A team of researchers from the University of California, Davis and the University of Washington have demonstrated that the conductance of DNA can be modulated by controlling its structure, thus opening up the possibility of DNA’s future use as an electromechanical switch for nanoscale computing. Although DNA is commonly known for its biological role as the molecule of life, it has recently garnered significant interest for use as a nanoscale material for a wide-variety of applications.
In their paper published in Nature Communications, the team demonstrated that changing the structure of the DNA double helix by modifying its environment allows the conductance (the ease with which an electric current passes) to be reversibly controlled. This ability to structurally modulate the charge transport properties may enable the design of unique nanodevices based on DNA. These devices would operate using a completely different paradigm than today’s conventional electronics.
“As electronics get smaller they are becoming more difficult and expensive to manufacture, but DNA-based devices could be designed from the bottom-up using directed self-assembly techniques such as ‘DNA origami’,” said Josh Hihath, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC Davis and senior author on the paper. DNA origami is the folding of DNA to create two- and three-dimensional shapes at the nanoscale level.
“Considerable progress has been made in understanding DNA’s mechanical, structural, and self-assembly properties and the use of these properties to design structures at the nanoscale. The electrical properties, however, have generally been difficult to control,” said Hihath.
New Twist on DNA? Possible Paradigms for Computing
In addition to potential advantages in fabrication at the nanoscale level, such DNA-based devices may also improve the energy efficiency of electronic circuits. The size of devices has been significantly reduced over the last 40 years, but as the size has decreased, the power density on-chip has increased. Scientists and engineers have been exploring novel solutions to improve the efficiency.
“There’s no reason that computation must be done with traditional transistors. Early computers were fully mechanical and later worked on relays and vacuum tubes,” said Hihath. “Moving to an electromechanical platform may eventually allow us to improve the energy efficiency of electronic devices at the nanoscale.”
This work demonstrates that DNA is capable of operating as an electromechanical switch and could lead to new paradigms for computing.
To develop DNA into a reversible switch, the scientists focused on switching between two stable conformations of DNA, known as the A-form and the B-form. In DNA, the B-form is the conventional DNA duplex that is commonly associated with these molecules. The A-form is a more compact version with different spacing and tilting between the base pairs. Exposure to ethanol forces the DNA into the A-form conformation resulting in an increased conductance. Similarly, by removing the ethanol, the DNA can switch back to the B-form and return to its original reduced conductance value.
One Step Toward Molecular Computing
In order to develop this finding into a technologically viable platform for electronics, the authors also noted that there is still a great deal of work to be done. Although this discovery provides a proof-of-principle demonstration of electromechanical switching in DNA, there are generally two major hurdles yet to be overcome in the field of molecular electronics. First, billions of active molecular devices must be integrated into the same circuit as is done currently in conventional electronics. Next, scientists must be able to gate specific devices individually in such a large system.
Read more: UC Davis scientists demonstrate DNA-based electromechanical switch
The Latest on: Molecular computing
[google_news title=”” keyword=”molecular computing” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Molecular computing
- MTEM Molecular Templates, Inc.on April 27, 2024 at 2:03 am
Molecular Templates, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery and development of biologic therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases in ...
- Revolutionary AI device utilizes few-molecule reservoir computing for blood glucose predictionon April 26, 2024 at 10:15 am
A collaborative research team from NIMS and Tokyo University of Science has successfully developed a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) device that executes brain-like information processing ...
- High-precision blood glucose level prediction achieved by few-molecule reservoir computingon April 26, 2024 at 9:24 am
A collaborative research team from NIMS and Tokyo University of Science has successfully developed an artificial intelligence (AI) device that executes brain-like information processing through ...
- Molecular electronics: what will future gadgets be like?on April 26, 2024 at 6:58 am
The discovery that won the latest Nobel Prize in physics seems far away from our life, but one day everything could change with the arrival of molecular gadgets. We've tried to look into the future.
- New national center at Penn State aims to advance understanding of complex biological systemson April 25, 2024 at 10:45 pm
A $20 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will support the establishment and operation of the National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences ...
- Research combines DNA origami and photolithography to move one step closer to molecular computerson April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Molecular computer components could represent ... The results have interesting implications for DNA computing and artificial DNA analogs. Most feasible four-letter alphabets found in the screening ...
- New toolkit makes molecular dynamics simulations more accessibleon April 23, 2024 at 9:23 am
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have become a powerful tool in the ever-growing fields of molecular biology and drug development. While many MD simulation techniques exist, parallel cascade ...
- Hepatitis A Virus: Serology and Molecular Diagnosticson April 19, 2024 at 4:59 pm
Molecular diagnosis of HAV along with anti-HAV IgG avidity measurement are helpful in case of positive IgM where laboratory evidence of acute hepatitis is absent and there is no epidemiologic link ...
- Scientists Puzzled by 'Rule of Four' Pattern Found in Most Materialson April 19, 2024 at 10:13 am
A bizarre "Rule of Four" has been identified in the basic structure of the majority of inorganic materials—and scientists are stumped as to why. The pattern is found in the so-called "unit cell" of ...
- John Timmeron April 17, 2024 at 5:06 am
Company builds on recent demonstration of error-tracking in similar hardware.
via Bing News