The possibility of prescribing local interactions between nano- and microscopic components that direct them to assemble in a predictable fashion is a central goal of nanotechnology research. In this article, we advance a new paradigm in which the self-assembly of DNA-functionalized colloidal particles is programmed using linker oligonucleotides dispersed in solution. We find a phase diagram that is surprisingly rich compared to phase diagrams typical of other DNA-functionalized colloidal particles that interact by direct hybridization, including a reentrant melting transition upon increasing linker concentration, and show that multiple linker species can be combined to prescribe many interactions simultaneously. A new theory predicts the observed phase behavior quantitatively without any fitting parameters. Taken together, these experiments and model lay the groundwork for future research in programmable self-assembly, enabling the possibility of programming the hundreds of specific interactions needed to assemble fully addressable, mesoscopic structures, while also expanding our fundamental understanding of the unique phase behavior possible in colloidal suspensions.

中文翻译：

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连接子介导的DNA包覆胶体的相行为

规定纳米和微观组件之间的局部相互作用以指导其以可预测的方式组装的可能性是纳米技术研究的主要目标。在本文中，我们提出了一个新的范式，其中使用分散在溶液中的接头寡核苷酸对DNA功能化胶体颗粒的自组装进行编程。我们发现，与通过直接杂交相互作用的其他DNA功能化胶体颗粒的典型相图相比，该相图出奇地丰富，包括随着连接子浓度的增加而出现的可折返熔解转变，并表明可以结合多个连接子物种来规定许多相互作用同时。一种新理论可以在没有任何拟合参数的情况下定量预测观察到的相位行为。在一起