Automating Blueprints for Colloidal Quasicrystal Assembly

TL;DR

This paper introduces an automated design framework for creating DNA-based colloidal building blocks that can self-assemble into icosahedral quasicrystals, a complex and previously elusive nanostructure.

Contribution

It presents a novel automated protocol for designing experimentally feasible colloidal particles capable of forming quasicrystalline arrangements.

Findings

Successful molecular simulations of self-assembly into quasicrystals.

Design of DNA origami building blocks for target structures.

Feasibility of automated design for complex nanostructures.

Abstract

One of the frontiers of nanotechnology is advancing beyond the periodic self-assembly of materials. Icosahedral quasicrystals, aperiodic in all directions, represent one of the most challenging targets that have yet to be experimentally realized at the colloidal scale. Previous attempts have required meticulous human-designed building blocks and often resulted in interactions beyond current experimental capabilities. In this work, we introduce a framework for generating experimentally accessible designs that self-assemble into quasicrystalline arrangements. We present a design for icosahedral DNA-origami building blocks and demonstrate, through molecular simulations, their successful assembly into the target quasicrystalline structure. Our results highlight the feasibility of using automated design protocols to achieve complex quasicrystalline patterns, paving the way for new applications in material science and nanotechnology.