Principles of DNA-Like Self-Assembly at Macroscopic Scales

装配传统上被认为是一个外部导向的过程，其中人或机器根据一系列方向组装组件。另一个过程是自组装，其中组件本身编码信息，指定其最终位置，仅仅是随机混合导致自发组装。在过去的十年中，分子尺度上自组装结构的复杂性急剧增加，特别是在DNA纳米技术领域。与分子自组装相反，较大的自组装产物的复杂性-即，使用外部定向组装常规制造的规模-仍然很低。该奖项支持基础研究，以产生将分子尺度自组装技术应用于更大规模的基本知识。 这些基础知识最终将使一种新的制造模式的发展成为可能，在这种模式下，通过无监督和并行的自组装制造各种产品。该项目的工作包括科学家、工程师和艺术家的合作，以及对本科生研究和教育的支持。由柔性DNA链自组装的刚性产品现在通常由数百种独特的成分组成。结构已被设计成2D或3D，总尺寸高达100 nm。 相比之下，大规模的自组装仍然局限于少数组件，部分原因是组件的信息含量低和混合策略差。 该奖项支持发展一种理论，描述在任何长度尺度下DNA样自组装的最低材料要求。 它将被证明与一个厘米级的DNA样聚合物系统的建设，以及兼容的随机混合环境。 从这个新系统中获取的数据将反过来展示随机扰动，使用三臂和四臂连接的聚合物序列特异性配对，以及使用“单链瓦片”和其他框架的复杂产物组装。 化学动力学的分析比较将进一步证明规模独立的现象，并提供了一个理论基础，预测性能在中间长度尺度。

Assembly is traditionally considered an externally-directed process, where a person or machine assembles components according to a list of directions. An alternative process is self-assembly, where components themselves encode information specifying their ultimate position, and mere random mixing leads to spontaneous assembly. The complexity of structures self-assembled at molecular-scales has increased dramatically over the last ten years, especially in the field of DNA nanotechnology. In contrast to molecular self-assembly, the complexity of larger self-assembled products - i.e., of the scale routinely manufactured using externally-directed assembly - has remained low. This award supports fundamental research to generate the essential knowledge for the application of molecular-scale self-assembly techniques to larger scales. Such fundamental knowledge will eventually enable the development of a new manufacturing paradigm where diverse products are made through unsupervised and parallel self-assembly. Work in this project includes collaborations of scientists, engineers, and artists, as well as support of undergraduate research and education.Rigid products self-assembled from flexible DNA strands now routinely consist of hundreds of unique components. Structures have been designed in 2D or 3D, with overall dimensions up to 100 nm. In contrast, self-assembly at larger scales remains limited to a handful of components, in part due to the low information content of the components and poor mixing strategies. This award supports the development of a theory describing the minimum material requirements for DNA-like self-assembly at any length scale. It will be demonstrated with the construction of a cm-scale DNA-like polymer system as well as a compatible stochastic mixing environment. Data taken from this new system will in turn demonstrate random perturbation, sequence-specific pairing of polymers using three and four-arm junctions, and complex product assembly using "Single Stranded Tile" and other frameworks. Analytical comparison to chemical kinetics will further demonstrate scale-independent phenomena and provide a theoretical basis for predicting performance at intermediate length scales.