The Postdoc research under Professor John Reif’s supervision will explore applications of DNA computing and DNA nanostructures towards medically-relevant nanodevices. Localized DNA computing architectures have greatly improved the reaction rate of DNA computing reactions. Spatial organization is a significant principle in driving natural biomolecular processes. However, such processes also possess methods to signal between clusters of compartmentalized processes, something which remains lacking in DNA computing architectures. The research will include an investigation into extensions of localized DNA computing architectures across multiple surfaces and the design of signal complexes required to coordinate their activity. The research will include using bionanotechnology-based strategies of producing shaped metallic nanoparticles with unique, shape-dependent photonic signatures. This research will rely on the shape programmability of DNA nanostructures to function as a mold to template the seeded growth synthesis of gold or silver nanoparticles. This research will investigate the potential of such strategies to consistently generate shaped nanoparticles of sizes and shapes that have not been previously possible, thereby broadening the availability of photonic biosensor tags and reducing the need for yield-reducing filtration to isolate specific shapes and sizes of unconstrained, timed growth strategies.
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