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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 20: Complex Fluids and Soft Matter (joint session DY/CPP)

CPP 20.2: Vortrag

Dienstag, 10. März 2026, 09:45–10:00, ZEU/0160

Topological defect engineering enables size and shape control in self- assembly — Lara Koehler^1,3, Markus Eder², Vincent Ouzan-Reboul³, Christoph Karfusehr², Andrey Zelenskiy³, Pierre Ronceray⁴, Friedrich Simmel², and •Martin Lenz³ — ¹MIPPKS, Dresden, Germany — ²TU Munich, Germany — ³U. Paris-Saclay, Orsay, France — ⁴Aix-Marseille-Université, Marseille, France

Equilibrium self-assembly is a powerful way to build nano- and microscale structures out of interacting subunits. The size and shape of such structures must be controlled in many biological and technological functions, posing significant practical challenges as current strategies require multiple subunit types or the precise control of their shape and mechanics. Here we introduce an alternative approach that circumvents these obstacles. Our method uses subunits whose interactions promote crystals, but also favor crystalline defects. We show theoretically that the magnitude of these interactions, which is well controlled in experiments, governs the self-assembly through topological restrictions on the scope of the defects. Using DNA origami, we demonstrate both size and shape control in two-dimensional disk- and fiber-like assemblies. Our basic concept of defect engineering operates well beyond these examples, and provides a broadly applicable framework to control self-assembly.

Keywords: Self-assembly; DNA origami; Topological defects