Architecting DNA Nanodevices into Metamaterials, Transducing Materials, and Assembling Materials

Project Personnel

Carlos Castro

Principal Investigator

Ohio State University

Email

Gaurav Arya

Co-PI

Duke University

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Michael Poirier

Co-PI

Ohio State University

Email

Funding Divisions

Division of Materials Research (DMR), Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI)

Soft architected materials self-assembled from nanoscale building blocks could have far-reaching applications in sensing, soft-robotics, energy, information storage, and medicine. Materials constructed from biological building blocks are attractive because they can integrate the advantages of biomolecular systems such as adaptability in response to external stimuli, capacity to dynamically interact with other materials, and ability to self-heal after chemical or mechanical degradation. DNA self-assembly provides a promising approach for creating such nano-architected materials due to its ability to produce precise nanostructures of unprecedented geometric complexity, tunable mechanical properties, and dynamic reconfiguration. This Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) award supports fundamental research focused on developing self-assembled materials constructed from DNA with adaptable structures and unique mechanical properties, signal processing capabilities, and the ability to form a variety of materials from a single reconfigurable building block. The research is closely aligned with the Materials Genome Initiative, which seeks to accelerate materials discovery and deployment through integration of computational, experimental, and data-driven advances. In addition, the award will provide unique training for graduate and undergraduate students in DNA nanotechnology, biochemistry, molecular simulations, machine learning, and multi-scale modeling. All training opportunities will be leveraged to benefit students from underrepresented groups. Additionally, the results of the project will be disseminated through workshops that will engage broader research communities.

Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)