DNA based algorithms for some scheduling problems

Abstract

DNA computing is an alternative approach to performing computations. In general it is possible to design a series of biochemical experiments involving DNA molecules which is equivalent to making transformations of information. In classical computing devices electronic logical gates are elements which allow for storing and transforming information. Designing of an appropriate sequence or a net of "store" and "transform" operations (in a sense of building a device or writing a program) is equivalent to preparing some computations. In DNA computing the situation is analogous, and the main difference is that instead of electronic gates DNA molecules are used for storing and transforming information. From this follows that the set of basic operations is different in comparison to electronic devices but the results of using them may be similar. In this paper DNA based algorithms for solving some single machine with limited availability scheduling problems are presented. To our best knowledge it is the first attempt to solve scheduling problems by molecular algorithms. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003.