On DNA-based gellular automata

Abstract

We propose the notion of gellular automata and their possible implementations using DNA-based gels. Gellular automata are a kind of cellular automaton in which cells in space are separated by gel materials. Each cell contains a solution with designed chemical reactions whose products dissolve or construct gel walls separating the cells. We first introduce the notion of gellular automata and their computational models. We then give examples of gellular automata and show that computational universality is achieved through the implementation of rotary elements by gellular automata. We finally examine general strategies for implementing gellular automata using DNA-based gels and report results of preliminary experiments. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.