New assembly techniques are required for creating advanced materials with enough structural flexibility to be tuned for specific applications, and to be practical, the techniques must be implemented at relatively low cost. Layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly is a simple, versatile, and significantly inexpensive approach by which nanocomponents of different groups can be combined to coat both macroscopically flat and non-planar (e.g., colloidal core-shell particles) surfaces. Compared with other available assembly methods, LBL assembly is simpler and more universal and allows more precise thickness control at the nanoscale. LBL can be used to combine a wide variety of species--including nanoparticles (NPs), nanosheets, and nanowires (NWs)--with polymers, thus merging the properties of each type of material. This versatility has led to recent exceptional growth in the use of LBL-generated nanocomposites. This Account will focus on the materials and biological applications of introducing inorganic nanocrystals into polymer thin films. Combining inorganic NPs and NWs with organic polymers allows researchers to manipulate the unique properties in the nanomaterial. We describe the LBL assembly technique for introducing metallic NPs into polymers in order to generate a material with combined optomechanical properties. Similarly, LBL assembly of highly luminescent semiconductor NPs like HgTe or CdTe with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) was used to create uniform optical-quality coatings made on optical fibers and tube interiors. In addition, LBL assembly with inorganic nanosheets or clay molecules is reported for fabricating films with strong mechanical and ion transport properties, and the technique can also be employed to prepare Au/TiO(2) core/sheath NWs. The LBL approach not only will be useful for assembly of inorganic nanocrystals with various polymers but can be further applied to introduce specific functions. We discuss how the expanded use of NWs and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in nanocomposite materials holds promise in the design of conductive films and new nanoscale devices (e.g., thin-film transistors). New photonic materials, sensors, and amplifiers can be constructed using multilayer films of NPs and can enable fabrication of hybrid devices. On the biological side, inorganic nanoshells were used as assembly tools with the goal of detecting neurotransmitters (specifically, dopamine) directly inside brain cells. In addition, the stability of different cell lines was tested for fabricating biocompatible films using LBL. NP LBL assembly was also used for homogeneous and competitive fluorescence quenching immunoassay studies for biotin and anti-biotin immunoglobulin molecules. Finally, introduction of biomolecules with inorganic NPs for creating biocompatible surfaces could also lead to new directions in the field of biomedical applications.

The collective properties of nanoparticles manifest in their ability to self-organize into complex microscale structures. Slow oxidation of tellurium ions in cadmium telluride (CdTe) nanoparticles results in the assembly of 1- to 4-micrometer-long flat ribbons made of several layers of individual cadmium sulfide (CdS)/CdTe nanocrystals. Twisting of the ribbons with an equal distribution of left and right helices was induced by illumination with visible light. The pitch lengths (250 to 1500 nanometers) varied with illumination dose, and the twisting was associated with the relief of mechanical shear stress in assembled ribbons caused by photooxidation of CdS. Unusual shapes of multiparticle assemblies, such as ellipsoidal clouds, dog-bone agglomerates, and ribbon bunches, were observed as intermediate stages. Computer simulations revealed that the balance between attraction and electrostatic repulsion determines the resulting geometry and dimensionality of the nanoparticle assemblies.

Gold nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with L-amino acid-terminated monolayers provide an effective platform for the recognition of protein surfaces. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was used to quantify the binding thermodynamics of these functional NPs with alpha-chymotrypsin (ChT), histone, and cytochrome c (CytC). The enthalpy and entropy changes for the complex formation depend upon the nanoparticle structure and the surface characteristics of the proteins, e.g., distributions of charged and hydrophobic residues on the surface. Enthalpy-entropy compensation studies on these NP-protein systems indicate an excellent linear correlation between DeltaH and TDeltaS with a slope (alpha) of 1.07 and an intercept (TDeltaS0) of 35.2 kJ mol(-1). This behavior is closer to those of native protein-protein systems (alpha = 0.92 and TDeltaS0 = 41.1 kJ mol(-1)) than other protein-ligand and synthetic host-guest systems.

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Self-assembly of optically active gold nanoparticles with varying generations of poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers provides aggregates with controlled interparticle spacing, as determined using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). This structural control provides a method for systematically shifting the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the particles, based on the decrease in dipolar coupling with increased interparticle distance. Through choice of dendrimer generation, we were able to tune interparticle spacing over a 2.1 nm range, resulting in an 84 nm shift in the SPR. This modulation demonstrates the feasibility of using dendrimer assembly to tune the optical properties of materials.