DNA enters electronic age

Researchers at Purdue University have attached magnetic nanoparticles to DNA and then cut these "DNA wires" into pieces, offering the promise of creating low-cost, self-assembling devices for future computers.

Findings are detailed in a paper published online in February in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The paper was written by Purdue graduate student Joseph M. Kinsella and Albena Ivanisevic, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry at Purdue.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) has an overall negative charge, so it might be used in a process called self-assembly to create electronic devices. When placed in a solution with magnetic particles that have a positive charge, the particles are automatically attracted to the DNA strands, which act as tiny scaffolds for creating wires.

Other researchers have "metalised" DNA by coating it with copper, gold and platinum, but no other researchers have coated DNA and then cut the strands into smaller pieces using a restriction enzyme, a class of enzyme that causes DNA to fragment, Kinsella said.