DNA can be used as a programmable ligand to build 2D and 3D supercrystals from metal nanoparticles. This is the new result from researchers at Northwestern University in the US who have assembled the crystals from the bottom-up and precisely engineered their optical properties by controlling the spacing between the nanoparticle building blocks. The crystals have different sizes, shapes and lattice symmetries and might be used in technologies such as highly sensitive sensors, lenses, solar cells and batteries to name but a few……..
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/60911