Department of Computer Science, Duke University , Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States.
ACS Nano. 2015 Feb 24;9(2):1072-9. doi: 10.1021/nn504556v. Epub 2015 Feb 9.
The tile assembly model is a Turing universal model of self-assembly where a set of square shaped tiles with programmable sticky sides undergo coordinated self-assembly to form arbitrary shapes, thereby computing arbitrary functions. Activatable tiles are a theoretical extension to the Tile assembly model that enhances its robustness by protecting the sticky sides of tiles until a tile is partially incorporated into a growing assembly. In this article, we experimentally demonstrate a simplified version of the Activatable tile assembly model. In particular, we demonstrate the simultaneous assembly of protected DNA tiles where a set of inert tiles are activated via a DNA polymerase to undergo linear assembly. We then demonstrate stepwise activated assembly where a set of inert tiles are activated sequentially one after another as a result of attachment to a growing 1-D assembly. We hope that these results will pave the way for more sophisticated demonstrations of activated assemblies.
瓦片组装模型是一种图灵完备的自组装模型，其中一组具有可编程粘性侧面的方形瓦片经过协调的自组装形成任意形状，从而计算任意函数。激活瓦片是瓦片组装模型的一个理论扩展，通过在瓦片部分组装到一个正在生长的组装体中之前保护瓦片的粘性侧面来增强其鲁棒性。在本文中，我们通过实验证明了激活瓦片组装模型的简化版本。具体来说，我们演示了受保护的 DNA 瓦片的同时组装，其中一组惰性瓦片通过 DNA 聚合酶被激活以进行线性组装。然后，我们演示了逐步激活组装，其中一组惰性瓦片由于附着在一维组装体上而一个接一个地被依次激活。我们希望这些结果将为更复杂的激活组装演示铺平道路。
