Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2020, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (2): 219-226.doi: 10.1007/s40242-020-9086-5

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

DNA Nanotechnology-based Biocomputing

YIN Jue, WANG Junke, NIU Renjie, REN Shaokang, WANG Dexu, CHAO Jie   

  1. Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays(KLOEID), Institute of Advanced Materials(IAM), Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biosensors, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
  • Received:2019-12-04 Revised:2020-01-02 Online:2020-04-01 Published:2020-01-03
  • Contact: CHAO Jie E-mail:iamjchao@njupt.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21922408 and 61771253) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province for Distinguished Young Scholars, China(No.BK20190038).

Abstract: With silicon-based microelectronic technology pushed to its limit, scientists hunt to exploit biomolecules to power the bio-computer as substitutes. As a typical biomolecule, DNA now has been employed as a tool to create computing systems because of its superior parallel computing ability and outstanding data storage capability. How-ever, the key challenges in this area lie in the human intervention during the computation process and the lack of platforms for central processor. DNA nanotechnology has created hundreds of complex and hierarchical DNA nanostructures with highly controllable motions by exploiting the unparalleled self-recognition properties of DNA molecule. These DNA nanostructures can provide platforms for central processor and reduce the human intervention during the computation process, which can offer unprecedented opportunities for biocomputing. In this review, recent advances in DNA nanotechnology are briefly summarized and the newly emerging concept of biocomputing with DNA nanostructures is introduced.

Key words: DNA computing, DNA nanotechnology, DNA strand-displacement, Programmable self-assembly, DNA origami