Synlett 2004(4): 596-602  
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-817747
ACCOUNT
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

The Disclosure of the Stepwise Supramolecular Organization of Guanosine Derivatives: Serendipity or Programmed Design?

Gian Piero Spada, Giovanni Gottarelli*
Dipartimento di Chimica Organica ‘A. Mangini’, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Via San Donato 15, 40127 Bologna, Italy
e-Mail: Giovanni.Gottarelli@unibo.it; e-Mail: GianPiero.Spada@unibo.it;
Further Information

Publication History

Received 6 October 2003
Publication Date:
29 January 2004 (online)

Abstract

The discovery of several supramolecular architectures generated by guanosine derivatives is described. The story started at the end of the ’80s from the fortuitous observation of a lyotropic behavior exhibited by a guanylic nucleotide in water. This observation stimulated extensive research on several guanosine derivatives which self-assemble in different architectures (discs, ribbons, helices,.) according to their structure and environment. These ordered structures can be used as scaffolds for photo- or electroactive ­moieties and for the fabrication of molecular electronic devices.