Engineering colloidal crystals molecule by molecule

• 成果类型: Editorial Material
• 署名作者: Li, Zhe; Mao, Chengde
• 署名单位: Southern University of Science & Technology; Purdue University System; Purdue University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-11208
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adp4370
• 发表日期: 2024-05-17
• 页码: 741-742
• 关键词: dna

摘要

Engineering crystalline materials by molecular design ( 1-4 ) has led to numerous technological and scientific advancements in medicine, catalysis, optics, and electronics. Colloidal crystals ( 5 ) are often considered to be the structural analogs of molecular crystals, wherein microscopic particles rather than molecules are arranged into highly ordered architectures. Despite substantial progress, engineering colloidal crystals with precise structures and properties remains a challenging task, especially when compared to the level of control achieved in molecular crystals. On page 781 and 776 of this issue, Posnjak et al. ( 6 ) and Liu et al. ( 7 ), respectively, report the design of DNA molecules that are engineered to self-assemble across multiple length scales into colloidal crystals with unprecedented control and programmability. This advance opens up tremendous engineering opportunities for creating new crystalline materials in optics, sensing, and separation applications.