DNA circuits driven by conformational changes in DNAzyme recognition arms

Abstract

DNA computing plays an important role in nanotechnology due to the unique programmability and parallelism of DNA molecules. As an important tool to realize DNA computation, various logic computing devices have great application potential. The application of DNAzyme makes the achievements in the field of logical computing more diverse. In order to improve the efficiency of the logical units run by DNAzyme, we proposed a strategy to regulate the DNA circuit by the conformational change of the E6-type DNAzyme recognition arms driven by Mg²⁺. This strategy changes the single mode of DNAzyme signal transmission, extends the functions of E6-type DNAzyme, and saves the time of signal transmission in the molecular scale. To verify the feasibility of this strategy, first, we constructed DNA logic gates (YES, OR, and AND). Second, we cascade different logic gates (YES–YES, YES–AND) to prove the scalability. Finally, a self-catalytic DNA circuit is established. Through the experimental results, we verified that this DNAzyme regulation strategy relatively reduces the cost of logic circuits to some extent and significantly increases the reaction rate, and can also be used to indicate the range of Mg²⁺ concentrations. This research strategy provides new thinking for logical computing and explores new directions for detection and biosensors.