Re-entrant DNA gels

Francesca Bomboi, Flavio Romano, Manuela Leo, Javier Fernandez-Castanon, Roberto Cerbino, Tommaso Bellini, Federico Bordi, Patrizia Filetici and Francesco Sciortino ()
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Francesca Bomboi: Sapienza Università di Roma
Flavio Romano: Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia, Campus Scientifico, Edificio Alfa
Manuela Leo: Sapienza Università di Roma
Javier Fernandez-Castanon: Sapienza Università di Roma
Roberto Cerbino: Università degli Studi di Milano
Tommaso Bellini: Università degli Studi di Milano
Federico Bordi: Sapienza Università di Roma
Patrizia Filetici: Istituto di Biologia e Patologia Molecolari-CNR, Sapienza Università di Roma
Francesco Sciortino: Sapienza Università di Roma

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract DNA is acquiring a primary role in material development, self-assembling by design into complex supramolecular aggregates, the building block of a new-materials world. Using DNA nanoconstructs to translate sophisticated theoretical intuitions into experimental realizations by closely matching idealized models of colloidal particles is a much less explored avenue. Here we experimentally show that an appropriate selection of competing interactions enciphered in multiple DNA sequences results into the successful design of a one-pot DNA hydrogel that melts both on heating and on cooling. The relaxation time, measured by light scattering, slows down dramatically in a limited window of temperatures. The phase diagram displays a peculiar re-entrant shape, the hallmark of the competition between different bonding patterns. Our study shows that it is possible to rationally design biocompatible bulk materials with unconventional phase diagrams and tuneable properties by encoding into DNA sequences both the particle shape and the physics of the collective response.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13191

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