Tether assisted self assembly
The idea is basically self folding but guiding larger beads on a string for:
- quicker rates of selfassembly
- more site selective self-assembly
quicker
Just as in self folding enforced local proximity leading to
higher local effective concentration and thus to higher reaction rates.
more selective
With some tricks (protection & deprotection, avoiding one-pot self-assembly going for sequential flush-by washout self-assembly, …)
it may be also usable to constrain the binding space much like in the case of
tether assisted positional assembly (mechanosynelf assembly)
peculiar constraints
To avoid premature self-folding like in the case of proteins that can and do self fold
as soon as being produced (ignoring folding assist protein peculiarities)
tether assisted self assembly needs to be "mediated self-folding".
One way that can happen is via staple strands like is is done in DNA origami (see: SDN).