Topic: self-assembly

Sijbren Otto explores how features associated with life can arise from initially lifeless chemical components. The systems couple reversible oligomerization of comparatively simple molecular building blocks with self-assembly. Their behavior includes the spontaneous appearance of self-replicating molecules, catalytic activity extending beyond autocatalysis, and the breaking of chiral symmetry. These observations connect the emergence of molecular replication and catalysis with the origins of biological handedness.

Self-organized complex structures in nature, e.g., viral capsids, hierarchical biopolymers, and bacterial flagella, offer efficiency, adaptability, robustness, and multi-functionality. Can we program the self-assembly of three-dimensional (3D) complex structures using simple building blocks, and reach similar or higher level of sophistication in engineered materials? Here we present an analytic theory for the self-assembly of polyhedral nanoparticles (NPs) based on their crystal structures in non-Euclidean space. We show that the unavoidable geometrical frustration of these particle shapes, co