Fig. 1: Unique DNA attributes.
a The attributes of DNA make the biomolecule ideal for various computational applications. (i) Watson–Crick base pairing: to allow to predict the connectivity of molecules. (ii) Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification: to copy a DNA molecule to an exponential multiple. PCR amplification is based on Watson–Crick base pairing. (iii) Strand displacement: to enable chemical signal processing. This attribute is also based on Watson–Crick base pairing. A single strand input molecule binds to the toehold of the double-strand gate complex and displaces one of the strands to release a single strand output. (iv) Sequencing: to read the information in DNA strands (v) Synthesis: to make new DNA molecules within minutes. b Applications of DNA in information technology and the amount of information described in research literature so far. The attributes of DNA (see a) that are dominant in the respective applications are color-coded. The purpose of each application is also shown.
