Biological polyelectrolyte complexes in solution and confined on patterned surfaces

In the first part of this paper we describe recently discovered structures in self-assemblies of charged membranes complexed with the biological polyelectrolyte DNA. These complexes are currently used in medical applications of non-viral gene delivery. The second part of the paper will describe entirely new experiments where liquid crystal and biological polymers are confined on lithographically prepared patterned surfaces to produce oriented self-assemblies for structural studies and confinement induced new phases. While the focus of the paper will be on DNA, other important biological polyelectrolytes include filamentous actin (F-actin), intermediate filaments, and microtubules with varying physical and chemical molecular properties, are also discussed.