DNA-Programmed Mesoscopic Architecture

We study the problem of the self-assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) into finite mesoscopic structures with a programmed local morphology and complex overall shape. Our proposed building blocks are NPs directionally-functionalized with DNA. The combination of directionality and selectivity of interactions allows one to avoid unwanted metastable configurations which have been shown to lead to slow self-assembly kinetics even in much simpler systems. With numerical simulations, we show that a variety of target mesoscopic objects can be designed and self-assembled in near perfect yield. They include cubes, pyramids, boxes and even an Empire State Building model. We summarize our findings with a set of design strategies that lead to the successful self-assembly of a wide range of mesostructures.

Jonathan D. Halverson, Alexei V. Tkachenko · 2013