Reliability and Efficiency of a DNA-Based Computation

R. Deaton; M. Garzon; R. C. Murphy; J. A. Rose; D. R. Franceschetti; S. E. Stevens, Jr

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.417

Reliability and Efficiency of a DNA-Based Computation

R. Deaton, M. Garzon, R. C. Murphy, J. A. Rose, D. R. Franceschetti, and S. E. Stevens, Jr.

Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 417 – Published 12 January 1998

Abstract

DNA-based computing uses the tendency of nucleotide bases to bind (hybridize) in preferred combinations to do computation. Depending on reaction conditions, oligonucleotides can bind despite noncomplementary base pairs. These mismatched hybridizations are a source of false positives and negatives, which limit the efficiency and scalability of DNA-based computing. The ability of specific base sequences to support error-tolerant Adleman-style computation is analyzed, and criteria are proposed to increase reliability and efficiency. A method is given to calculate reaction conditions from estimates of DNA melting.

Received 10 October 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.417

Authors & Affiliations

R. Deaton^1,*, M. Garzon^2,†, R. C. Murphy³, J. A. Rose¹, D. R. Franceschetti⁴, and S. E. Stevens, Jr.³

¹The Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
²The Department of Computer Science, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
³The Department of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Sciences, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
⁴The Department of Physics, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152

^*Electronic address: rjdeaton@memphis.edu
^†Electronic address: mgarzon@memphis.edu