A parallel DNA algorithm using a microfluidic device to build scheduling grids

Abstract

Microfluidic systems, which constitute a miniaturization of a conventional laboratory to the dimensions of a chip, are expected to become the key support for a revolution in the world of biology and chemistry. This article proposes a parallel algorithm that uses DNA and such a distributed microfluidic device to generate scheduling grids in polynomial time. Rather than taking a brute force approach, the algorithm presented here uses concatenation and separation operations to gradually build the DNA strings that represent a Multiprocessor Task scheduling problem grids. The microfluidic device used makes for an autonomous system, also enabling it to solve the problem without the need of external control. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.