Killing with light: A multifunctional nanosized zeolite L uses amino groups, a luminescent dye, and a 1O2 producer to target, label, and kill pathogenic and antibiotic‐resistant bacteria.

Assembling molecules in large architectures, [1] or in functional supramolecular systems, [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] together with the understanding of the type of interactions between molecules and/or molecule and substrate is an interesting and growing field for the realization of molecular devices. [13,14] Inspired by nature, scientists have designed and created simple systems that could mimic natural functions by connecting biological components to abiotic materials [15][16][17] to understand the workings of the biological system [18][19][20] or to take advantage of the unique properties of the "nonbiological" components in a natural setting (in vivo and in vitro). For this purpose, recently, nanoand microscale objects such as nanoparticles, [21] micrometer plates, [22] and nanorods [23] have been assembled with the aim to bridge the gap between the nano-and the macroscopic worlds or to reproduce structures with dimensions similar to biomacromolecules. However, so far no attempts have been published on self-assembling bacteria by using artificial functional nano-and micromaterials to enable, eventually, communication between the cells.With this goal in mind and with the ambition to realize the first step toward the exchange of specific information between the synthetic systems and/or bacteria, we have functionalized biocompatible artificial nanocontainers (zeolite L) and attached them to nonpathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli; E. coli). We demonstrate herein that the living system attached to the zeolite can be easily visualized by using fluorescence spectroscopy and, owing to the particularly defined geometrical arrangement of the zeolite and bacteria, we are also able to self-organize two bacteria by using the nanocontainer as a junction.Zeolites are framework silicates consisting of interlocking tetrahedrons of SiO 4 and AlO 4 . Each Al atom in the framework contributes a negative charge that is compensated by the exchange of cations such as sodium, calcium, and others that reside in the large vacant spaces or cages in the structure. [24,25] Zeolite L contains one-dimensional channels running through the whole crystal with an opening of 0.71 nm, a large free diameter of 1.26 nm, and a unit-cell length of 0.75 nm (Figure 1). The center-to-center distance between two channels is 1.84 nm. [24,25] As an example, a crystal with a diameter of 550 nm consists of about 80 000 parallel channels. Important properties of these crystals are their versatility to host molecules that possess desired emission properties, [26] for example, dyes. Furthermore, there is the possibility to prepare them in different aspect ratios and sizes ranging from 30 nm up to several thousand nm, [27] and the possibility to chemically modify the channel entrances in a specific way with stopcock molecules. [26,[28][29][30] It has also been demonstrated that ions can be exchanged in and out of the channels. [31] Finally, owing to their biocompatibility and unidimensional porous character, crystals of zeolite L can be used to real...

We describe a new class of water soluble metallosurfactant molecules based on luminescent neutral iridium(III) complexes. The compounds possess an alkyl chain terminated with a negatively charged group, a sulphate. Due to their amphiphilic nature they assemble in aggregates in water and their photophysical properties, as well as the morphological characterization of the assemblies are presented. In particular, UV-Vis absorption, steady-state and time-resolved emission spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy techniques have been employed towards the analysis of the assemblies in different media. Comparison with the single components shows that the aggregates have very different photophysical properties. Importantly, the change in colour upon self-assembly is a remarkable feature which could be used for the design of probes which can change properties in different environments.