Discussion

Recent experimental work has confirmed the feasibility of interfacing synthetic circuits based on DNA strand displacement with mammalian cellular environments. In this talk, I will discuss the use of abstract chemical reaction networks (CRNs) as a modelling and design framework for the implementation of computing and control circuits using enzyme-free, entropy driven DNA reactions. I outline recent progress in this area with regard to computing fundamental mathematical operators and more complex information processing and control circuits that could form the building blocks of synthetic systems for disease diagnosis and treatment. I will also present a new mechanistic model of site specific DNA recombination and discuss its use in the design of reversible control switches for T cell based cancer therapies.