DNA-based functional lattices

ended

Nature has evolved astonishingly diverse structures where the nanoscale assembly of components is key to their functionality. Such nanostructures self-assemble at massive scales and at spatial resolutions surpassing top-down production techniques. The leaves of a single tree, e.g., can cover the area of 10.000 m^2 while every mm^2 contains more than 10^8 highly efficient light-harvesting complexes. For future photovoltaic devices, light-managing surfaces and photonic devices it will thus be beneficial to adopt principles of self-assembly. Advances in design and low-cost production of DNA nanostructures allow us to challenge nature. By combining the assembly power of bottom-up DNA origami with top-down lithography it will be possible to fabricate functional nanostructured materials designed on the molecular level while reaching macroscopic dimensions. With the goal to boost energy conversion rates, I will design DNA structures that grow from pre-patterned surfaces and assemble into interpenetrating 3D networks that exhibit the highest possible contact area for electron donor and acceptor molecules in organic photovoltaic devices. Spectral tuning through carefully designed dye arrangements will complement these efforts. Custom-tailored photonic crystals built from lattices of DNA origami structures will control the flow of light. By incorporating dynamic DNA reconfigurability and colloidal nanoparticles at freely chosen positions, intelligent materials that respond to external cues such as light or heat are projected. Positioning accuracy of 1 nm renders possible the emergence of so-called “Dirac plasmons” in DNA-assembled particle lattices. Such topologically protected states are sought after for the coherent and loss-less propagation of energy and information in next-generation all-optical circuits. These approaches have the potential to reduce production costs and increase efficiencies of light-harvesting devices, intelligent surfaces and future computing devices.