A self-assembled monolayer of single stranded DNA (ssDNA) will selectively hybridize with its complementary strands. This is the principle behind modern day gene chips.

Assembling nanoscale machinery and electronics poses a problem for which we have yet to find an adequate solution, hence nanotechnology has yet to arrive. However, that a solution to the problem exists can be seen in all living systems. Composed of molecular building blocks such as nucleic acids, proteins and phospholipids, biological organisms enter the world equipped with all the necessary means for assembling these components into extremely well organized structures. The purpose of this treatise is to summarize the basic tools that nature has provided for the nanoscientist.

This vast supply of molecular components has been precisely designed not only to function as part of a complex molecular machine, but also with the ability to get themselves to the appropriate locations! Exactly how they find the right place is still under debate. While most agree that they bounce around until they stick somewhere, what exactly allows the speed and precision of most biomolecular self-assembly is still a mystery.

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Keywords: biomolecular self-assembly nanotech nanoscale machinery electronics monolayer nucleic acids protein phospholipids biology nanoscience components