Aggregation of an anionic porphyrin with chiral metal complexes and the competitive binding influences of a surfactant and a polyelectrolyte

The non-covalent interactions of chiral metal complexes with the achiral 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-sulonatophenyl) porphyrin (H4TTPS2-) have been investigated by UV-vis and circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The results show that under acidic environments, only the chiral complex cations ([CoBr(NH3)(en)(2)](+), [Co(en)(3)](3+), [Ru(phen)(3)](2+)) could interact with H4TTPS2- to form chiral aggregates, accompanied with the metal-centered chirality information transferred to the formed J-aggregates. However, the chiral complex anion ([Co(edta)](-)) does not cause the self-assembly process. The competitive binding interactions between an achiral water-soluble cationic surfactant (N-hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, CTAC) and a cationic polyelectrolyte (polyallylamine, PAA) with the chiral metal complex H4TTPS2- J-aggregates, respectively, were also investigated. It was found that chiral-symmetry-breaking phenomena occur in the cationic surfactant induced event. In the case of a cationic polyelectrolyte, it could change the conformational flexibility of the H4TTPS2- aggregates. These results may lead us to understand the possible mechanism of the supramolecular self-assembly process by the non-covalent interactions.