DNA Origami: One Tool to Merge Them All

Speaker: Ashwin Gopinath, Ph.D.
Affiliation: California Institute of Technology

Abstract: Conventional top-down silicon nanofabrication has been extraordinarily successful, over the last six decades, in creating a wide variety of functional electronic, optical, and mechanical devices. However, unconventional self-assembled components such as carbon nanotubes or bio-molecules offer unique properties that are missing in typical top-down devices. Thus “hybrid nanodevices” in which a molecule or nanoparticle is positioned within the heart of a nanofabricated device are of great interest. The problem is, how can one reproducibly manufacture such hybrid devices? The material diversity along with the atomically precise nature of self-assembled components presents a unique set of challenges that current manufacturing methods cannot effectively address.

In this talk, I will present a directed self-assembly approach, in which large designer molecules called DNA origami is used as adaptors to carry atomically precise components into the heart of devices fabricated top-down. In particular, I will present experimental results demonstrating the utility of the technique to achieve absolute, arbitrarily scalable, control over the integration of discrete light emitters inside optical devices. Finally, I conclude by presenting my vision and preliminary data of how this technique can enable next-gen devices with relevance to quantum computing, bio-mimetic manufacturing, highly-multiplexed molecular quantification as well as merging solid-state devices with biology.

Biography:  Dr. Ashwin Gopinath is a research scientist in the department of bioengineering at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena where his research is at the intersection of DNA nanotechnology, micro-fabrication, synthetic biology and material-science. Prior to Caltech, he received his PhD degree from Boston University in electrical engineering. Dr. Gopinath has co-authored 22 peer reviewed publications in international journals like Nature, Science and PNAS. Recently, he was also awarded the Robert Dirks Molecular Programming Prize for his early career contributions to combining DNA nanotechnology and traditional semiconductor nanofabrication.

For more information, contact Prof. Yuanxun “Ethan” Wang (ywang@ee.ucla.edu)

Date/Time:
Date(s) - Apr 02, 2018
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Location:
EE-IV Shannon Room #54-134
420 Westwood Plaza - 5th Flr., Los Angeles CA 90095