Design and Simulation of an Autonomous Molecular Mechanism Using Spatially Localized DNA Computation.

Abstract

As a well-established technique, DNA synthesis offers interesting possibilities for designing multifunctional nanodevices. The micro-processing system of modern semiconductor circuits is dependent on strategies organized on silicon chips to achieve the speedy transmission of substances or information. Similarly, spatially localized structures allow for fixed DNA molecules in close proximity to each other during the synthesis of molecular circuits, thus providing a different strategy that of opening up a remarkable new area of inquiry for researchers. Herein, the Visual DSD (DNA strand displacement) modeling language was used to design and analyze the spatially organized DNA reaction network. The execution rules depend on the hybridization reaction caused by directional complementary nucleotide sequences. A series of DNA strand displacement calculations were organized on the locally coded travel track, and autonomous movement and addressing operations are gradually realized. The DNA nanodevice operates in this manner follows the embedded "molecular program", which improves the reusability and scalability of the same sequence domain in different contexts. Through the communication between various building blocks, the DNA device-carrying the target molecule moves in a controlled manner along the programmed track. In this way, a variety of molecular functional group transport and specific partition storage can be realized. The simulation results of the visual DSD tool provide qualitative and quantitative proof for the operation of the system.