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Multistep kinetic self-assembly of DNA-coated colloids

Author

Listed:
  • Lorenzo Di Michele

    (University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory)

  • Francesco Varrato

    (Institute of Theoretical Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne)

  • Jurij Kotar

    (University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory)

  • Simon H. Nathan

    (University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory)

  • Giuseppe Foffi

    (Institute of Theoretical Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
    Laboratoire de Physique de Solides, UMR 8502, Université Paris-Sud, Bât. 510, Orsay F-91405, France)

  • Erika Eiser

    (University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory)

Abstract

Equilibrium self-assembly relies on the relaxation of disordered mixtures of building blocks towards an ordered ground state. The main drawback of this traditional approach lies in the kinetic traps that often interrupt the progression of the system towards equilibrium and lead to the formation of arrested phases. The latest techniques to control colloidal interactions open up the possibility of exploiting the tendency to dynamically arrest in order to construct amorphous materials with a specific morphology and local separation between multiple components. Here we propose strategies to direct the gelation of two-component colloidal mixtures by sequentially activating selective interactions. We investigate morphological changes in the structure of the arrested phases both by means of molecular dynamics simulations and experimentally by using DNA-coated colloids. Our approach can be exploited to assemble multicomponent mesoporous materials with possible applications in hybrid photovoltaics, photonics and drug delivery.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Di Michele & Francesco Varrato & Jurij Kotar & Simon H. Nathan & Giuseppe Foffi & Erika Eiser, 2013. "Multistep kinetic self-assembly of DNA-coated colloids," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-7, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:4:y:2013:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms3007
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3007
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    Cited by:

    1. Fan Cui & Sophie Marbach & Jeana Aojie Zheng & Miranda Holmes-Cerfon & David J. Pine, 2022. "Comprehensive view of microscopic interactions between DNA-coated colloids," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.

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