Dna Digital-storage: Advantages, Approach and Technical Implementation

The data generated in science, technology and general life is increasing every year. A data volume of over 126 zetabytes of digital data is already being generated and replicated worldwide. A data volume of over 284 zetabytes is forecast for 2027 [1]. The storage and archiving of data therefore lead to increasing challenges regarding the data management in terms of long-term storage, rapid data retrieval and, above all, archiving the data. This article presents the possibility of using synthetic DNA molecules for digital DNA storage as a promising storage medium. The special properties of DNA and why these special features make it so attractive as a storage medium will be described [7], [10], [11]. DNA sequencing and thus the determination of the nucleotide sequence in a DNA molecule are also explained. The digital data is translated (encoding) and synthesized into the DNA. Special algorithm are necessary to translate the data in to DNA. Storage of the DNA is carried out either in vivo or in vitro. Through subsequent sequencing, the DNA can then be read out again and translated back into a digital file (decoding). Concerning the long-term storage 1000 years can be achieved. In contradiction to this, the storage on devices like SSDs, USB sticks and SD cards is for a securely data storage around ten to 30 years. For long-time storage HDD is proposed under regular maintenance with the recommendation to refresh the data on an external hard drive every two to a maximum of three years. Furthermore, the technology of Lab-on-a-chip applications in terms of DNA sequencing (f.i. X-FAB), as well as the costs of this new technology will be discussed.