LabLog | Nanoscale bipyramids self-assemble with DNA

Recent experiments done at Northwestern University have shown that gold bipyramid shaped nanoparticles will self-assemble into the most complex nanoparticle crystals ever made by design. Researchers at Michigan Engineering showed how the shape of the particles drove the assembly of the crystal. This simulation offers three views of how nanoparticle shaped like flattened bipyramids assemble into complex structure, known in chemistry as clathrates. On the right, the rounded particle shapes are created by the DNA strands extending from the gold nanoparticles. They interact as though they were much bigger than the bare bipyramids shown in the middle box. The box on the right gives the “ball and stick“ model showing the nanoparticles as spheres connected by lines, illustrating the clathrate structure. This video is part of a study, titled “Clathrate Colloidal Crystals,” published in the journal Science. Credit: Glotzer Group, University of Michigan. Copyright: Science.