Over the last decades there has been enormous experimental
progress in making nano- and micro-scale building blocks
(both synthetic and biological) that differ in shape and types of
interactions, including peptides, polymers and colloids.2 In fact,
if the interactions between the building blocks are mediated by
the experimentally available synthetic DNA strands, it is possible
to have as many different types of short-range interactions as
desired by precisely programming the DNA sequences.3 A key
advantage of the approach developed at Harvard University
is that the designed interactions are implemented in computer
simulations of
a
physical model of DNA-coated colloidal
particles calibrated against experiments. The tested general
principles however can be applied to materials built out of
various types of building blocks with short-range interactions.
Progress along this line of research has
a
tangible impact by
providing guiding principles to experimental and engineering
efforts in the design of advanced materials.
Self-Assembly
of
Desired Structures
The work at Harvard University demonstrated how
artificial
matter can exhibit
a
fundamental property of biological
materials: the ability to spontaneously assemble complex
structures. The strategy for designing arbitrary complex ...
