Acoustically shaped DNA-programmable materials

Recent advances in DNA nanotechnology allow for the assembly of nano-components with nanoscale precision, leading to the emergence of DNA-based material fabrication approaches. Yet, transferring these nano- and micron-scale structural arrangements to the macroscale morphologies remains a challenge, which limits the development of materials and devices based on DNA nanotechnology. Here, we demonstrate a materials fabrication approach that combines DNA-programmable assembly with actively driven processes controlled by acoustic fields. This combination provides a prescribed nanoscale order, as dictated by equilibrium assembly through DNA-encoded interactions, and field-shaped macroscale morphology, as regulated by out-of-equilibrium materials formation through specific acoustic stimulation. Using optical and electron microscopy imaging and x-ray scattering, we further revealed the nucleation processes, domain fusion, and crystal growth under different acoustically stimulated conditions. The developed approach provides a pathway for the fabrication of complexly shaped macroscale morphologies for DNA-programmable nanomaterials by controlling spatio-temporal characteristics of the acoustic fields.

Z. A. Arnon, S. Piperno, D. C. Redeker, E. Randall, A. V. Tkachenko, H. Shpaisman, O. Gang