A team of researchers has developed a biocomputing platform using enzymes as cofactors in DNA-based molecular computing. Scientists aim to use this technology to develop devices that travel within the patient's blood circulation for simultaneous diagnosis and treatment, along with many other medical applications.
Biocomputing is a field that combines computing and biosciences to develop computational tools to analyze and understand vital data, using artificial intelligence and big data analysis techniques to understand vital processes and develop new medical treatments and diagnoses.
The team created an electrical circuit from DNA inside the test tubes, and they announced the details of the study in a new paper published in the journal Nature Communications.
Trumpet platform features simple molecular biocomputing (University of Minnesota)
Biocomputing
Biocomputing technology is growing rapidly to meet new needs, such as data storage and autonomous systems manufacturing, and rapid progress in this area depends on the continuous research and development of bioprocessors to meet many needs.
Biocomputing is usually done with either living cells or non-living molecules, but one of the advantages of living cells of organisms such as bacteria is that they can feed themselves and self-heal, but it is difficult to redirect cells towards biocomputing.
Inanimate particles may solve some problems, but they send weak "output signals" that are difficult to control and regulate. Traditional computers are also limited in their ability to interact with living organs and cannot heal themselves in a natural way.
The term "output signals" refers to signals emitted from an electronic or electrical device and used to control other devices, and are used in many applications such as industrial automation, robotics, home appliances and many other applications.
Computerized implants require a steady supply of electricity and can cause scarring in soft tissues, which has hindered the development of medical devices for long periods, but through the use of biological molecules such as DNA or proteins, biocomputing can overcome those limitations.
Trombit platform
The team of researchers at the University of Minnesota developed the new biocomputing platform, which they called Trumpet, short for a long title.
The Trombit platform features simple molecular biocomputing with programmability, its platform is trusted to encrypt all logic gates, which are essential for programming languages, and the team has developed a web-based tool that facilitates the design of platform codes.
The platform uses biological enzymes as catalysts for DNA-based molecular computing. The researchers performed processes similar to those performed by all computers, in test tubes using DNA molecules.
The molecules are designed as an electronic circuit, and the positive gate connection leads to a phosphor glow, and the gate is an element that controls the flow of electric current in the circuit, and when the gate is open, the current does not pass in the circuit, while when it is closed it passes through it, in which case the DNA lights up, releasing a phosphorescent beam when the circuit is completed, just like a light bulb lights up when testing a circuit board.
Kate Adamala, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences and co-author of the study, said in a university press release that it is "a non-living molecular platform, so we don't face most living cell engineering issues."
The platform uses DNA-based molecular computing (Getty Images)
Huge potential for the future
The Trumpet system provides a new principle for biocomputing, and aims to fill the gap between simple biochemical logic and more autonomous living cell circuits with other technologies that provide comprehensive biocomputing solutions for innovative goals.
"While the platform is still in the early experimental stages, it has tremendous potential in the future, and uses can range from purely medical applications, such as healing damaged neural connections or controlling prosthetics, to more science fiction applications such as entertainment or learning and enhanced memory," Adamala said.
The Trumpet platform can be used for medical diagnostics and complex therapies within the body. For example, a biological circuit can detect low insulin levels in a diabetic patient and activate proteins to make the desired insulin.
The platform is used to develop biomedical applications for early diagnosis of cancer, and to provide diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases. The applications of this platform can also be included to operate a type of device that is accurate and small enough to be injected into the patient's bloodstream, and the implementation of many future applications such as increasing human memory, so this technology has the potential to revolutionize the future of medicine and computers.