Physics Colloquium: A colloquium in memory of Yuval Ne'eman
Professor David Pine Chair, Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Physics, New York University
Title:
Programming self-assembly using DNA-coated colloids
Abstract:
DNA-coated particles are emerging as a powerful tool for programming the self-assembly of colloids and nanoparticles. The power of this approach lies in the highly specific molecular recognition properties of DNA and in the thermal reversibility of the interactions between DNA strands attached to different particles. These two properties taken together can, in principle, direct the bottom-up self-assembly of disparate materials, which might otherwise be chemically or thermodynamically incompatible, into almost any desired structure. Here we discuss the current state-of-the art of self-assembly of single and multi-component crystals of DNA-coated colloids.