Self-assembly as a research area investigates the spontaneous organization of components into ordered structures driven by local interactions and thermodynamic or kinetic principles, without direct external manipulation of each element. It encompasses molecular, nanoscale, and mesoscale systems where noncovalent forces (e.g., van der Waals, electrostatic, hydrophobic, hydrogen bonding) or specific binding interactions encode structural information. Research focuses on understanding design rules, energy landscapes, and defect formation, as well as developing programmable systems (e.g., DNA origami, block copolymers, colloidal crystals) for applications in materials science, nanotechnology, and biotechnology, often linking equilibrium self-assembly with nonequilibrium and hierarchical assembly processes.
A team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has developed a versatile nanorobot with propulsion and payload modules. The two reusable modules autonomously self-assemble and could be used in medicine or industry.
Bio & Medicine
Jun 21, 2026
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33
An international research team led by a Korean scientist has succeeded in designing large-scale protein structures that faithfully replicate the self-assembly principles found in naturally occurring viruses, using artificial ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 20, 2026
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38
Life on Earth has evolved under an uninterrupted rhythm of day and night. While light provides the energy that powers countless molecular processes, periods of darkness often allow biological systems to reorganize, recover ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 16, 2026
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8
Artificial cells created in the laboratory offer a wide range of potential applications. Until now, however, their membranes—unlike those of real cells—have been virtually impermeable. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 16, 2026
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12
Scaffolded DNA and RNA origami is a technique that allows scientists to build tiny, highly precise two- and three-dimensional objects. Because these nanostructures can interact naturally with biological systems, they could ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 14, 2026
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39
Proteins are how cells get work done. They carry out nearly every important cellular task, from ferrying messages to controlling which genes are turned on or off. And in order for proteins to perform their various roles, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 9, 2026
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Inside cells, certain functions are carried out by locally adjusting molecular composition. This condensation of material results in the formation of dense droplets that can dynamically rearrange. Because of this, interactions ...
General Physics
Jun 5, 2026
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39
Scientists from six Asian countries have launched an ambitious 10-year effort to build synthetic cells from non-living molecules, marking the region's first coordinated push to create an artificial single-celled biological ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 1, 2026
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36
Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation. Similar to the way oil forms droplets that float in a vinegar solution, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 1, 2026
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47
Using finely tuned nanoscale building blocks, researchers from Brown University and the University of Michigan College of Engineering have stabilized a fleeting structural phase of matter that had been predicted theoretically ...
Nanophysics
May 28, 2026
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