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arXiv · 2211.15494

Automated Routing of Droplets for DNA Storage on a Digital Microfluidics Platform

Ajay Manicka·Andrew Stephan·Sriram Chari·Gemma Mendonsa·Peyton Okubo·John Stolzberg-Schray·Anil Reddy·Marc Riedel
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Abstract

Technologies for sequencing (reading) and synthesizing (writing) DNA have progressed on a Moore's law-like trajectory over the last three decades. This has motivated the idea of using DNA for data storage. Theoretically, DNA-based storage systems could out-compete all existing forms of archival storage. However, a large gap exists between what is theoretically possible in terms of read and write speeds and what has been practically demonstrated with DNA. This paper introduces a novel approach to DNA storage, with automated assembly on a digital microfluidic biochip. This technology offers unprecedented parallelism in DNA assembly using a dual library of "symbols" and "linkers". An algorithmic solution is discussed for the problem of managing droplet traffic on the device, with prioritized three-dimensional "A*" routing. An overview is given of the software that was developed for routing a large number of droplets in parallel on the device, minimizing congestion and maximizing throughput.

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Ajay Manicka, Andrew Stephan, Sriram Chari, Gemma Mendonsa, Peyton Okubo, John Stolzberg-Schray, Anil Reddy, Marc Riedel. 2023-07-05. Automated Routing of Droplets for DNA Storage on a Digital Microfluidics Platform. https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.15494

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