From the design
and synthesis standpoint, challenges include the following: (1)
What oligomer design best preserves the H-bonding capabilities
of the nucleobases? (2) Which synthetic methods can
successfully introduce such highly coordinating (i.e., to metals)and poorly soluble building blocks to π-frameworks? Regarding
opportunities, it is intriguing to consider how the electronic
structures of the nucleobasesintensely studied over many
years in the context of DNA charge transport24might result
in base-specific optical/electronic differences among their
derivative π-conjugated oligomers.