| Summary: |
The molecular basis of the DNA molecule's
ability to function as an informational reservoir is the selective
hydrogen bonding interaction and recognition between the A and
T, and G and C bases. Indeed, this is how "DNA code"
is read by the natural mechanisms within the cells of all organisms.
It is also the means by which DNA is biologically synthesized
and copied in such an efficient manner. While natural
enzymes can recognize an individual base by its attraction to
its base-pair analogue, no artificial system is yet sensitive
enough to mimic this unitary recognition process, restricting
rapid and non-destructive artificial "DNA code" reading
and even these elegant native enzyme systems can not write "DNA
code" without another DNA molecule to copy it from.
These are the two principal impediments to the construction
of an effective DNA computer. Both of these outstanding
impediments are rooted in the requirement of having the DNA
molecule itself be the "chip" of a DNA computer. By
choosing alternative means of utilizing the unique A-T and G-C
pairing features of DNA to build a computer chip outside the
framework of an individual DNA molecule it is possible to overcome
these impediments. Furthermore, although a sequence of
individual DNA bases in a single DNA molecular strand can not
be "written" within the time frame necessary for computation,
A, T, G, C nuceotides may easily and rapidly be placed in discrete
arrays or sequences to build or write a "DNA" code
where the individual A, T, G, C bases in a natural DNA strand
are replaced by A, T, G, C nucleotides doted onto a chip surface
in a linear array mimicking the native DNA code. While
such a scheme requires more space than an individual DNA molecule
requires to encode the same information, these space differences
are no more than a few orders of magnitude on the molecular
scale and still expand computational power vastly beyond what
is available with present transistor chip technology. |
| Patent Status: |
Patent Application has been filed.
Detailed information must be provided under a confidential disclosure
agreement. Please download the confidential disclosure form
and mail the completed form to:
Vincie Albritton, Marketing Director
Clemson University
223 Brackett Hall
Clemson, SC 29634-5705
PH: 864-656-5708
FAX: 864-656-0474
Email: valbrit@clemson.edu
|
| Contact: |
For more information about this
technology, please contact:
Vincie Albritton, Associate Director
Phone: (864) 656-5708
Fax: (864) 656-0474
email: valbrit@clemson.edu
or
Janet Dillon, Project Administrator
Phone: (864) 656-4237
Fax: (864) 656-0474
email: gjanet@clemson.edu
Note: Don't forget to include the technology number in
your emails!
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