Mechanical response of a simple DNA nanostar hydrogel: symptoms of disorder and glassy emergence of solidity
Abstract
DNA self-assembly is a well-understood nanotechnology to obtain extremely ordered structures from the nanometer to up to the hundred of microns scale. By contrast, DNA hydrogels rely on the disordered assembly of DNA building blocks to reach macroscopic volumes. However, in order to hold the promise of DNA bulk materials, the sequence designer needs a systematic understanding of how macroscopic properties emerge from disorder. Here, we show a method to study systematically the mechanical response of a simple DNA nanostar hydrogel. This method mobilises bulk rheology, dynamic light scattering microrheology, mechanical modeling, as well as thermodynamic calculation and DNA sequence alteration. At low temperatures, we demonstrate a systematic deviation from Maxwell behaviour that is symptomatic of disordered materials. At temperatures much higher than the percolation of the DNA network, we characterise a surprising solid behaviour that we attribute to a glass transition. Our results show the importance of disorder in DNA materials. Furthermore, the method we showcase in this article can be widely applied to more complex DNA materials.
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BibTeX
@article{ajiyel2026mechanical,
title = {{Mechanical response of a simple DNA nanostar hydrogel: symptoms of disorder and glassy emergence of solidity}},
author = {Hajar Ajiyel and Anthony Genot and Soo Hyeon Kim and Nicolas Schabanel and Hervé Guillou and Catherine Barentin and Mathieu Leocmach},
journal = {Nanoscale},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1039/d6nr01116k},
eprint = {2603.20119},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05762062v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mechanical response of a simple DNA nanostar hydrogel: symptoms of disorder and glassy emergence of solidity
AU - Hajar Ajiyel
AU - Anthony Genot
AU - Soo Hyeon Kim
AU - Nicolas Schabanel
AU - Hervé Guillou
AU - Catherine Barentin
AU - Mathieu Leocmach
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
JO - Nanoscale
DO - 10.1039/d6nr01116k
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05762062v1
AB - DNA self-assembly is a well-understood nanotechnology to obtain extremely ordered structures from the nanometer to up to the hundred of microns scale. By contrast, DNA hydrogels rely on the disordered assembly of DNA building blocks to reach macroscopic volumes. However, in order to hold the promise of DNA bulk materials, the sequence designer needs a systematic understanding of how macroscopic properties emerge from disorder. Here, we show a method to study systematically the mechanical response of a simple DNA nanostar hydrogel. This method mobilises bulk rheology, dynamic light scattering microrheology, mechanical modeling, as well as thermodynamic calculation and DNA sequence alteration. At low temperatures, we demonstrate a systematic deviation from Maxwell behaviour that is symptomatic of disordered materials. At temperatures much higher than the percolation of the DNA network, we characterise a surprising solid behaviour that we attribute to a glass transition. Our results show the importance of disorder in DNA materials. Furthermore, the method we showcase in this article can be widely applied to more complex DNA materials.
SN - 2040-3364
SN - 2040-3372
ER -