Scalable, Time-Responsive, Digital, Energy-Efficient Molecular Circuits using DNA Strand Displacement

We propose a novel theoretical biomolecular design to implement any Boolean circuit using the mechanism of DNA strand displacement. The design is scalable: all species of DNA strands can in principle be mixed and prepared in a single test tube, rather than requiring separate purification of each species, which is a barrier to large-scale synthesis. The design is time-responsive: the concentration of output species changes in response to the concentration of input species, so that time-varying inputs may be continuously processed. The design is digital: Boolean values of wires in the circuit are represented as high or low concentrations of certain species, and we show how to construct a single-input, single-output signal restoration gate that amplifies the difference between high and low, which can be distributed to each wire in the circuit to overcome signal degradation. This means we can achieve a digital abstraction of the analog values of concentrations. Finally, the design is energy-efficient: if input species are specified ideally (meaning absolutely 0 concentration of unwanted species), then output species converge to their ideal concentrations at steady-state, and the system at steady-state is in (dynamic) equilibrium, meaning that no energy is consumed by irreversible reactions until the input again changes. Drawbacks of our design include the following. If input is provided non-ideally (small positive concentration of unwanted species), then energy must be continually expended to maintain correct output concentrations even at steady-state. In addition, our fuel species - those species that are permanently consumed in irreversible reactions - are not "generic"; each gate in the circuit is powered by its own specific type of fuel species. Hence different circuits must be powered by different types of fuel. Finally, we require input to be given according to the dual-rail convention, so that an input of 0 is specified not only by the absence of a certain species, but by the presence of another. That is, we do not construct a "true NOT gate" that sets its output to high concentration if and only if its input's concentration is low. It remains an open problem to design scalable, time-responsive, digital, energy-efficient molecular circuits that additionally solve one of these problems, or to prove that some subset of their resolutions are mutually incompatible.Comment: version 2: the paper itself is unchanged from version 1, but the arXiv software stripped some asterisk characters out of the abstract whose purpose was to highlight words. These characters have been replaced with underscores in version 2. The arXiv software also removed the second paragraph of the abstract, which has been (attempted to be) re-inserted. Also, although the secondary subject is "Soft Condensed Matter", this classification was chosen by the arXiv moderators after submission, not chosen by the authors. The authors consider this submission to be a theoretical computer science paper

Probabilistic reasoning with a bayesian DNA device based on strand displacement

We present a computing model based on the DNA strand displacement technique which performs Bayesian inference. The model will take single stranded DNA as input data, representing the presence or absence of a specific molecular signal (evidence). The program logic encodes the prior probability of a disease and the conditional probability of a signal given the disease playing with a set of different DNA complexes and their ratios. When the input and program molecules interact, they release a different pair of single stranded DNA species whose relative proportion represents the application of Bayes? Law: the conditional probability of the disease given the signal. The models presented in this paper can empower the application of probabilistic reasoning in genetic diagnosis in vitro

Dissipative DNA nanotechnology

DNA nanotechnology has emerged as a powerful tool to precisely design and control molecular circuits, machines and nanostructures. A major goal in this field is to build devices with life-like properties, such as directional motion, transport, communication and adaptation. Here we provide an overview of the nascent field of dissipative DNA nanotechnology, which aims at developing life-like systems by combining programmable nucleic-acid reactions with energy-dissipating processes. We first delineate the notions, terminology and characteristic features of dissipative DNA-based systems and then we survey DNA-based circuits, devices and materials whose functions are controlled by chemical fuels. We emphasize how energy consumption enables these systems to perform work and cyclical tasks, in contrast with DNA devices that operate without dissipative processes. The ability to take advantage of chemical fuel molecules brings dissipative DNA systems closer to the active molecular devices that exist in nature

