DPC Technology - Overview

DNA-Programmed Chemistry™ ( DPC™) is a patented method employing DNA to control chemical reactions. Originally developed by Professor David Liu at Harvard University, DPC reactions occur between pairs of chemical building blocks attached to complementary DNA strands. Under mild aqueous conditions, specific hybridization of the DNA strands brings the building blocks into close proximity, increasing their relative concentration by a factor of  >10,000. This hybridization also controls reaction stoichiometry and lowers energies of activation, thus driving highly specific reactions. The specificity achieved by DPC is analogous to single turnover enzyme catalysis. Applications of DPC include synthesis of diverse chemical libraries, discovery of new chemical reactions, and in situ generation of signal-emitting compounds for use in biodetection applications.

DNA-Programmed Chemistry

The value of DPC is the ability to program chemical reactions:

  • DNA strand sequence identifies every reactant and product
  • Hybridization ensures selectivity of reaction

To learn more about DPC Technology:

Program, n:
A series of coded instructions which…automatically direct…a specific task (Oxford English Dictionary)

The value of DPC lies in the ability to control chemical reactivity through Programming:

  • Every chemical reactant and product is identified by a specific DNA tag
  • DNA hybridization drives chemical reactions and guarantees selectivity of reaction

 

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