Organic molecules have an unparalleled ability to seek out and latch onto particular partners.
Inorganic materials, meanwhile, have their own fortes, such as strength and electrical conductivity. Over the past year, chemists in the United States and Ireland have taken initial steps at forging a new link between these two chemical families by creating designer materials in which DNA and other organic molecules help connect tiny inorganic particles to create exquisitely organized structures with surprising new properties. DNA's ability to recognize and bind matching sequences stitches the web together, while the electronic properties of the inorganic gold are responsible for the color shift. Alivisatos is co-leading a related effort in this field with colleague Peter Schultz. The new work represents an early step in transferring DNA from the biological to the material world.