Programmable Architectures using Oligomer Assemblies

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Civilisation currently relies on machines which adopt a top-down approach to generate successively smaller and more complex nanopatterns on silicon computer chips. There will come a limit when the intricacy required to progress this technology becomes too challenging. The alternative is the bottom-up approach, which enables much more complexity to be introduced at the molecular scale, as exemplified by biochemistry. Unlike silicon technology, molecular nanotechnology is not restricted to one material and it could potentially be used for a much wider array of applications. So far, only the very first steps have been taken in trying to make synthetic chemical systems capable of similar functions to those found in biology.The majority of biological machinery is made up of information encoded oligomers (proteins, nucleic acids or polysaccharides). Some research into creating diverse architectures with biological architectures such DNA has been performed, but this project will aim to create abiotic assemblies using synthetic information oligomers of the structure already invented by the Hunter group.In this project the oligomers will be synthesised using solid-phase synthesis on a peptide synthesizer. The first assembly to be attempted will be a Vernier duplex of programmed length. Once this duplex has been explored other programmable assemblies will be attempted. Methods used to explore the properties of these duplexes will include NMR, isothermal titration calorimetry, LCMS as well as traditional chemical synthesis.