A simple method to reprogram the binding specificity of DNA-coated colloids that crystallize

Understand

DNA-coated colloids can crystallize into a multitude of lattices, ranging from face-centered cubic to diamond and thereby contribute to our understanding of crystallization and open avenues to producing structures with useful photonic properties.

• Despite the broad potential design space of DNA-coated colloids, the design cycle for synthesizing DNA-coated particles is slow: preparing a particle with a new type of DNA sequence takes more than one day and requires custom-made and chemically modified DNA that typically takes the supplier over a month to synthesize.
• Here, we introduce a method to generate particles with custom sequences from a single feed stock in under an hour at ambient conditions.
• Our method appends new DNA domains onto the DNA grafted to colloidal particles based on a template that takes the supplier less than a week to produce.