Lanthanide luminescence from supramolecular hydrogels consisting of bio-conjugated picolinic-acid-based guanosine quadruplexes

The formation of bio-inspired healable lanthanide luminescent hydrogels is detailed.These materials are composed of K(I)-stabilized guanosine quadruplex (G4) that were bioconjugated to mannose derived picolinic acid ligand 1 using boric acid chemistry (G4-1).The supramolecular self-assembly between G4-1 and europium (Eu(III)) was confirmed, including the use of time-gated luminescence spectroscopy.The most stable hydrogel was formed when the ratio between 1 and Eu(III) was 1:1 and this gel was found to assemble into a helical column.The obtained gel samples were further characterized using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), circular dichroism (CD) and luminescence spectroscopy.We demonstrate that a Eu(III)-centered circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) signal from guanosine hydrogels can be observed even via long range interaction, while the rheology of these gels exhibits their healable properties.Lanthanide luminescence• self-assembly • circularly polarized luminescence • supramolecular hydrogels • guanosine quadruplex • picolinic acid ligands