Project description:Engineered microbial communities show promise in a wide range of applications, including environmental remediation, microbiome engineering, and synthesis of fine chemicals. Here we present methods by which bacterial aggregates can be directed into several distinct architectures by inducible surface expression of heteroassociative protein domains (SpyTag/SpyCatcher and SynZip17/18). Programmed aggregation can be used to activate a quorum-sensing circuit, and aggregate size can be tuned via control of the amount of the associative protein displayed on the cell surface. We further demonstrate reversibility of SynZip-mediated assembly by addition of soluble competitor peptide. Genetically programmable bacterial assembly provides a starting point for the development of new applications of engineered microbial communities in environmental technology, agriculture, human health, and bioreactor design.
Project description:Escape from metastable states in self-assembly of colloids is an intractable problem. Unlike the commonly adopted approach of thermal annealing, the recently developed enthalpy-mediated strategy provided a different option to address this dilemma in a dynamically controllable manner at room temperature. However, it required a complex catalytic-assembly DNA strand-displacement circuitry to mediate interaction between multiple components. In this work, we present a simple but effective way to achieve catalytic-assembly of DNA-functionalized colloidal nanoparticles, i.e., programmable atom equivalents, in a far-from-equilibrium system. A removable molecule named "catassembler" that acts as a catalyst was employed to rectify imperfect linkages and help the system escape from metastability without affecting the assembled framework. Notably, catalytic efficiency of the catassembler can be effectively improved by changing the seesaw catassembler in toehold length design or numbers of the repeat units. Leveraging this tractable catalytic-assembly approach, different ordered architectures were easily produced by directly mixing all reactants, as in chemical reactions. By switching bonding identities, solid-solid phase transformations between different colloidal crystals were achieved. This work opens up an avenue for programming colloid assembly in a far-from-equilibrium system.
Project description:Our ability to synthesize nanometre-scale chemical species, such as nanoparticles with desired shapes and compositions, offers the exciting prospect of generating new functional materials and devices by combining them in a controlled fashion into larger structures. Self-assembly can achieve this task efficiently, but may be subject to thermodynamic and kinetic limitations: reactants, intermediates and products may collide with each other throughout the assembly time course to produce non-target species instead of target species. An alternative approach to nanoscale assembly uses information-containing molecules such as DNA to control interactions and thereby minimize unwanted cross-talk between different components. In principle, this method should allow the stepwise and programmed construction of target products by linking individually selected nanoscale components-much as an automobile is built on an assembly line. Here we demonstrate that a nanoscale assembly line can be realized by the judicious combination of three known DNA-based modules: a DNA origami tile that provides a framework and track for the assembly process, cassettes containing three independently controlled two-state DNA machines that serve as programmable cargo-donating devices and are attached in series to the tile, and a DNA walker that can move on the track from device to device and collect cargo. As the walker traverses the pathway prescribed by the origami tile track, it sequentially encounters the three DNA devices, each of which can be independently switched between an 'ON' state, allowing its cargo to be transferred to the walker, and an 'OFF' state, in which no transfer occurs. We use three different types of gold nanoparticle species as cargo and show that the experimental system does indeed allow the controlled fabrication of the eight different products that can be obtained with three two-state devices.
Project description:Three-dimensional dielectric photonic crystals have well-established enhanced light-matter interactions via high Q factors. Their plasmonic counterparts based on arrays of nanoparticles, however, have not been experimentally well explored owing to a lack of available synthetic routes for preparing them. However, such structures should facilitate these interactions based on the small mode volumes associated with plasmonic polarization. Herein we report strong light-plasmon interactions within 3D plasmonic photonic crystals that have lattice constants and nanoparticle diameters that can be independently controlled in the deep subwavelength size regime by using a DNA-programmable assembly technique. The strong coupling within such crystals is probed with backscattering spectra, and the mode splitting (0.10 and 0.24 eV) is defined based on dispersion diagrams. Numerical simulations predict that the crystal photonic modes (Fabry-Perot modes) can be enhanced by coating the crystals with a silver layer, achieving moderate Q factors (?10(2)) over the visible and near-infrared spectrum.
Project description:Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have received significant interest for the use in biomedical applications. The assembly of IONPs into larger superstructures has been used to modify the properties and functionality of these particles. For example, the clustering of IONPs can lead to improvements in MRI contrast generation, changes in heat generation during magnetic fluid hyperthermia, and alterations to pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. Nevertheless, the IONP clustering leads to significant heterogeneity in the assembly. Here, we demonstrate a method for using DNA origami to precisely control the number and positions of IONPs. We also showed how this technique can be used to module the functionality of IONP clusters by showing how MRI contrast generation efficiency can be tuned by altering the number and spacing of IONPs. Finally, we show that these property changes can be dynamically regulated, demonstrating the possibility for this technology to be used in biosensing applications.