Synthetic Regulation of Eukaryotic Gene Expression by Noncoding RNA

Synthetic biological systems promise to combine the spectacular diversity of biological functionality with engineering principles to design new life to address many pressing needs. As these engineered systems advance in sophistication, there is ever-greater need for customizable, situation-specific expression of desired genes. However, existing gene control platforms are generally not modular, or do not display performance requirements required for robust phenotypic responses to input signals. This work expands the capabilities of eukaryotic gene control in two important directions. For development of greater modularity, we extend the use of synthetic self-cleaving ribozyme switches to detect changes in input protein levels and convey that information into programmed gene expression in eukaryotic cells. We demonstrate both up- and down-regulation of levels of an output transgene by more than 4-fold in response to rising input protein levels, with maximal output gene expression approaching the highest levels observed in yeast. In vitro experiments demonstrate protein-dependent ribozyme activity modulation. We further demonstrate the platform in mammalian cells. Our switch devices do not depend on special input protein activity, and can be tailored to respond to any input protein to which a suitable RNA aptamer can be developed. This platform can potentially be employed to regulate the expression of any transgene or any endogenous gene by 3’ UTR replacement, allowing for more complex cell state-specific reprogramming. We also address an important concern with ribozyme switches, and riboswitch performance in general, their dynamic range. While riboswitches have generally allowed for versatile and modular regulation, so far their dynamic ranges of output gene modulation have been modest, generally at most 10-fold. We address this shortcoming by developing a modular genetic amplifier for near-digital control of eukaryotic gene expression. We combine ribozyme switch-mediated regulation of a synthetic TF with TF-mediated regulation of an output gene. The amplifier platform allows for as much as 20-fold regulation of output gene expression in response to input signal, with maximal expression approaching the highest levels observed in yeast, yet being tunable to intermediate and lower expression levels. EC50 values are more than 4 times lower than in previously best-performing non-amplifier ribozyme switches. The system design retains the modular-input architecture of the ribozyme switch platform, and the near-digital dynamic ranges of TF-based gene control. Together, these developments suggest great potential for the wide applicability of these platforms for better-performing eukaryotic gene regulation, and more sophisticated, customizable reprogramming of cellular activity.</p

Tools and Principles for Microbial Gene Circuit Engineering

AbstractSynthetic biologists aim to construct novel genetic circuits with useful applications through rational design and forward engineering. Given the complexity of signal processing that occurs in natural biological systems, engineered microbes have the potential to perform a wide range of desirable tasks that require sophisticated computation and control. Realising this goal will require accurate predictive design of complex synthetic gene circuits and accompanying large sets of quality modular and orthogonal genetic parts. Here we present a current overview of the versatile components and tools available for engineering gene circuits in microbes, including recently developed RNA-based tools that possess large dynamic ranges and can be easily programmed. We introduce design principles that enable robust and scalable circuit performance such as insulating a gene circuit against unwanted interactions with its context, and we describe efficient strategies for rapidly identifying and correcting causes of failure and fine-tuning circuit characteristics

XOR Gate Design Toward a Practical Complete Set for DNA Computing

Practical design of the XOR gate is an important milestone in the field of DNA computing. In this study, we aim to develop an enzyme-free XOR gate driven by a toehold-mediated strand displacement mechanism possessing the true detection property. The advantages of our design are as follows: dual-rail logic is not required, the explicit use of the NOT gate is avoided, the circuit structure is simple, and the design is achievable with fewer DNA strands than that designed by the combination of four NAND gates. A rational circuit design is performed and the dynamic behaviors of the biochemical reaction and the secondary structures of DNA strands are confirmed by computer simulation. In particular, both the domain-level design technique with G-T mismatched base pairs and base sequence-level fine-tuning are successfully achieved to alleviate the performance degradation arising from unintended and leaky reactions present in the circuit. The validity of the XOR gate design is confirmed by experimental studies

Biosensors for Biomolecular Computing: a Review and Future Perspectives

Biomolecular computing is the field of engineering where computation, storage, communication, and coding are obtained by exploiting interactions between biomolecules, especially DNA, RNA, and enzymes. They are a promising solution in a long-term vision, bringing huge parallelism and negligible power consumption. Despite significant efforts in taking advantage of the massive computational power of biomolecules, many issues are still open along the way for considering biomolecular circuits as an alternative or a complement to competing with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) architectures. According to the Von Neumann architecture, computing systems are composed of a central processing unit, a storage unit, and input and output (I/O). I/O operations are crucial to drive and read the computing core and to interface it to other devices. In emerging technologies, the complexity overhead and the bottleneck of I/O systems are usually limiting factors. While computing units and memories based on biomolecular systems have been successfully presented in literature, the published I/O operations are still based on laboratory equipment without a real development of integrated I/O. Biosensors are suitable devices for transducing biomolecular interactions by converting them into electrical signals. In this work, we explore the latest advancements in biomolecular computing, as well as in biosensors, with focus on technology suitable to provide the required and still missing I/O devices. Therefore, our goal is to picture out the present and future perspectives about DNA, RNA, and enzymatic-based computing according to the progression in its I/O technologies, and to understand how the field of biosensors contributes to the research beyond CMOS

