Shape-Programmed Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Designed DNA Building Blocks into Massive Three-Dimensional Finite-Size Objects

Large and discrete biological assemblies such as the flagellar motor or viral capsids form by hierarchical self-assembly of many different protein subunits where some of these subunits often occur in multiple copies. For assemblies such as capsids the shape of the subunits and their interaction patterns effectively encode the geometry of the final assembly. Creating artificial objects with similar complexity through accurate design of the shape of molecular building blocks represents an important design challenge that tests our understanding of molecular structure, molecular flexibility, and molecular interactions.