Concept transfer - From genetic instruction to molecular logic

This review describes the advances made in utilizing the unique recognition and structural characteristics of DNA to perform Boolean algebra using complex logic functions such as AND, XOR, NAND and INHIBIT based on chemical or photonic inputs. A comparison of these results to the action of novel 12-mer antisense peptide nucleic acid (PNA) constructs targeting the AMPA receptor in live motor neuron hybrids (NSC34) is made. In this case, a NOT function is displayed through down-regulation of the GluR3 subunit, a result that impedes other cellular chemical processes. The consequence of cellular logic based on chemical inputs such as PNAs and their utilization as whole-cell machines whose biological output is chemical input-dependent is discussed briefly.