Patent · US Expired

Deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA) optical storage using non-radiative energy transfer between a donor group, an acceptor group and a quencher group

US5787032A · kind A · utility

162Cited by
7References
39Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 10, 1994
Grant dateJul 28, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 10, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S977/943
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An optical memory system includes memory cells which utilize synthetic DNA as a component of the information storage mechanism. In the preferred embodiment, memory cells contain one or more chromophoric memory units attached to a support substrate. Each chromophoric memory unit comprises a donor, an acceptor and, at some time during its existence, an active quencher associated with the donor and/or the acceptor. The donor and the acceptor permit non-radiative energy transfer, preferably by Forster energy transfer. To write to the memory cell, the quencher is rendered inactive, preferably by illumination with ultraviolet light. To read, the chromophoric memory units in a read portal are illuminated, and the read illumination is detected. In the preferred embodiment, multiple chromophoric memory units having resolvable read properties are contained within a single read portal. In this way, a multibit word of data may be read from a single diffraction limited read portal. In one aspect of this invention, the read portal is subdivided into multiple write sub-locations, where each sub-location contains chromophoric memory units with acceptors which emit at spectrally resolvable colors. …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.