF-ON-OFF fluorescence switch was designed to integrate the function of a T-latch. In detail, a receptor(1)-fluorophore-receptor(2) architecture was adopted to achieve fluorescence switching upon addition of protons.

Photochromic spiropyrans modified with fluorophores were investigated as molecular platforms for the achievement of fluorescence switching through modulation of energy transfer. The dyads were designed in such a way that energy transfer is only observed for the open forms of the photochrome (merocyanine and protonated merocyanine), whereas the clos...

The fluorescence of a designed water-soluble 4-sulfonato-1,8-naphthalimide dye can be switched on by the synchronous host-guest complexation with cucurbit[7]uril and decrease in pH (from 9 to 7). This affords a dual resettable (by addition of cadaverine as competitor or by deprotonation) logic gate based on modulation of photoinduced electron trans...

Return trip included! The first molecular realization of a reversible logic operation with a simple cocktail of two classical fluorophores is demonstrated (see figure). Protons and anions, which serve as inputs, trigger independent fluorescence answer signals. Thus, XOR and YES gates are straightforward implemented, resulting in reversible logic be...

A fluorophore1-spacer-receptor-spacer-fluorophore2 dyad was prepared and photophysically characterized. The two spectrally well-differentiated fluorophores are, 8-naphthalimide and its 4-amino-substituted derivative, the latter showing strong ICT emission. The receptor unit consists of a tertiary amine, which leads to siteselective PET (only the 1,...