Programming colloidal architectures
Jasna Brujic, NYU
Abstract:
Traditionally, assembly lines to build machines, from
electronic circuits to motor vehicles, follow
specific instruction manuals, followed by robots or
people. On the other hand, in biology, organisms
self-assemble spontaneously according to
instructions encoded in their genes - nonetheless
following the laws of physics. Inspired by biology, we design
and develop emulsion droplets with specific DNA interactions
that guide their spontaneous assembly into linear or branched
freely-jointed polymers. In addition, we introduce and
trigger secondary DNA interactions along the polymer backbone
to fold it into several simple yet distinguishable
structures. This physical system demonstrates the possibility
of controlling the self-assembly of monomer droplets into
polymers, which in turn allows us to study their collapse
and folding to explore the underlying free
energy landscape. Unlike molecular polymers, colloidomers can
be assembled and disassembled at will, giving rise to
reconfigurable materials. The droplets can readily be
solidified; therefore they offer a route to hands-off
manufacturing of objects with inbuilt hierarchies.