Ten-Input Cube Root Logic Computation with Rational Designed DNA Nanoswitches Coupled with DNA Strand Displacement Process.

Abstract

The predictability of Watson-Crick base-pairing provides a unique structural programmability to DNAs, promoting a facile design of bimolecular reactions that perform computation. However, most of the current architectures could only implement limited logical circuits and are incapable of handling more complex mathematical operations, thus limiting computing devices from advancing to the next-stage functional complexity. Here, by designing a multifunctional DNA-based reaction platform coupled with multiple fluorescent substrates as output reporters, we construct, for the first time, a logic circuit that can compute the cube root of a 10-bit binary number (within the decimal number 1000). This relatively large-scale logic system with 10 inputs and four outputs showcases the power of DNAs in the field of biological computing and will potentially open up a new horizon for designing novel functional devices and complex computing circuits and bringing breakthroughs in biocomputing.