Modelling the self-assembly of DNA in nanotechnology and biology

The remarkable ability of biological matter to robustly self-assemble into well defined composite objects excites the imagination, suggesting that these processes could perhaps be emulated through the judicious design of synthetic building blocks. DNA is a particularly promising candidate for large-scale self-assembly because the specific binding of DNA bases can be accurately designed to build dynamic structures at the nanoscale. These structures are far too large to model at an atomistic level, so coarse-grained modelling is essential. In this talk we will discuss oxDNA[1], a coarse-grained model for DNA that can treat dynamic assemblies made of many thousands of atoms. Applications in nanotechnology and biology will be discussed. [1] http://dna.physics.ox.ac.uk