Imagine a hard drive made of biological molecules instead of silicon. Instead of using electricity and heat, it uses enzymes to write and read data at room temperature. It even uses proteins from nature's toughest organisms to keep the information from decaying over time.
Digital data is growing faster than current storage hardware can sustainably handle. Existing DNA storage is mostly 'cold storage,' meaning it is too slow and static for practical, real-time data access.
A Solid Phase Molecular Drive (SPMD) using polystyrene beads and a specific strand architecture for isothermal data writing, reading, and deleting.
If you are a data center provider dealing with the massive energy costs of maintaining legacy archives — this project developed a solid-state biological storage device that operates at 37°C. This reduces the need for expensive temperature cycling and lowers long-term maintenance costs.
If you are a biotech firm dealing with static genetic libraries that cannot be easily updated — this project developed an in vivo storage solution using bacteriophages. This allows for dynamic data operations and random access to information stored directly inside bacteria.
If you are a security agency dealing with the risk of digital data degradation over decades — this project developed a stabilization strategy using extremophile-derived molecules. This ensures the long-term stability of stored information in both lab and living environments.
The system uses isothermal reactions that do not exceed 37°C, eliminating the need for costly and energy-intensive temperature cycling.
Based on available project data, the project has established a polystyrene-based solid-phase support, but industrial-scale manufacturing metrics are not yet provided.
Based on available project data, the project has created a new strand design and refined the SPMD, but specific patent or licensing terms are not listed.
Data is managed through enzymatic reactions and nucleic acid strands, allowing for specific write, delete, and read operations via unique Data ID sequences.
The project period runs from 2023-10-01 to 2028-09-30, suggesting the technology is currently in the development and proof-of-concept phase.
The project is led by a single academic partner, Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. With 0% industry participation and a total of 1 partner, the project is currently driven by fundamental research rather than commercial partnerships, indicating a high-risk, high-reward early-stage development profile.
Contact the research office at Karolinska Institutet regarding the DURA-store project.
Contact SciTransfer to identify industrial partners for scaling this biological storage prototype.
