Self-assembly is a process in which components, eitherseparate or linked, spontaneously form ordered aggregates.Self-assembly can occur with components having sizes from the molecularto the macroscopic, provided that appropriate conditions are met.Although much of the work in self-assembly has focused on molecularcomponents, many of the most interesting applications ofself-assembling processes can be found at larger sizes (nanometers tomicrometers). These larger systems also offer a level of control overthe characteristics of the components and over the interactions amongthem that makes fundamental investigations especially tractable.
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