A DNA circuit that is capable of splitting and combining current marks the beginning of DNA based microelectronics

Researchers at Arizona State University, in collaboration with NYU and Duke University, have recently designed, created and tested a DNA circuit capable of splitting and combining current, much like an adapter that can connect multiple appliances to a wall outlet.

For sheer versatility, there’s no molecule quite like DNA. The iconic double-helix carries the genetic blueprint for living forms ranging from single-celled organisms to human beings.

Recently, researchers have found that DNA’s remarkable properties of self-assembly and its ability to conduct electrical charge over considerable distance make it ideally suited for myriad applications, including tiny electronic circuits and computing devices, nanorobots and new advances in photonics.

Researchers at Arizona State University, in collaboration with NYU and Duke University, have recently designed, created and tested a DNA circuit capable of splitting and combining current, much like an adapter that can connect multiple appliances to a wall outlet.

“DNA is capable of conducting charge, but to be useful for nanoelectronics, it must be able to direct charge along more than one path by splitting or combining it. We have solved this problem by using the guanine quadruplex (G4) in which a charge can arrive on a duplex on one side of this unit and go out either of two duplexes on the other side” says Peng Zhang, an assistant research professor of chemistry at Duke University and a co-author of the new study.

“This is the first step needed to transport charge through a branching structure made exclusively of DNA. It is likely that further steps will result in successful DNA-based nanoelectronics that include transistor-like devices in self-assembling ‘pre-programmed’ materials,” Zhang says.

For details: biodesign.asu.edu