Project description:Biological systems can generate microstructured materials that combine organic and inorganic components and possess diverse physical and chemical properties. However, these natural processes in materials fabrication are not readily programmable. Here, we use a synthetic-biology approach to assemble patterned materials. We demonstrate programmable fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) materials by printing engineered self-patterning bacteria on permeable membranes that serve as a structural scaffold. Application of gold nanoparticles to the colonies creates hybrid organic-inorganic dome structures. The dynamics of the dome structures' response to pressure is determined by their geometry (colony size, dome height, and pattern), which is easily modified by varying the properties of the membrane (e.g., pore size and hydrophobicity). We generate resettable pressure sensors that process signals in response to varying pressure intensity and duration.
Project description:Programing the self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles into predetermined superstructures represents an attractive strategy to realize functional assemblies and novel nanodevices, but it remains a challenge. Herein, gold nanoarrows (GNAs) showing a distinct convex-concave structure were employed as unique building blocks for programmable self-assembly involving multiple assembly modes. Regioselective adsorption of 1,10-decanedithiol on the vertexes, edges, and facets of GNAs allowed for programmable self-assembly of GNAs with five distinct assembly modes, and regioselective blocking with 1-dodecanethiol followed by adsorption of 1,10-decanedithiol gave rise to programmable self-assembly with six assembly modes including three novel wing-engaged modes. The assembly mode was essentially determined by regioselective adsorption of the dithiol linker dictated by the local curvature together with the shape complementarity of GNAs. This approach reveals how the geometric morphology of nanoparticles affects their regioselective functionalization and drives their self-assembly.
Project description:The assembly of artificial nanostructured and microstructured materials which display structures and functionalities that mimic nature's complexity requires building blocks with specific and directional interactions, analogous to those displayed at the molecular level. Despite remarkable progress in synthesizing "patchy" particles encoding anisotropic interactions, most current methods are restricted to integrating up to two compositional patches on a single "molecule" and to objects with simple shapes. Currently, decoupling functionality and shape to achieve full compositional and geometrical programmability remains an elusive task. We use sequential capillarity-assisted particle assembly which uniquely fulfills the demands described above. This is a new method based on simple, yet essential, adaptations to the well-known capillary assembly of particles over topographical templates. Tuning the depth of the assembly sites (traps) and the surface tension of moving droplets of colloidal suspensions enables controlled stepwise filling of traps to "synthesize" colloidal molecules. After deposition and mechanical linkage, the colloidal molecules can be dispersed in a solvent. The template's shape solely controls the molecule's geometry, whereas the filling sequence independently determines its composition. No specific surface chemistry is required, and multifunctional molecules with organic and inorganic moieties can be fabricated. We demonstrate the "synthesis" of a library of structures, ranging from dumbbells and triangles to units resembling bar codes, block copolymers, surfactants, and three-dimensional chiral objects. The full programmability of our approach opens up new directions not only for assembling and studying complex materials with single-particle-level control but also for fabricating new microscale devices for sensing, patterning, and delivery applications.
Project description:Creating hollow structures is one strategy for tuning the optical properties of materials. The current study aimed to increase the optical transmittance of silica (SiO2) particles. To this end, hexagonal-shaped hollow silica plate (HHSP) particles were synthesized from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and zinc oxide (ZnO) template particles, using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The size and shell thickness of the HHSP particles could be adjusted by using different TEOS/ZnO molar ratios and different ZnO template sizes, respectively. The optical transmittance of the HHSP particles depended on the shell thickness and particle size. The highest transmittance was 99% in the ultraviolet and visible region (300-800 nm) and was exhibited by HHSP particles with the thinnest shell thickness of 6.3 nm. This transmittance was higher than that exhibited by spherical hollow silica particles with a similar shell thickness. This suggested morphology-dependent transmittance for the semiconducting material. These preliminary results illustrate the promising features of the HHSP particles and suggest their potential application in future transparent devices.
Project description:The ability to instantly create a state of immunity as achieved in the passive transfer of hyperimmune globulin has had a tremendous impact on public health. Unlike passive immunization, active immunization, which is the foundation of vaccinology, is an anticipatory strategy with inherent limitations. Here we show that elements of active and passive immunization can be combined to create an effective chemistry-driven approach to vaccinology. Reactive immunization was used to create a reservoir of covalent polyclonal antibodies in 3 mouse strains that were subsequently engrafted with syngeneic CT26 colon or B16F10 melanoma tumors. Upon administration of designed integrin alpha(v)beta(3) and alpha(v)beta(5) adapter ligands, the induced covalent polyclonal antibodies self-assembled with the adapter ligands and the animals mounted an instant, chemically programmed, polyclonal response against the implanted tumors. Significant therapeutic responses were observed without recourse to adjuvant therapy. The chemically programmed immune responses were driven by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement-directed cytotoxicity. We suggest that this type of chemistry-driven approach to vaccinology is underexplored and may provide routes to vaccines to protect against diseases that have proven intractable to biology-driven vaccine approaches.