A Digital DNA Nano Writer (DNA NanoFab)

今天，基因测序的价格正在下降，1000美元的基因组是一个真实的可能性，但DNA的直接写入呢？DNA测序的进展归功于电子“读取”技术的新发展，但目前还没有直接“写入”。间接方法如DNA或肽合成正在改进，但这些都是“批量”方法，无法实现对单个分子链的亚单位控制。在这个聪明的想法中，我们将建立一个混合的数字CMOS驱动的合成化学平台，利用CMOS的速度和并行性直接写入DNA，目标是在单链DNA上实现GHz的写入速率，并使用PCR进行放大。这不仅可以“直接”写入DNA，还可以写入蛋白质和聚合物链。这个想法是变革性的，因为最终的结果将是一个系统，允许数字控制的物质结合数字合成和化学读写步骤。因此，这种方法将实现分子组装器的梦想，允许访问长度比现有技术长一个数量级的合成DNA，价格低廉，速度与序列数据一样快。在DNA之外的发展中，应用于聚合物科学将允许由亚基组装数字定义的聚合物链，从而允许纳米孔组装器用于世界上第一个真正的数字物质制造器或纳米组装器。

Today gene sequencing is dropping in price with the $1000 dollar genome a real possibility but what about the direct writing of DNA? Progress in DNA sequencing is down to novel developments in electronic 'read' technology but currently there is no direct 'write'. Indirect methods such as DNA or peptide synthesis are improving but these are 'bulk' methods and sub-unit control on individual molecular strands is not achieved. In this bright idea we will build a hybrid, digital CMOS driven synthetic chemical platform to write DNA directly taking advantage of the speed and parallelism of CMOS aiming for GHz write rates on a single strand of DNA and scale up using PCR. Not only will this allow the 'direct' writing of DNA but also of proteins and polymer chains. This idea is transformative since the end result will be a system that allows the digital control of matter combining digital synthesis and chemical read-write steps. As such, this approach will realise the dream of a molecular assembler allowing access to synthetic DNA an order of magnitude longer in length than the current state of the art, as inexpensively and as quickly as sequence data. In developments beyond DNA, application to polymer science will allow the assembly of digitally defined polymer strands subunit by subunit allowing a nanopore assembler to be used for the world's first true digital matter fabricator or nano-assembler.