Bomboi, F. (2018) Smart DNA hydrogels with uncommon phase diagrams. Il nuovo cimento C, 41 (3). pp. 1-8. ISSN 1826-9885
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Abstract
Beside its biological importance as a gene-encoding molecule, DNA plays nowadays a leading role in materials research: the newborn field of DNA nanotechnology is based on its ability to purposely self-assemble into a large variety of complex mesoscopic structures with diverse functionalities. Anyhow, the addressability of DNA self-assembly can also be exploited to produce high quantities of identical nano-sized all-DNA particles with programmable mutual interactions that can be used to test in the lab intriguing theoretical intuitions. Along this line, we have recently shown that a convenient design of competitive interactions in aqueous mixtures of monovalent and tetravalent DNA nanoparticles results in the achievement of an unconventional mechanism of gelation upon heating and of a peculiar re-entrant phase separation, demonstrating the enormous potential of DNA controlled assembly in dictating the physics of the nanoparticles response. Here, beside reviewing the main experimental results obtained by using DNA nanoconstructs, we provide insights on the aforementioned gelling by heating process, presenting additional Dynamic Light Scattering measurements performed inside the phase-separation region in order to fully characterize the dynamics of the system.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Subjects: | 500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 530 Fisica |
| Depositing User: | Marina Spanti |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Nov 2020 08:52 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Nov 2020 08:52 |
| URI: | http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/20234 |
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