These nanoparticle-based self-assembling materials are so stable that they can float in space. Scientists
The properties of materials at the nanoscale are different, andResearchers have long been studying how to use these tiny materials - 1,000 to 10,000 times thinner than a human hair - in everything from making sensors for phones to making faster chips for laptops. However, the fabrication methods were complex when realizing 3D nanoarchitectures. DNA nanotechnology makes it possible to create complexly organized materials from nanoparticles by self-assembly, but given the soft and environmentally dependent nature of DNA, such materials can only be stable under a narrow range of conditions. In contrast, newly formed materials can now be used in a wide range of applications where these engineering designs are required. While traditional nanofabrication is excellent for creating planar structures, the new technique is making it possible to fabricate three-dimensional nanomaterials that are becoming essential for many electronic, optical and energy applications.
New research demonstrates effectivea method of transforming three-dimensional lattices of DNA nanoparticles into copies of silica, while maintaining the topology of interparticle bonds due to DNA structures and the integrity of the organization of nanoparticles. Silica works well because it helps preserve the nanostructure of the parent DNA lattice, forms a strong structure, and does not affect the arrangement of the nanoparticles.
“DNA in such lattices acquires the propertiessilica. It becomes stable in air and can be dried, allowing for the first time 3D nanoscale analysis of the material in real space. In addition, silica provides strength and chemical stability, is inexpensive and can be modified as needed, making it a convenient material.”
Aaron Michelson, Columbia Engineering.
To find out more about the properties of theirnanostructures, the team exposed the silica-transformed DNA nanoparticle lattices under extreme conditions: high temperatures above 10,000 ° C and high mechanical stresses in excess of 8 GPa (about 80,000 times more than atmospheric pressure or 80 times more than in the deepest the place of the ocean - the Mariana Trench), and studied these processes on the spot. To assess the viability of the structures for use and further processing steps, the researchers also exposed them to high doses of radiation and focused ion beams.
"Our analysis of the applicability of these structures incombined with traditional nanofabrication methods demonstrates a truly robust platform for creating elastic nanomaterials using DNA-based approaches to discover their new properties. This is a big step forward as these special properties mean that we can use our 3D nanomaterial assembly and still have access to the full range of processing steps of conventional materials. This integration of new and traditional nanofabrication methods is necessary to achieve advances in mechanics and electronics, plasmonics, photonics, superconductivity and energetic materials.”
Oleg Gang, professor of chemical engineering, applied physics and materials science
Computers have been made from silicon for over 40 years.It took 40 years to bring the production of planar structures and devices down to about 10 nm. Now we can make and assemble nanoobjects in a test tube in a couple of hours without expensive tools. Eight billion compounds on a single lattice can now be organized to self-assemble using nano-sized processes that we can design. Each connection can be a transistor, a sensor, or an optical emitter - each of which can be a stored data bit. As Moore's Law slows down, the programmability of DNA assembly is approaching zero to propel us forward in solving problems in new materials and nanofabrication. While this was extremely difficult for current methods, it is extremely important for new technologies.
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