A group of scientists has developed a new way to self assemble particles (Self-assembly to a new level through deep biology) an advance that offers new promise for creating complex and innovative objects at the microscopic level.
Self-assembly, introduced in the early 2000s, provides scientists with the means to obtain “pre-programmed” objects, allowing for the creation of objects without human intervention – the microscopic equivalent of IKEA furniture can assemble itself.
The breakthrough (Self-assembly to a new level through deep biology), reported in the journal Nature, is based on emulsions – droplets of oil immersed in water – and their use of self-assembling scrolls, which are a special type that can predict predicted by the droplet interaction method. The process of self-assembly derives from the field of biology, mimicking the folding of proteins and RNA using colloids. In a creative project, the researchers created a small amount of oil in water, with different DNA sequences that served as “guidelines” for assembly.
These molecules first assemble into flexible chains, and then collapse or collapse in sequence from the DNA molecules that adhere to them. This volume offers a dozen folder models, and another specification can encode more than half of the 600 possible geometric models.
Jasna Brujic, a professor in the Department of Physics at New York University and one of the researchers explains: “Being able to develop colloidal structures gives us a way to create materials with complex and unique properties. new. “Our work shows how hundreds of geometries can be created that assemble themselves in unique ways, providing new opportunities for creating the next generation of materials.”
The research also included Angus McMullen, a postdoctoral fellow in NYU’s Department of Physics, as well as Maitane Muñoz Basagoiti and Zorana Zeravcic of ESPCI Paris.
Scientists emphasize that part of this process is contradictory, and pioneering: Instead of requiring a large number of building structures to record specific forms, the folding process means that only a few how much is important because each block can create different types – as seen in it. the pictures below.
“Unlike a puzzle, in which each piece is different, our method uses only two types of particles, reducing the variety of building materials necessary to put one type,” Brujic explain.
“The innovation is based on the use of protein-like folds, but on a scale that is more than 1,000 times longer, or about one-tenth of the width of a strand of hair. These molecules first bond together to form a chain, which then stacks up according to pre-planned interactions that guide the chain from a complex path to a unique geometry.
“The ability to obtain a lexicon of shapes paves the way for further assembly in larger objects, such as proteins that assemble in order to build cellular components in biology,” he adds.
