Brookhaven Lecture

Nature uses the DNA genetic code to instruct the building of specific proteins and whole organisms in both plants and people. Taking a cue from nature, scientists at BNL devised a way of using strands of synthetic DNA attached to the surface of nanoparticles to instruct them to self-assemble into specific nanoscale structures, clusters, and three-dimensional organizations. Novel materials designed and fabricated this way promise use in photovoltaics, energy storage, catalysis, cell-targeted systems for more effective medical treatments, and bio-molecular sensing for environmental monitoring and medical applications. Gang, who has led this work at the CFN, will explain the rapid evolution of this nanoassembly method, and discuss its present and future applications in highly specific biosensors, optically active nano-materials, and new ways to fabricate complex architectures in a rational manner via self-assembly. Gang and his colleagues used the CFN and the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) facilities to perform their groundbreaking research. At the CFN, the scientists used a electron microscopes and optical methods to visualize the clusters that they fabricated. At the NSLS, they applied x-rays to study a particles-assembly process in solution, DNA's natural environment.