Electrostatic Self-Assembly of Charged Macromolecules: New Physics and New Applications

Nature exploits all available covalent and non-covalent interactions for unparalleled spatiotemporal control over hierarchical length scales of macromolecular and supramolecular structure. The complex interplay of electrostatic and other non-covalent interactions of charged macromolecules still poses many open questions that will require broad collaboration among the life and physical sciences, as well as input from the engineering disciplines to drive toward new solid-state structures and useful materials. Scientific questions related to the physics of electrostatic self-assembly and to its role in biology will be discussed. Recent advances in understanding and biomedical applications of polyelectrolyte complex micelles will be presented.