writer：Chen, X.; Hou, X.; Bisoyi, H. K.; Feng, W.; Cao, Q.; Huang, S.; Yang, H.*; Chen, D.*; Li, Q.*
keywords：Supramolecular chemistry
source：期刊
specific source：Nature Communications, 2021, 12, 4993.
Issue time：2021年

Dissipative self-assembly, which requires a continuous supply of fuel to maintain the

assembled states far from equilibrium, is the foundation of biological systems. Among a

variety of fuels, light, the original fuel of natural dissipative self-assembly, is fundamentally

important but remains a challenge to introduce into artificial dissipative self-assemblies.

Here, we report an artificial dissipative self-assembly system that is constructed from lightinduced amphiphiles. Such dissipative supramolecular assembly is easily performed using

protonated sulfonato-merocyanine and chitosan based molecular and macromolecular

components in water. Light irradiation induces the assembly of supramolecular nanoparticles,

which spontaneously disassemble in the dark due to thermal back relaxation of the molecular

switch. Owing to the presence of light-induced amphiphiles and the thermal dissociation

mechanism, the lifetimes of these transient supramolecular nanoparticles are highly sensitive

to temperature and light power and range from several minutes to hours. By incorporating

various fluorophores into transient supramolecular nanoparticles, the processes of

aggregation-induced emission and aggregation-caused quenching, along with periodic variations in fluorescent color over time, have been demonstrated. Transient supramolecular

assemblies, which act as fluorescence modulators, can also function in human hepatocellular

cancer cells.