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Article: Self-Assembly: How Nature Builds.
- Article from:
- The Science Teacher
- Article date:
- December 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 National Science Teachers Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: M. Gail Jones, Bethany Broadwell, Michael R. Falvo, and Sharon Dotger
Self-assembly or spontaneous assembly is a process in which materials build themselves without assistance (Goodsell 2000). This process plays a central role in the construction of biological structures and materials such as cells, viruses, and bone, and also in abiotic processes like phase transitions and crystal formation. The principles of self-assembly help describe how specific binding events occur in nature: How a virus binds to a cell, how an enzyme catalyzes a biochemical reaction, or how a drug finds its target. These principles also point toward a new era of advanced materials ...