Bioinspired self-assembly of microscale surface-tension based systems
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Fluid-fluid interfaces represent a unique environment which drives the self-assembly of systems such as colloids and Janus particles of varying shapes and functionality. Despite a large body of work on interfacial self-assembly, there remains a huge amount of design space which has yet to be explored. In this work, I present experimental and simulated biomimetic interfacial self-assembly schemes that derive their function from the controlled interplay of capillary forces and biologically inspired structure. The goal of these schemes is to leverage lessons learned from the self-assembly found in cellular biology, and translate them into complex assembly at microscale fluid interfaces. The beginning chapters focus on using the framework of clathrin-mediated endocytosis to create microfabricated, micron-scale artificial clathrin mimics. These mimics are able to recruit to a fluid interface, self-assemble into organized networks, and drive the budding of a fluid interface under external stimulation. This behavior is analogous to the process of nanoscale clathrin-mediated endocytosis but works on the microscale using surface-tension driven physics. Particle curvature is determined to be the most important parameter in governing the behavior of these particles, leading to a reduction in nonspecific aggregation and control over network organization. The later chapters draw further inspiration from protein-protein assembly to model methods for the selective self-assembly of interfacial microscale particles. The first method is the application of structural "pockets" to control the self-assembly of particles in a "lock-and-key" type mechanism. The second method is control over the broader kinetic assembly landscape for these particles by altering their gross structure and tuning their capillary interactions. The final methods draw inspiration from allosteric proteins, demonstrating the concept of "hidden" self-assembly sites and their activation by mechanical buckling in microscale particles. Taken together, these methods demonstrate strategies in which the interplay of capillary forces and physical structure can be leveraged to translate biological self-assembly motifs to the assembly of inorganic particles at fluid interfaces.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Kong, Yifan |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering. |
| Primary advisor | Melosh, Nicholas A |
| Thesis advisor | Melosh, Nicholas A |
| Thesis advisor | Heilshorn, Sarah |
| Thesis advisor | Spakowitz, Andrew James |
| Advisor | Heilshorn, Sarah |
| Advisor | Spakowitz, Andrew James |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Yifan Kong. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2017. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2017 by Yifan Kong
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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