Nanotechnology – Introduction to Molecular Programming

About

Molecular programming is a multidisciplinary field that combines physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. This summer course introduces the future of computing and nanotechnology for anyone interested in the field.

You’ll learn how the behaviour of physical matter can be “programmed” using biological building blocks such as DNA, RNA, and proteins. These molecules can be designed to assemble, disassemble, heal, adapt, and even communicate with their environment.

Instead of using electricity like traditional computers, this new form of computing operates through chemistry. In chemical computers, information is encoded in molecules, often via changes in their concentrations. Because the outputs of these systems are themselves molecules, chemical computers can directly influence physical materials. This allows them to power soft robotics, guide tissue growth, or control the release of therapeutic drugs.

Additionally, chemical computers can interface with the outside world. They can sense and respond to environmental cues such as light, heat, and electrical or magnetic fields

Course leader

Joonas Ryssy

Target group

This course is suitable for bachelor's and master's students with a basic understanding of chemistry and physics.

Requirement: one (1) year minimum of bachelor studies in some STEM field, physics, chemistry, computer science, or biology. The ideal student would have done at least the basic STEM courses.

Participants must have completed a high school or vocational degree or equivalent by the time the course starts. However, they do not have to be a degree student at a university to participate in our courses.

Additionally, all summer school course students must be 18 years or older, as it is the legal age in Finland

Course aim

After completing the course, students will have knowledge of the building blocks of self-assembled systems for building chemical computers, and the tools to design such systems further. The students will understand dynamic self-assembled systems, such as DNA-based soft robotics and nucleic acid-based chemical reaction networks.

Some of the subtopics covered:

Basic biology and thermodynamics

Introduction to experimental methods

Molecules as building blocks and construction material

Nucleic acid sequence design, hybridization, and dissociation principles

Programming of self-assembled structures

Interaction with external stimuli

Basic chemical reaction networks

Nucleic acid-based circuits

The use of nucleic acids in therapeutics

Fee info