Lipid vesicles induced ordered nanoassemblies of Janus nanoparticles. Issue 12 (7th March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhu, Yu; Sharma, Abash; Spangler, Eric J.; Carrillo, Jan-Michael Y.; Kumar, P. B. Sunil; Laradji, Mohamed
• Is Part Of: Soft matter. Volume 19:Issue 12(2023)
• Page Start: 2204
• Page End: 2213
• Publication Date: 2023-03-07
• Subjects: Soft condensed matter -- Periodicals; 530.413
• DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01693a
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-683X

Abstract

Abstract : Self-assembled nanoclusters of Janus nanoparticles mediated by their adhesion to liposomes. The numbers at the top indicate the number of JNPs on a vesicle. Abstract : Since many advanced applications require specific assemblies of nanoparticles (NPs), considerable efforts have been made to fabricate nanoassemblies with specific geometries. Although nanoassemblies can be fabricated through top-down approaches, recent advances show that intricate nanoassemblies can also be obtained through self-assembly, mediated for example by DNA strands. Here, we show, through extensive molecular dynamics simulations, that highly ordered self-assemblies of NPs can be mediated by their adhesion to lipid vesicles (LVs). Specifically, Janus NPs are considered so that the amount by which they are wrapped by the LV is controlled. The specific geometry of the nanoassembly is the result of effective curvature-mediated repulsion between the NPs and the number of NPs adhering to the LV. The NPs are arranged on the LV into polyhedra which satisfy the upper limit of Euler's polyhedral formula, including several deltahedra and three Platonic solids, corresponding to the tetrahedron, octahedron, and icosahedron.