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DNA is now an established structural linker for nanomaterials assemblies and crystals. In this Focus we highlight recent advances in the use of structural DNA nanotechnology for the formation of increasingly complex designer material systems.
Prompted by advances in the programmability of DNA nanostructures and their hybridization, the complexity of nanomaterial lattices guided by DNA continues to increase.
The complexity of DNA-programmed nanoparticle assemblies has reached an unprecedented level owing to recent advances that enable delicate and comprehensive control over the formation of DNA bonds.
Programmable DNA hybridization is used to mediate the self-assembly of substrate-bound DNA-grafted gold nanoparticles into single-crystalline Winterbottom and non-Winterbottom constructions with particular size, shape and orientation.
Programmable DNA building blocks hosting diverse nano-objects assemble into three-dimensional nanoparticle lattices whose geometry is determined by the shape and valence of the DNA block.
Three-dimensional DNA frames can be created with controlled valence and coordination for the assembly of ordered arrays of biological and inorganic nanomaterials.
Single-stranded DNA encoders containing polyadenine domains endow colloidal gold nanoparticles with programmable bond valence, orthogonality and reconfigurability, thus achieving post-synthetic control over colloidal structures.