지질 이중층 상 플라즈모닉 나노입자 기반 나노바이오 검지 및 컴퓨팅

학위논문 (박사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 자연과학대학 화학부, 2019. 2. 남좌민.Supported lipid bilayer is a two-dimensional lipid bilayer self-assembled on a hydrophilic substrate with two-dimensional fluidity. By introducing plasmonic nanoparticles with strong scattering signals into the supported lipid bilayer, it is possible to observe and track thousands of nanoparticles and their interactions at a single-nanoparticle level in real time. In this thesis, I expand the nanoparticle-lipid bilayer platform by engineering plasmonic nanoparticles to construct a complex nanoparticle network system and develop multiplexed bio-detection and bio-computing strategies. Chapter 1 describes a supported lipid bilayer platform incorporating plasmonic nanoparticles. Section 1 introduces the optical properties and biosensing application of plasmonic nanoparticles, and Section 2 introduces tethering technique, characteristics, and advantages for introducing nanoparticles into supported lipid bilayer platforms. In Chapter 2, I introduce a system that can distinguish nine types of nanoparticle assembly reactions occurring simultaneously by introducing optically encoded plasmonic nanoparticles that scatter red, blue, and green light into supported lipid bilayers. I performed multiplexed detection of nine types of microRNAs, which are important gene regulators and cancer cell biomarker. In Chapter 3, I develop a bio-computing platform that recognizes molecular inputs, performs logic circuits, and generates nanoparticle assembly/disassembly output signals. Complex logic circuits are designed and implemented by combining two strategies: (i) interfacial design that constructs a logic circuit through DNA functionalization of the interface of nanoparticles, and (ii) a network design that connects assembly/disassembly reactions. In Chapter 4, I develop a bio-computing calculator capable of performing arithmetic logic operations. I use the nanoparticle-lipid bilayer platform as the hardware that stores, processes, and outputs information, and constructs software that contains logic circuit functions through DNA solution. An information storage nanoparticle stores solution-phase molecular input signals on the surface of nanoparticles. The bio-computing lipid nanotablet recognizes an arithmetic logic circuit programmed with DNA information and generates outputs a result of a kinetic difference between nanoparticle assembly reaction according to the storage state of the input signal.지지형 지질 이중층은 친수성 기판 위에 조립된 2차원의 지질 이중층으로 2차원 상의 유동성을 가진다. 지지형 지질 이중층에 강한 산란 신호를 지니는 플라즈모닉 나노입자를 도입하면 수천 개의 나노입자와 그 상호작용을 단일 나노입자 수준으로 실시간 관찰이 가능하다. 본 학위논문에서는 나노입자-지질 이중층 플랫폼에서의 나노입자 종류 및 개질 방법을 확장하여 복잡한 나노입자 네트워크 시스템을 구성하고, 바이오 검지, 바이오 컴퓨팅 응용을 개발한다. 1장에서는 플라즈모닉 나노입자가 도입된 지지형 지질 이중층 플랫폼을 설명한다. 1절에서 플라즈모닉 나노입자의 광학적 특성과 산란신호를 이용한 바이오센싱 응용 연구를 소개하고 2절에서는 지지형 지질 이중층 플랫폼에 나노입자의 도입 방법, 특징, 장점, 분석방법 등을 소개한다. 2장에서는 빨강, 초록, 파랑 빛을 산란하는 플라즈모닉 나노입자를 합성하고, 지지형 지질 이중층에 도입하여 동시에 일어나는 9종류의 나노입자 결합 반응을 각각 구분할 수 있는 플랫폼을 개발한다. 이를 이용하여 세포 내 중요한 단백질 번역 조절물질이자 암 바이오마커인 마이크로RNA를 동시 다중 검지한다. 3장에서는 지지형 지질 이중층 상에 도입된 나노입자를 다종의 DNA로 기능화하여 특정 DNA 분자 입력 신호 인식, 논리회로 수행, 나노입자 결합/분리 출력 신호 생성하는 바이오 컴퓨팅 플랫폼을 개발한다. 나노입자의 계면을 DNA로 디자인하여 논리 회로를 구성하는 인터페이스 프로그래밍과 나노입자의 결합/분리 반응을 연결하여 네트워크를 디자인하여 논리 회로를 집적하는 네트워크 프로그래밍을 조합하여 복잡한 논리 회로를 설계하고 수행한다. 4장에서는 지지형 지질 이중층에 도입된 나노입자 표면에 용액 상 분자 입력신호를 저장하는 정보 저장 장치를 개발하고 모든 종류의 산술논리연산을 수행할 수 있는 생분자 계산기을 개발한다. 나노입자-지질 이중층 플랫폼을 정보저장, 수행, 출력하는 매체인 하드웨어로 이용하고, DNA 분자 조합 용액을 산술논리회로 기능을 담고있는 소프트웨어로 구성한다. 바이오 컴퓨팅 칩은 DNA 정보로 프로그래밍된 산술논리회로를 인식하여 입력신호의 저장 상태에 따라 나노입자 결합 반응에 반응속도에 차이를 일으키고 결과를 출력한다.Chapter 1. Introduction: Plasmonic Nanoparticle-Tethered Supported Lipid Bilayer Platform 1 1.1. Plasmonic Nanoparticles and Their Bio-Applications 2 1.1.1. Introduction 4 1.1.2. Fundamentals of Plasmonic Nanoparticles 8 1.1.3. Plasmonic Nanoparticle Engineering for Biological Application 11 1.1.4. Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Rayleigh Scattering-Based Biosensing 16 1.1.5. References 21 1. 2. Supported Lipid Bilayer as a Dynamic Platform 24 1.2.1. Introduction 26 1.2.2. Basic Setups and Strategies 29 1.2.3. Nanoparticle-Tethering Techniques 33 1.2.4. Real-Time Imaging and Tracking of Single Nanoparticles on SLB 39 1.2.5. Observation of Interactions between Single Nanoparticles 44 1.2.6. References 50 Chapter 2. Multiplexed Biomolecular Detection Strategy 53 2.1. Introduction 55 2.2. Experimental Section 60 2.3. Results and Discussion 66 2.4. Conclusion 77 2.5. Supporting Information 79 2.6. References 83 Chapter 3. Nano-Bio Computing on Lipid Bilayer 84 3.1. Introduction 85 3.2. Experimental Section 88 3.3. Results and Discussion 98 3.4. Conclusion 120 3.5. Supporting Information 124 3.6. References 161 Chapter 4. Development of Nanoparticle Architecture for Biomolecular Arithmetic Logic Operation 163 4.1. Introduction 165 4.2. Experimental Section 167 4.3. Results and Discussion 171 4.4. Conclusion 177 4.5. References 179 Abstract in Korean 180Docto

