Synthesis of crystals with a programmable kinetic barrier to nucleation

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0701467104
• Publication Date: 2007-09-20T01:04:22Z
• Authors: Rebecca Schulman; Erik Winfree
• Keywords: Ribbon

A central goal of chemistry is to fabricate supramolecular structures defined function and composition. In biology, control synthesis often achieved through precise over nucleation growth processes: seed molecule initiates a structure, but this kinetically inhibited in the seed's absence. Here we show how such can be systematically designed into self-assembling made DNA tiles. These structures, “zig-zag ribbons,” are have fixed width grow arbitrarily long. Under slightly supersaturated conditions, theory predicts that elongation always favorable rates decrease exponentially with increasing width. We confirm experimentally although ribbons different widths similar thermodynamics, for wider ribbons. It therefore possible program rate by choosing ribbon The presence molecule, stabilized version presumed critical nucleus, removes kinetic barrier ribbon. Thus, demonstrate ability from rationally seeds, while suppressing spurious nucleation. Control tile allows proper initiation algorithmic crystal growth, which could lead high-yield micrometer-scale complex programmed features. More generally, work shows self-assembly subroutine initiated.