DNA patterns

DNA is a versatile molecule with many potential technological applications because it can organize itself into all manner of useful patterns.

Researchers from Duke University and the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science have expanded on their DNA grids by giving them the ability to organize other molecules. The DNA grids are made from DNA tiles, or combinations of DNA strands that form rigid structures.

The grids can incorporate different types of molecules at specific points, including molecules that could be used to make electronic and optical components. The grids are more than 60 times smaller than a red blood cell and are part of an ongoing project to build computer chips using DNA to assemble components such as carbon nanotubes into logic circuits. The researchers made three types of patterned grids that spelled "D", "N" and "A".

TNR Research News

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