We report a highly specific method for carrying out self assembly of patternable polymer particles employing the hybridization of synthetic single strand DNA (ssDNA) as the binding mechanism. Single strand DNA with a user-defined base pair coding are covalently conjugated to the surface of a photosensitive PMMA-based copolymer either before or after a lithographic patterning step in order to yield vast numbers of individual particles that can be functionalized with ssDNA. Different sets of these polyfunctional parallelepiped particles can then be combined in solution so that the respective complementary ssDNA pairs spontaneously hybridize, directing the particles to self assemble into one, two, or three-dimensional macrostructures whose composition is highly ordered and controlled. This process can be utilized to assemble complex structures at the nanometer and micron scales whose subunits and binding interactions are predesigned.

DNA-mediated self-assembly of lithographically-patterned particles

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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