Supramolecular transcription of guanosine monophosphate into mesostructured silica

There is large interest in replicating biological supramolecular structures in inorganic materials that are capable of mimicking biological properties. The use of 5-guanosine monophosphate in the presence of Na⁺ and K⁺ ions as a supramolecular template for the synthesis of well-ordered mesostructured materials is reported here. Mesostructured particles with the confined template exhibit high structural order at both meso- and atomic scales, with a lower structural symmetry in the columnar mesophase. Although a chiral space group can not be deduced from X-ray diffraction, analysis by electron microscopy and circular dichroism confirms a chiral stacking arrangement along the c-axis. Guanosine monophosphate based mesophases thus illustrate the possibility for specific molecular imprinting of mesoporous materials by genetic material and the potential for higher definition in molecular recognition. Templates with a twist: Chiral guanosine monophosphate (GMP) has been used as a supramolecular template for the synthesis of highly ordered silica mesoporous materials with trigonal symmetry and anisotropic channels. Electron microscopy studies revealed diffuse scattering patterns (see picture) corresponding to silica modulations associated with the chiral twisting of the GMP tetramers.