Self-Assembly of DNA-Containing Copolymers

While the solution assembly of amphiphilic copolymers has been studied extensively, the assembly of DNA-containing copolymers is only recently emerging as a promising new area. DNA, a natural hydrophilic biopolymer that is highly predictable in its hybridization characteristics, brings to the field several useful and unique properties including monodispersity, the ability to functionalize in a site-specific manner, and programmability with Watson-Crick base pairing. The inclusion of DNA as a segment in the copolymer not only adds to the current knowledge base in the block copolymer assembly but also creates new modalities of assembly that have already led to novel and technologically useful structures. In this Review, we discuss recent progress in the self-assembly of DNA-containing copolymers, including assemblies driven by hydrophobicity via amphiphilic constructs, programmed assemblies mediated by DNA hybridization, and assemblies involving both of these interactions.