Towards full control of molecular exciton energy transfer via FRET in DNA origami assemblies

Controlling the flow of excitons between organic molecules holds immense promise for various applications, including energy conversion, spectroscopy, photocatalysis, sensing, and microscopy. DNA nanotechnology has shown promise in achieving this control by using synthetic DNA as a platform for positioning and, very recently, for also orienting organic dyes. In this study, the orientation of doubly-linked dyes in DNA origami structures was manipulated to control energy transfer. By controlling independently the orientation of single donor and acceptor molecules, the average energy transfer efficiency was doubled. This work demonstrates the potential of DNA nanotechnology for precise control of the excitonic energy transfer with implications for artificial light-harvesting antennas.