Materials Science of DNA

As interest continues to grow, DNA is expected to become focal to nanobiotechnology because of its structural and chemical characteristics. With chapters written by experts in their respective fields, this text chiefly focuses on the rapidly growing fields of nanoscience, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. It is the first to address the materials science facet of DNA, rather than its chemical, biochemical, or biological aspects. It includes tables, graphs, equations, and an ancillary CD-ROM to provide understanding of DNA and the great potential of this biopolymer as advanced material.

The field of materials science and technology has undergone revolutionary advances due to the development of novel analytical tools, functional materials, and multidisciplinary approaches to engineering. Additionally, theoretical predictions combined with increasingly improved models and computational capabilities are making impressive contributions to the progress of materials science and technology. In particular, the materials science of DNA has emerged as a vital area of research and is expected to immensely broaden the horizon of material science and nanotechnology in this century.

Materials Science of DNA highlights the most important subjects and perspectives in the field, with the aim of stimulating the interdisciplinary community and bringing this intensively interesting, emerging field of molecular-scale materials science to maturation. The editors have not only been involved in the research of materials science of DNA for the past decade, but also lead the series of International Biotronics Workshops supported by the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

Biotechnology and DNA-based biopolymers are not only applicable for genomic sequencing and clinical diagnosis and treatment, but can also have a major impact on nonbiotech applications—such as electronics and photonics— opening up a whole new field for bioengineering. New concepts and insights gained from DNA research are expected to prove genuinely useful in a variety of devices in nano, micro, and macro dimensions in the future. Where silicon has been the building block of inorganic electronics and photonics, DNA holds promise to become the building block for organic electronics and photonics.