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Ordered three-dimensional nanomaterials using DNA-prescribed and valence-controlled material voxels.
Ye Tian1,2, Julien R Lhermitte1, Lin Bai3
1Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA.
Nature Materials
|January 15, 2020
Summary
Researchers developed a DNA-based platform to create ordered 3D nanomaterial arrays. This versatile method precisely controls nanoparticle and protein assembly for advanced material fabrication.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Organizing nanoscale objects into 3D arrays is crucial for translating nanoscale synthesis into functional materials.
- Existing nanoparticle assembly methods are often system-specific and lack compatibility with biomolecules.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a versatile platform for creating distinct 3D ordered arrays from diverse nanomaterials.
- To enable precise control over nanomaterial assembly using DNA-prescribed and valence-controlled voxels.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 3D DNA frames as material voxels, integrating nano-objects within their scaffolds.
- Controlled object valence and coordination through DNA frame vertices and hybridization.
- Demonstrated assembly of metallic nanoparticles, semiconductor nanoparticles, and protein superlattices.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated distinct 3D ordered arrays from various nanomaterials.
- Achieved decoupling of the 3D assembly process from the intrinsic properties and shapes of nanocomponents.
- Fabricated light-emitting 3D arrays with high spectral purity and 3D enzymatic arrays with enhanced activity.
Conclusions:
- The DNA-prescribed material voxel platform offers a versatile approach for 3D nanomaterial assembly.
- This method overcomes limitations of system-specific and biomolecule-incompatible assembly techniques.
- The platform holds significant potential for fabricating advanced functional materials and devices.
