Issue 5, 2023

Automated routing of droplets for DNA storage on a digital microfluidics platform

Abstract

Technologies for sequencing (reading) and synthesizing (writing) DNA have progressed on a Moore's law-like trajectory over the last three decades. This has motivated the idea of using DNA for data storage. Theoretically, DNA-based storage systems could out-compete all existing forms of archival storage. However, a large gap exists between what is theoretically possible in terms of read and write speeds and what has been practically demonstrated with DNA. This paper introduces a novel approach to DNA storage, with automated assembly on a digital microfluidic biochip. This technology offers unprecedented parallelism in DNA assembly using a dual library of “symbols” and “linkers”. An algorithmic solution is discussed for the problem of managing droplet traffic on the device, with prioritized three-dimensional “A*” routing. An overview is given of the software that was developed for routing a large number of droplets in parallel on the device, minimizing congestion and maximizing throughput.

Graphical abstract: Automated routing of droplets for DNA storage on a digital microfluidics platform

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 May 2023
Accepted
21 Aug 2023
First published
23 Aug 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Digital Discovery, 2023,2, 1436-1451

Automated routing of droplets for DNA storage on a digital microfluidics platform

A. Manicka, A. Stephan, S. Chari, G. Mendonsa, P. Okubo, J. Stolzberg-Schray, A. Reddy and M. Riedel, Digital Discovery, 2023, 2, 1436 DOI: 10.1039/D3DD00083D

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