R&D: Emerging Preservation Materials for Long-Term DNA-Based Data Storage

Chemical Engineering Journal has published an article written by Qiannan Huang, Jian Duan, School of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, China, and Institute of Medical Chips, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, Min Xi, Shifang Fe, Sijia Xie, Institute of Medical Chips, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, Chunrui Hu, School of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, China, Chang Chen, School of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, China, Institute of Medical Chips, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, and State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China, and Zheng Deng, Institute of Medical Chips, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.

Abstract: “DNA is deemed an emerging data storage medium due to its extremely high theoretical storage density. However, DNA is susceptible to environmental factors, which hamper data fidelity. Encapsulating DNA into functional preservation materials has been demonstrated as a reliable method for long-term DNA-based data storage, which shows several advantages (e.g., high volume density, energy-saving, lower price, and more convenience) over traditional cryopreservation. Preservation material is the key to achieving long-term DNA-based data storage. Herein, this review provides an overview of the material strategies for DNA preservation over the past decade. Four categories of materials, including organic polymer materials, inorganic nonmetallic materials, organic–inorganic hybrid materials, and organism materials, which contain more than twenty functional materials in total, are summarized in this review. A detailed evaluation of the preservation efficiency over the data density, half-live, and stability in different conditions is provided. Besides, our perspectives on challenges and future directions of DNA preservation using functional materials are presented. This review will inspire more practical and reliable preservation materials for long-term DNA-based data storage and promote the fantastic DNA-based data storage technology into reality soon.“