A proposed modularized DNA computer, based on biochips

Abstract

There are limits to miniaturization with current computer technologies. Information-processing capabilities of organic molecules such as DNA can be used in computers to replace digital switching modality. However, without the emergence of microfluidic devices, all operations in vitro would be user regulated. A more advanced model is where robotic and electronic regulation is combined with DNA computing allowing the majority of the operations within the test environment to be carried out automatically. Microfluidics offers the promise of a "lab on a chip" system. This can control pico liter scale volumes, with integrated support for operations such as mixing, storage, PCR, heating/cooling, cell lysis, electrophoresis, and others [1], [2]], [3]. Thus has emerged a vision for creating a hybrid DNA computer: that can use microfluidics for the control paths and biological primitives for computation (the Arithmetic Logical Units). This paper presents a proposed modularized DNA biochip computer that works in accordance with Von Neumann's principles [4]. The biochips are divided into several modules, which have different functions. Thus, biochemical operations can be regulated in a step wise fusion. We then describe each module within the biochip and simulate how the classic Hamiltonian Path Problem would be solved in the proposed DNA computer.

Computational Biology: A Programming Perspective

“…DNA-based arithmetic was developed in [62,27]. Further developments include the breaking of DES encryption with DNA [17], DNA Computer based on Biochips [137], playing TicTacToe against DNA [90], DNA encoded with finite automata for medical purposes [9,7], and molecular implementation of simple logic programs [98].…”