Self-assembly is a foundational process in which complex structures form from the inter-particle interactions encoded in the assembling components. Assembly occurs in a very narrow window due to high kinetic barriers that develop as attractions become too strong. At moderate interaction strengths, thermodynamic products form as the system relaxes to thermodynamic equilibrium. However, as interaction strength increases, there is a switch from thermodynamic to kinetic products, which emerge as high energetic barriers develop. Prior work has suggested that modifying the interactions between the assembling components can help overcome high energetic barriers to form more desired structures. In this work, we use a coarse-grained 2D viral capsid-like model to investigate the relationship between assembly and dynamic changes in the inter-particle potential. Specifically, we examine how oscillations of the attractive interaction strengths in time as well as spatially-variant attractive interactions can influence the capsid assembly process. We see distinct shifts in the window of capsid formation compared to the system with fixed and homogeneous inter-particle attractions. Our results provide insights on how dynamic inter-particle interactions can alter the window of self-assembly.

Modifying self-assembly of 2D viral capsid-like structures via inter-particle potential variation

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.