Self-Assembly Dynamics of Chemically Driven Multicomponent Systems

The inherent trade-off between fast and defect-free self-assembly poses a problem to both biological and artificial systems. In multicomponent systems, this trade-off manifests as a dynamical order-disorder transition, where the resulting structure is heavily influenced by its growth rate. We investigate this trade-off for self-assembly at a nonequilibrium steady state, in which subunits undergo driven chemical reactions between inert and active states based on the local environment. These chemical reactions are possible due to a constant fuel source, as present in cellular environments in the form of ATP. By developing a mean-field theory and performing extensive numerical simulations, we show that a spatially non-uniform chemical drive enables defect-free self-assembly at drastically increased growth rates. This mechanism breaks the trade-off between fast growth dynamics and disordered growth. We explore reaction schemes that lead to self-assembled structures without the incorporation of defects, even in crowded environments and with weak binding interactions. These findings suggest a driven self-assembly mechanism utilizing a constant chemical fuel source that is a viable option for both biological and artificial self-assembling systems.