Colloidal mechanisms, mechanical metamaterials, and machines

Carefully connected assemblies of flexible and rigid elements enable the controlled collective deformations that underpin the functionality of many machines and mechanical metamaterials. While mechanical hinges or slender elements allow to materialize such controlled deformations at the macroscale, these are challenging to realize at the microscale.

In this talk, I will show how rigid elements connected by flexible hinges can be realized at the colloidal scale by leveraging DNA-based sliding contacts in combination with a hierarchical assembly strategy. I will demonstrate that these can be used to create colloidal mechanisms and colloidal mechanical metamaterials whose collective deformation modes are thermally activated. Finally, I will show how an actuation mechanism can be implemented to achieve an elementary Brownian machine. Together our results set the stage for smart, functional, and actuatable materials, with potential impact in micrometer-sized robots and nano-medicine.