Geometrical frustration yields fiber formation in self-assembly

Abstract

Controlling the self-assembly of supramolecular structures is vital for living cells, and a central challenge for engineering at the nano- and microscales. Nevertheless, even particles without optimized shapes can robustly form well-defined morphologies. This is the case in numerous medical conditions where normally soluble proteins aggregate into fibers. Beyond the diversity of molecular mechanisms involved, we propose that fibers generically arise from the aggregation of irregular particles with short-range interactions. Using a minimal model of ill-fitting, sticky particles, we demonstrate robust fiber formation for a variety of particle shapes and aggregation conditions. Geometrical frustration plays a crucial role in this process, and accounts for the range of parameters in which fibers form as well as for their metastable character.

6 pages, 5 figures, 1 ancillary movie; to appear in Nature Physics

References in corpus (4)

• Phase diagram of patchy colloids: towards empty liquids
• Two-Dimensional Matter: Order, Curvature and Defects
• The Physics of Protein Self-Assembly
• Perspective: Geometrically-Frustrated Assemblies

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• Cumulative geometric frustration and superextensive energy scaling in a nonlinear classical XY-spin model
• Stress accumulation versus shape flattening in frustrated, warped-jigsaw particle assemblies
• How do particles with complex interactions self-assemble?
• Geometrically frustrated self-assembly of hyperbolic crystals from icosahedral nanoparticles
• Geometric Frustration Directs the Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles with Crystallized Ligand Bundles