ATP-powered molecular recognition to engineer transient multivalency and self-sorting 4D hierarchical systems

Area of Science:

• Biomolecular Engineering
• Materials Science
• Chemical Systems

Background:

• Biological systems exhibit complex hierarchical organization and dynamic functions through energy dissipation.
• Artificial non-equilibrium self-assembling systems currently lack sophisticated hierarchical design and multi-component capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a modular DNA toolbox for programming transient non-equilibrium multicomponent systems across hierarchical scales.
• To introduce chemically fueled molecular recognition for orchestrating complex assemblies.
• To pioneer fuel-driven encapsulation, colloidal self-assembly, and colloidal self-sorting in artificial systems.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a modular DNA toolbox with freely programmable building blocks.
• Introduced concurrent ATP-powered ligation and cleavage reaction networks.
• Demonstrated transient side-chain functionalized nucleic acid polymers and transient cooperative multivalency.

Main Results:

• Successfully programmed transient non-equilibrium multicomponent systems across hierarchical length scales.
• Achieved fuel-driven encapsulation, self-assembly of colloids, and non-equilibrium transient narcissistic colloidal self-sorting.
• Established transient cooperative multivalency as a key mechanism for bridging length scales.

Conclusions:

• The developed DNA toolbox enables the design of chemically fueled 4D (3D space, 1D time) molecular multicomponent systems.
• This approach opens new avenues for creating autonomous materials with dynamic and programmable functions.
• The findings represent a significant step towards more sophisticated artificial non-equilibrium systems.