APS March Meeting 2017
Volume 62, Number 4
Monday–Friday, March 13–17, 2017;
New Orleans, Louisiana
Session E21: Polymer Physics Prize
8:00 AM–11:00 AM,
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Room: Hall I-1
Sponsoring
Unit:
DPOLY
Chair: Juan de Pablo, University of Chicago
Abstract ID: BAPS.2017.MAR.E21.3
Abstract: E21.00003 : Programming the Assembly of Unnatural Materials with Nucleic Acids.
9:12 AM–9:48 AM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Chad Mirkin
(Northwestern University)
Nature directs the assembly of enormously complex and highly functional
materials through an encoded class of biomolecules, nucleic acids. The
establishment of a similarly programmable code for the construction of
synthetic, unnatural materials would allow researchers to impart
functionality by precisely positioning all material components. Although it
is exceedingly difficult to control the complex interactions between atomic
and molecular species in such a manner, interactions between nanoscale
components can be directed through the ligands attached to their surface.
Our group has shown that nucleic acids can be used as highly programmable
surface ligands to control the spacing and symmetry of nanoparticle building
blocks in structurally sophisticated and functional materials. These nucleic
acids function as programmable ``bonds'' between nanoparticle ``atoms,''
analogous to a nanoscale genetic code for assembling materials. The sequence
and length tunability of nucleic acid bonds has allowed us to define a
powerful set of design rules for the construction of nanoparticle
superlattices with more than 30 unique lattice symmetries, tunable defect
structures and interparticle spacings, and several well-defined crystal
habits. Further, the nature of the nucleic acid bond enables an additional
level of structural control: temporal regulation of dynamic material
response to external biomolecular and chemical stimuli. This control allows
for the reversible transformation between thermodynamic states with
different crystal symmetries, particle stoichiometries, thermal stabilities,
and interparticle spacings on demand. Notably, our unique genetic approach
affords functional nanoparticle architectures that, among many other
applications, can be used to systematically explore and manipulate
optoelectronic material properties, such as tunable interparticle plasmonic
interactions, microstructure-directed energy emission, and coupled plasmonic
and photonic modes.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2017.MAR.E21.3