Actsa · Active Self-Assembly

Self-assembly is the process in which individual components spontaneously interact to form ordered structures. Biomolecules such as nucleic acids and proteins assemble in dynamic ways, for example they can change their shape, charge, orientation, and as a result they can carry out complex tasks. Experimentalists and engineers are already pursuing biomimetic materials made of reconfigurable adaptive building blocks. However, current theoretical research on self-assembly focuses on components with static shape and interactions, i.e. that do not change during the assembly process. In order to understand the way biomolecules interact and make progress in materials design, a theoretical study of active self-assembly is essential. In this proposal we aim at a deeper understanding of the self-assembly of active particles, through theory, computer simulations and collaboration with experimentalists.