Social DNA Nanorobots

We describe social DNA nanorobots, which are autonomous mobile DNA devices that execute a series of pair-wise interactions between simple individual DNA nanorobots, causing a desired overall outcome behavior for the group of nanorobots which can be relatively complex. We present various designs for social DNA nanorobots that walk over a 2D nanotrack and collectively exhibit various programmed behaviors. These employ only hybridization and strand-displacement reactions, without use of enzymes. The novel behaviors of social DNA nanorobots designed here include: (i) Self-avoiding random walking, where a group of DNA nanorobots randomly walk on a 2D nanotrack and avoid the locations visited by themselves or any other DNA nanorobots. (ii) Flocking, where a group of DNA nanorobots follow the movements of a designated leader DNA nanorobot, and (iii) Voting by assassination, a process where there are originally two unequal size groups of DNA nanorobots; when pairs of DNA nanorobots from distinct groups collide, one or the other will be assassinated (by getting detached from the 2D nanotrack and diffusing into the solution away from the 2D nanotrack); eventually all members of the smaller groups of DNA nanorobots are assassinated with high likelihood. To simulate our social DNA nanorobots, we used a surface-based CRN simulator.

Duke Scholars

Author John H. Reif Computer Science