RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Spatially Localized Architecture for Fast and Modular Computation at the Molecular Scale
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 110965
DO 10.1101/110965
A1 Gourab Chatterjee
A1 Neil Dalchau
A1 Richard A. Muscat
A1 Andrew Phillips
A1 Georg Seelig
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/02/23/110965.abstract
AB Cells use spatial constraints to control and accelerate the flow of information in enzyme cascades and signaling networks. Here we show that spatial organization can be a similarly powerful design principle for overcoming limitations of speed and modularity in engineered molecular circuits. We create logic gates and signal transmission lines by spatially arranging reactive DNA hairpins on a DNA origami. Signal propagation is demonstrated across transmission lines of different lengths and orientations, and logic gates are modularly combined into circuits that establish the universality of our approach. Because reactions preferentially occur between neighbors, identical DNA hairpins can be reused across circuits. Colocalization of circuit elements decreases computation time from hours to minutes compared to circuits with diffusible components. Detailed computational models enable predictive circuit design. We anticipate that our approach will motivate the use of spatial constraints in molecular engineering more broadly, bringing embedded molecular control circuits closer to applications.