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Recently, we have shown that micrometer-sized colloids, grafted with long DNA self-assemble into 'flying colloidal membranes' close to a weakly absorbing surface. In the absence of such attractive surfaces no self-assembly was observed, similarly to sterically stabilized colloids in bulk. We showed that the specific anchoring through the very long DNA allowed the colloids to overcome this energy barrier.
In the reverse system, we grafted the DNA to the flat support surface and let different particles 'fall' onto this soft monolayer. Again, we observed the formation of self-assembled colloidal membranes under particular conditions, as will be discussed. I will present data on both, microscopic observations and micro-rheology. Latter allowed us to deduce the softness of the flat surface from the fluctuations of the colloids. |
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