R&D: Emerging Approaches to DNA Storage, Challenges and Prospects

ACS Nano has published an article written by Andrea Doricchi, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, I-16163 Genova, Italy, and Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Genova, via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genova, Italy, Casey M. Platnich, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K., Andreas Gimpel, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland, Friederikee Horn, Technical University of Munich, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Munchen, Bayern, DE 80333, Germany, Max Earle, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K., German Lanzavecchia, Aitziber L. Cortajarena, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, I-16163 Genova, Italy, and Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, Università di Genova, via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genova, Italy, Luis M. Liz-Marzán, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland, Na Liu, Second Physics Institute, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany, and Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany, Reinhard Heckel, Technical University of Munich, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Munchen, Bayern, DE 80333, Germany, Robert N. Grass, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland, Roman Krahne, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, I-16163 Genova, Italy, Ulrich F. Keyser, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K., and Denis Garoli, Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CICbiomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo de Miramón 194, 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, and Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain.

Abstract: “With the total amount of worldwide data skyrocketing, the global data storage demand is predicted to grow to 1.75 × 10¹⁴ GB by 2025. Traditional storage methods have difficulties keeping pace given that current storage media have a maximum density of 10³ GB/mm³. As such, data production will far exceed the capacity of currently available storage methods. The costs of maintaining and transferring data, as well as the limited lifespans and significant data losses associated with current technologies also demand advanced solutions for information storage. Nature offers a powerful alternative through the storage of information that defines living organisms in unique orders of four bases (A, T, C, G) located in molecules called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA molecules as information carriers have many advantages over traditional storage media. Their high storage density, potentially low maintenance cost, ease of synthesis, and chemical modification make them an ideal alternative for information storage. To this end, rapid progress has been made over the past decade by exploiting user-defined DNA materials to encode information. In this review, we discuss the most recent advances of DNA-based data storage with a major focus on the challenges that remain in this promising field, including the current intrinsic low speed in data writing and reading and the high cost per byte stored. Alternatively, data storage relying on DNA nanostructures (as opposed to DNA sequence) as well as on other combinations of nanomaterials and biomolecules are proposed with promising technological and economic advantages. In summarizing the advances that have been made and underlining the challenges that remain, we provide a roadmap for the ongoing research in this rapidly growing field, which will enable the development of technological solutions to the global demand for superior storage methodologies.“