Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Cell-free biosensors are powerful platforms for monitoring human and environmental health. Here, we expand their capabilities by interfacing them with toehold-mediated strand displacement circuits, a dynamic DNA nanotechnology that enables molecular computation through programmable interactions between nucleic acid strands. We develop design rules for interfacing a small molecule sensing platform called ROSALIND with toehold-mediated strand displacement to construct hybrid RNA-DNA circuits that allow fine-tuning of reaction kinetics. We use these design rules to build 12 different circuits that implement a range of logic functions (NOT, OR, AND, IMPLY, NOR, NIMPLY, NAND). Finally, we demonstrate a circuit that acts like an analog-to-digital converter to create a series of binary outputs that encode the concentration range of the molecule being detected. We believe this work establishes a pathway to create 'smart' diagnostics that use molecular computations to enhance the speed and utility of biosensors.
Source: Nature Chemical Biology
Institution: Northwestern University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $11,390
Awards: CAREER: Uncovering Quantitative Design Principles of RNA Regulators For Synthetic Biology, G3794659490, RAPID: Collaborative Research: A cell-free synthetic biology platform for water quality monitoring - field testing and validation at the Camp Fire site in Paradise, California, G6671297155
OpenAlex ID: W4226169124