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Colloids coated with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) can bind selectively toother colloids coated with complementary ssDNA. The fact that DNA-coatedcolloids (DNACCs) can bind to specific partners opens the prospect of makingcolloidal `molecules'. However, in order to design DNACC-based molecules, wemust be able to control the valency of the colloids, i.e. the number ofpartners to which a given DNACC can bind. One obvious, but not very simpleapproach is to decorate the colloidal surface with patches of single-strandedDNA that selectively bind those on other colloids. Here we propose a designprinciple that exploits many-body effects to control the valency of otherwiseisotropic colloids. Using a combination of theory and simulation, we show thatwe can tune the valency of colloids coated with mobile ssDNA, simply by tuningthe non-specific repulsion between the particles. Our simulations show that theresulting effective interactions lead to low-valency colloids self-assemblingin peculiar open structures, very different from those observed in DNACCs withimmobile DNA linkers.

Mobile linkers on DNA-coated colloids: valency without patches