Fueling dissipative self-assembly with non-invasive energy inputs

Dissipative self-assembly (DSA) enables the formation of transient, adaptive structures that persist only through continuous energy dissipation and operation far-from-thermodynamic equilibrium, mirroring the dynamic organization of living systems. In artificial systems, external energy inputs convert inactive precursors into high-energy building blocks that assemble through non-covalent interactions; while competing relaxation and deactivation processes drive disassembly, completing a dissipativ