At the cutting edge of materials science, matter is designed to self-organize into structures that perform a wide range of functions. The past two decades have witnessed major innovations in the versatility of building blocks, ranging from DNA on the nanoscale to handshaking materials on the macroscale. Like a jigsaw puzzle, one can reliably self-assemble arbitrary structures if all the pieces are distinct, but systems with fewer flavors of building blocks have so far been limited to the assembly of exotic crystals. Inspired by Nature's strategy of folding biopolymers into specific RNA and protein structures, here we introduce a minimal model system of colloidal polymers with programmable DNA interactions that guide their downhill folding into two-dimensional geometries. Combining experiments, simulations, and theory, we show that designing the order in which interactions are switched on directs folding into unique geometries called foldamers. The simplest alternating sequences ($ABAB$...) of up to 13 droplets yield eleven foldamers, while designing the sequence and adding an extra flavor uniquely encodes more than half of the 619 possible geometries. These foldamers can further interact to make complex supracolloidal architectures, seeding a next generation of bio-inspired materials. Our results are independent of the dynamics and therefore apply to polymeric materials with hierarchical interactions on all length scales, from organic molecules all the way to Rubik's snakes.

中文翻译：

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通过可编程折叠自组装

在材料科学的前沿，物质被设计成能够自我组织成具有广泛功能的结构。过去二十年见证了构建模块多功能性的重大创新，从纳米尺度的 DNA 到宏观尺度的握手材料。就像拼图一样，如果所有部分都不同，人们可以可靠地自组装任意结构，但迄今为止，具有较少构建块风味的系统仅限于组装奇异晶体。受 Nature 将生物聚合物折叠成特定 RNA 和蛋白质结构的策略的启发，我们在此介绍了胶体聚合物的最小模型系统，该模型系统具有可编程的 DNA 相互作用，可引导其下坡折叠成二维几何形状。结合实验、模拟和理论，我们表明，设计打开交互的顺序可以直接折叠成称为折叠器的独特几何形状。最多 13 个液滴的最简单交替序列 ($ABAB$...) 产生 11 个折叠体，而设计序列并添加额外的风味独特地编码了 619 种可能几何形状中的一半以上。这些折叠机可以进一步相互作用以制造复杂的超胶体结构，为下一代仿生材料奠定基础。我们的结果与动力学无关，因此适用于在所有长度尺度上具有分层相互作用的聚合物材料，从有机分子一直到魔方蛇。) 最多 13 个液滴产生 11 个折叠体，而设计序列并添加额外的风味独特地编码了 619 种可能几何形状中的一半以上。这些折叠机可以进一步相互作用以制造复杂的超胶体结构，为下一代仿生材料奠定基础。我们的结果与动力学无关，因此适用于在所有长度尺度上具有分层相互作用的聚合物材料，从有机分子一直到魔方蛇。) 最多 13 个液滴产生 11 个折叠体，而设计序列并添加额外的风味独特地编码了 619 种可能几何形状中的一半以上。这些折叠机可以进一步相互作用以制造复杂的超胶体结构，为下一代仿生材料奠定基础。我们的结果与动力学无关，因此适用于在所有长度尺度上具有分层相互作用的聚合物材料，从有机分子一直到魔方蛇。