Emergent functionality generated from excitonic building blocks using DNA origami
G.S. Schlau-Cohen, MIT (Principal Investigator)
M. Bathe, MIT (co-Investigator)
A.P. Willard, MIT (co-Investigator)

In Nature, essential biological functions emerge from complex protein networks. Through aeons of evolution, the properties and interactions of the constituent proteins have undergone precise geometric optimization at the nanoscale. In particular, the machinery of photosynthetic solar energy conversion is exquisitely sensitive to the structural organization owing to the need to manage high energy electronic excitations. Replicating this level of spatial precision in synthetic systems has been a significant and long-standing challenge, limiting our ability to generate or explore the collective action found in protein networks. DNA origami is a synthetic biomaterial with the nanoscale structural programmability intrinsic to natural systems. We are exploring how electronic processes, such as energy transport, charge separation, and singlet fission, emerge from the number, scale, and combination of distinct building blocks. Combining de novo synthesis of sophisticated DNA-chromophore architectures, state-of-the-art spectroscopic characterization, and multi-scale simulation strategies will advance our fundamental understanding of and control over complex electronic processes. Such understanding and control in synthetic, bioinspired systems offers major opportunities for science and technologies, ranging from solar energy conversion to quantum sensing and simulation at room temperature.