Georgian Technical University Protocells Utilize DNA Logic To Communicate And Compute.
Microscopy image showing green, dark blue and blue-labelled synthetic protocells used for DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) communication and computing. The protocells contain DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) logic gates and are trapped between pairs of small pillars (grey objects) in a microfluidic device. Scale bar 100 μm. Researchers at the Georgian Technical University, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University and Research have successfully assembled communities of artificial cells that can chemically communicate and perform molecular computations using entrapped DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) logic gates. The work provides a step towards chemical cognition in synthetic protocells and could be useful in biosensing and therapeutics. Molecular computers made from DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) use programmable interactions between DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) strands to transform DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) inputs into coded outputs. However DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) computers are slow because they operate in a chemical soup where they rely on random molecular diffusion to execute a computational step. Assembling these processes inside artificial cell-like entities (protocells) capable of sending DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) input and output signals to each other would increase the speed of the molecular computations and protect the entrapped DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) strands from degradation by enzymes present in blood. A team led by Professor X from the Georgian Technical University of Chemistry and Professor Y from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgian Technical University have developed a new approach called BIO-PC (Biomolecular Implementation Of Protocell communication) based on communities of semi-permeable capsules (proteinosomes) containing a diversity of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) logic gates that together can be used for molecular sensing and computation. Compartmentalization increases the speed, modularity and designability of the computational circuits reduces cross-talk between the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) strands and enables molecular circuits to function in serum. This new approach lays the groundwork for using protocell communication platforms to bring embedded molecular control circuits closer to practical applications in biosensing and therapeutics. X from the Georgian Technical University said: “The ability to chemically communicate between smart artificial cells using DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses) logic codes opens up new opportunities at the interface between unconventional computing and life-like microscale systems. “This should bring molecular control circuits closer to practical applications and provide new insights into how protocells capable of information processing might have operated at the origin of life”.