DESIGN AND APPLICATIONS OF DNA-BASED DEVICES FOR SELF-ASSEMBLY, MOLECULAR CIRCUITS, AND SOFT MATERIALS

Biologically inspired synthetic materials have led to novel technologies due of their ability to sense, influence, or adapt to their environment. One way to build these materials and devices is to utilize the high sequence specificity and innate biocompatibility of DNA. While once considered as a material useful for only storing genetic information, DNA-based devices are now being realized as molecular tools in fields such as therapeutics, diagnostics, regenerative medicine, and soft robotics. In this dissertation, we investigate the use of DNA to build programmable tools to control self-assembly, implement molecular computation, and direct material change processes. DNA origami nanostructures are useful tools for controlling the spatial patterns of proteins, nanoparticles, and fluorophores because they contain hundreds of independently functionalizable locations that can be engineered with nanoscale precision. However, the addressable surface area is currently limited by the size of single origami structures, and efficient, high-yield self-assembly of multiple origami into higher-order assemblies continues to be a challenge. To investigate the factors important for heterogeneous self-assembly of multiple origami, we experimentally measure the equilibrium distribution of four origami tiles in the monomer, intermediate, and final tetramer states as a function of temperature. We find that the thermodynamics of the self-assembly process is determined by the binding interface between origami. Simulations of the assembly kinetics suggest assembly occurs primarily via hierarchical pathways. Next, we engineer a DNA-based timer circuit that can be used in computational devices for molecular release or material control. The circuit releases target DNA sequences into solution at a programmable time with a tunable, constant rate. Multiple timer circuits can operate simultaneously, each releasing their target sequences at independent rates and times. We further develop the utility of the timer and similar DNA-based circuits as a means to control molecular events in biological environments, such as serum-supplemented cell media, where DNA-degrading nucleases can reduce the functional stability and lifetime of DNA-based devices. By implementing DNA circuit-protective design principles and by adding screening molecules to reduce nuclease activity, the functional lifetime of simple DNA circuits can be significantly increased. We develop a model by fitting parameters for reactions between nucleases and simple DNA circuits. Using the model, we can qualitatively predict the behavior of more complex circuits: multiple circuits in series and circuits containing competitive reactions. Finally, we investigate how DNA-based circuits can be used to trigger the high-degree swelling response of DNA-crosslinked metamorphic hydrogels. By coupling signal amplification to the triggering process, we demonstrate modular control over the timescale and degree of swelling. Further, we show control over the identity of the trigger molecule using molecular translators and computational controllers capable of converting complex chemical inputs into mechanical actuation