ABSTRACT
The increasing demand for well-defined scaffolds for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture, DNA-based
structures, and nanostructured materials requires preparation and assembly procedures at a high degree
of precision and reproducibility. One of the most powerful approaches is the bottom-up design of such
systems using self-assembly mechanisms [1-3]. The self-assembly process can be defined as the spon-
taneous organization of individual components into an ordered structure without human intervention
[4]. The challenge in molecular self-assembly is thus to design molecular building blocks that can
undergo spontaneous organization into a well-defined and stable macroscopic structure using comple-
mentarities in shape among the individual components and weak, noncovalent interactions. These
typically include hydrogen bonds, water-mediated hydrogen bonds, and hydrophobic and van der Waals
interactions. Although each of these forces is rather weak, when combined as a whole, they influence
both intra-and intermolecular interactions characterized by the solvent quality, which governs the
resulting nanostructure morphology such as the conformation of biological macromolecules.
