Organization of interacting building blocks into a structure through their own dynamics under specified environmental conditions. A useful description states the components, interactions, environment and reversible transport/rearrangement mechanisms. A favourable thermodynamic equilibrium structure can still fail to form if aggregation or glassy arrest prevents defect correction.
Articles by others on the same topic
Self-assembly is a process in which individual components spontaneously organize themselves into structured, functional arrangements without external guidance or direction. This phenomenon is observed across various fields, including chemistry, biology, materials science, and nanotechnology. In biology, self-assembly is crucial for the formation of complex structures, such as proteins, cell membranes, and DNA. For example, in proteins, amino acids fold into specific three-dimensional shapes that determine their function.