Triblock supramolecules: Small 21/2009

The frontispiece illustrates the single fluorophore-bis(micrometer-sized dsDNA) supramolecule. It shows a wide-field single-molecule fluorescence image of the fluorophores in the triblock architectures. The fluorescence appears as white spots, to which, in an artistic view, double-stranded DNA molecules are attached. The triblock supramolecule is synthesized from a tetracarboxylic perylene derivative-bis(oligodeoxynucleotide) by DNA hybridization/ligation and directly imaged by combined scanning force and single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. The synthesis of this type of supramolecule is an important step towards single-molecule electronic devices with reliable contacts after metallization of the DNA strands. For more information, please read the Full Paper “Micrometer-Sized DNA–Single Fluorophore–DNA Supramolecule: Synthesis and Single-Molecule Characterization” by W. E. Moerner, Z. Bao, et al., beginning on page 2418.