Interest of Chiral Biopolymers for Photonic Applications
James Grote, Francois Kajzar, Kwang-Sup Lee and Ileana Rau
The functionalization and processing of chiral biopolymers, in particular the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), is reviewed and discussed in view of their practical application in photonics. The ways of their functionalization with photoresponsive molecules to get the desired properties are described and illustrated through several examples. The described studies are performed on thin films obtained by solution casting. The results of room, elevated temperature (85°C), and photothermal stability studied by spectroscopic techniques, as well as linear and nonlinear optical properties, photoluminescence characterization, and DNA application in light emitting devices are reported. Possibilities of utilization of biopolymers, and particularly of DNA, are also briefly discussed, particularly in taking advantage of its double strand helical structure.
Keywords: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), collagen, DNA-surfactant complex, functionalized DNA, linear optical properties, nonlinear optical properties, photoluminescence, photo-thermal stability, optical damage threshold, thin films, BioLED