Self-assembled polyhedra

• US 8,507,778 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2008
• Issued: 08/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arthur J. Olson
• Original Assignee: Arthur J. Olson
• Inventors: Olson, Arthur J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sines, Brian J
• Application Number:
  US12/531,292
• Publication Number:
  US 20100168439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,979 Days
• Field of Search: 422/102, 422/547, 438/669, 977/700, 977/902, 977/904, 977/905, 977/906, 977/915, 977/840, 977/855, 977/858
• US Class Current: 977/855
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/24 for chemistry

Abstract

Self-assembling multimeric physical models of closed polyhedral structures made of structurally symmetric units, and which mimic the structure and self-assembly characteristics of naturally occurring systems such as viral capsids, are provided. Also provided are methods of creating structurally symmetric units, kits for forming self-assembling physical models of polyhedral structures, and methods of forming the same.

Claims

1. A method of creating a closed and self-assembled multimer model structure, the method comprising:

(a) providing a plurality of separate, non-connected structurally symmetric units that form a self-assembled multimer structure, each of said units having a plurality of at least one type of basic component, said basic components comprise at least one type of attachment entity being positioned in or on a portion thereof, said units having structural complementarity to one another so as to form the closed and self-assembled multimer structure upon inducing proximity and orientation of said attachment entities; and

(b) encouraging by application of undirected kinetic energy said plurality of said separate, non-connected units to physically interact through random motion therebetween via said attachment entities, thereby creating the closed and self-assembled multimer structure;

wherein self-assembly persists from a separate, non-connected state of the units to the formation of the closed multimer structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the closed and self-assembled multimer structure is a physical model of a closed and self-assembled chemical multimer structure, whereas said structurally symmetric units are atomic model units of structurally symmetric chemical monomers that form said self-assembled chemical multimer structure.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said attachment entities are for modeling chemical affinity moieties of said structurally symmetric chemical monomers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein applying said kinetic energy is effected via a technique selected from the group consisting of shaking, agitating, afloating, mixing, tossing, tumbling and colliding.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said attachment entities are directional.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said attachment entities are selected from the group consisting of magnetic entities, electromagnetic entities, static charge entities, hook-and-loop entities, spline-and-groove entities and a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein said self-assembled multimer structure is selected from the group consisting of a model of a viral capsid and a model of a closed hull particle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said viral capsid has an icosahedral morphology.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said closed hull particle has a morphology selected from the group consisting of tetrahedral morphology, icosahedral morphology, cubical morphology, octahedral morphology and dodecahedral morphology.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein each of said structurally symmetric units has a 5-fold rotational symmetry.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein each of said structurally symmetric units has a rotational symmetry selected from the group of 3-fold rotational symmetry, 4-fold rotational symmetry and 5-fold rotational symmetry.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said structurally symmetric units are structurally identical to one another.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein a position and direction of said attachment entities in each of said basic components is identical.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said structurally symmetric units comprise at least two different types of basic components.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a direction of said attachment entities in one type of said basic components is reversed with respect a direction of said attachment entities in another type of said basic components.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of said structurally symmetric units has a 5-fold rotational symmetry and a direction of said attachment entities in one type of said basic components is reversed with respect a direction of said attachment entities in another type of said basic components.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said structurally symmetric units comprise two different types of basic components.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining if a self-assembled multimer structure is created, whereby creation of a closed and self-assembled multimer structure is indicative for the self-assembly process.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the modeling of a self-assembly process is capable of predicting a structure of the closed and self-assembled multimer structure and predicting an effect of a structural change in at least one of said structurally symmetric units or at least one of said basic components or a change in at least one of said attachment entity.