Imec Vzw

Maarten Fauvart

Tim Stakenborg

Chang Chen

Kris Covens

Qing Cai

A method for writing data including a sequence of bits, the data being written in a form of DNA, by in-vitro enzymatically producing memory DNA from a strand of memory writing substrate DNA is disclosed. In one aspect, the method includes repeating of: receiving a sub-sequence of the sequence of bits, the sub-sequence including at least one bit; selecting memory nucleotides based on the sub-sequence; contacting, in liquid medium including the strand of memory writing substrate DNA contacted with an enzyme, the selected memory nucleotides and the enzyme; and synthesizing a portion of the memory DNA from a portion of the strand of memory writing substrate DNA by the enzyme and at least one of the memory nucleotides of the solution, thereby producing memory DNA including memory nucleotides corresponding to bits of the sequence of bits. The disclosed technology further relates to a micro-fluidic system including a microfluidic chip and a controller.

Method for writing data in DNA based memories

The present invention relates to a method for writing data comprising a sequence of bits, the data being written in a form of nucleic acid, by in-vitro enzymatically producing memory nucleic acid from a strand of memory writing substrate nucleic acid, wherein the strand of memory writing substrate nucleic acid comprises a plurality of spacer sections and memory writing sections sandwiched between the spacer sections. Each of the spacer sections comprises one or more nucleobases, and each of the memory writing sections comprises a nucleobase other than the nucleobases of an adjacent spacer section upstream of the memory writing section in a travel direction of an enzyme along the strand of memory writing substrate nucleic acid. The method comprising: repeating of: synthesising, in liquid medium comprising the strand of memory writing substrate nucleic acid contacted with the enzyme, a spacer portion of the memory nucleic acid from a spacer section by the enzyme by contacting with a solution of spacer nucleotides compatible with the nucleobases of the spacer section; halting the synthesising of the spacer portion in a position where the enzyme is reaching the memory writing section resulting from incompatibility between spacer nucleotides and nucleobases of the portion of the memory nucleic acid from the memory writing section; receiving a sub-sequence of the sequence of bits, said sub-sequence comprising at least one bit; selecting a memory nucleotide compatible with the nucleobase of the memory writing section, and comprising a first label or first modification, on a condition that said sub-sequence comprises a predetermined first sequence of bit-values, and selecting a memory nucleotide compatible with the nucleobase of the memory writing section, and comprising a second label or second modification, on a condition that said sub-sequence comprises a predetermined second sequence of bit-values; and subsequent to the halting, synthesising, in the liquid medium comprising the strand of memory writing substrate nucleic acid contacted with the enzyme, a memory portion of the memory nucleic acid from the memory writing section by the enzyme by contacting the enzyme with a solution of the selected memory nucleotide.

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Bertem, Belgium

Maarten Fauvart