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Title: Altering DNA-Programmable Colloidal Crystallization Paths by Modulating Particle Repulsion

Journal Article · · Nano Letters

Colloidal crystal engineering with DNA can be used to realize precise control over nanoparticle (NP) arrangement. Here, we investigate a case of DNA-based assembly where the properties of DNA as a polyelectrolyte brush are employed to alter a hybridization-driven NP crystallization pathway. Using the co-assembly of DNA-conjugated proteins and spherical gold 2 nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a model system, we explore how steric repulsion between non-complementary, neighboring DNA-NPs due to overlapping DNA shells can influence their ligand-directed behavior. Specifically, our experimental data coupled with coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal that by changing factors related to NP repulsion, two structurally distinct outcomes can be achieved. When steric repulsion between DNA-AuNPs is significantly greater than that between DNA-proteins, a lower packing density crystal lattice is favored over the structure that is predicted by design rules based on DNA-hybridization considerations alone. This is enabled by the large difference in DNA density on AuNPs versus proteins and can be tuned by modulating the flexibility, and thus conformational entropy, of the DNA on the constituent particles. At intermediate ligand flexibility, the crystallization pathways are energetically similar and the structural outcome can be adjusted using the density of DNA duplexes on DNA-AuNPs and by screening the Coulomb potential between them. Such lattices are shown to undergo dynamic reorganization upon changing salt concentration. These data help elucidate the structural considerations necessary for understanding repulsive forces in DNA-assembly and lay the groundwork for using them to increase architectural diversity in engineering colloidal crystals.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science (CBES)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR); Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) - Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR); USDOE Office of Science - Energy Frontier Research Center - Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science (CBES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1395868
Journal Information:
Nano Letters, Vol. 17, Issue 8; ISSN 1530-6984
Publisher:
American Chemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (8)

Kernel Homology in Gold Nanoclusters journal October 2018
Crystal engineering with DNA journal February 2019
Inverse design of simple pair potentials for the self-assembly of complex structures journal November 2018
Kernel Homology in Gold Nanoclusters journal November 2018
Inverse Design of Simple Pair Potentials for the Self-Assembly of Complex Structures text January 2017
Defining the Structure of a Protein–Spherical Nucleic Acid Conjugate and Its Counterionic Cloud journal March 2018
Critical Assessment of the Interaction between DNA and Choline Amino Acid Ionic Liquids: Evidences of Multimodal Binding and Stability Enhancement journal December 2018
The Importance of Salt-Enhanced Electrostatic Repulsion in Colloidal Crystal Engineering with DNA journal January 2019

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