Models of functional nanostructures

PHYS 106

George C. Schatz, schatz@chem.northwestern.edu, Department of Chemistry and the International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208-3113
This talk will describe several efforts in my group to model self assembly processes that produce useful soft materials. These include: (1) DNA-linked polymers that form a gel like material that has surprising thermal melting behavior; (2) peptide amphiphiles that assemble into cylindrical micelles that are of interest to templated bone and nerve growth;(3) cyclic peptide nanotubes embedded in lipid membranes that are of interest as antibiotics; and (4) DNA-lipid complexes that are relevant to DNA transfection. The two primary tools for these studies are coarse-grained models and atomistic molecular dynamics.