Conjugated Diacetylene Supramolecules for Label-Free Biological Sensors and Chips

Conjugated diacetylene supramolecules are interesting biomimetic materials in view of application to chemical and label-free biological sensors. These supramolecules are unique in changing color from blue to red upon specific binding events. Various binding events including viruses, toxins, glucose, and ionic interactions have been reported detectible. Here, we focus on fabrication of polydiacetylene supramolecule dot array patterns on solid substrates by using a conventional microarrayer. Each dot is found to possess the color-changing property as well as the fluorescence self-emission. This technique allows us, for the first time, to fabricate biochips based on polydiacetylene supramolecules. Label-free detection of small molecules and biological targets will be discussed.