Scientists preserve DNA in amber-like polymer: Method could be used for long-term storage of genomes or digital data

In the movie "Jurassic Park," scientists extracted DNA that had been preserved in amber for millions of years, and used it to create a population of long-extinct dinosaurs.

Inspired partly by that film, MIT researchers have developed a glassy, amber-like polymer that can be used for long-term storage of DNA, whether entire human genomes or digital files such as photos.

Most current methods for storing DNA require freezing temperatures, so they consume a great deal of energy and are not feasible in many parts of the world. In contrast, the new amber-like polymer can store DNA at room temperature while protecting the molecules from damage caused by heat or water.

The researchers showed that they could use this polymer to store DNA sequences encoding the theme music from Jurassic Park, as well as an entire human genome. They also demonstrated that the DNA can be easily removed from the polymer without damaging it.

"Freezing DNA is the number one way to preserve it, but it's very expensive, and it's not scalable," says James Banal, a former MIT postdoc. "I think our new preservation method is going to be a technology that may drive the future of storing digital information on DNA."

Banal and Jeremiah Johnson, the A. Thomas Geurtin Professor of Chemistry at MIT, are the senior authors of the study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Former MIT postdoc Elizabeth Prince and MIT postdoc Ho Fung Cheng are the lead authors of the paper.

Capturing DNA

DNA, a very stable molecule, is well-suited for storing massive amounts of information, including digital data. Digital storage systems encode text, photos, and other kinds of information as a series of 0s and 1s. This same information can be encoded in DNA using the four nucleotides that make up the genetic code: A, T, G, and C. For example, G and C could be used to represent 0 while A and T represent 1.

DNA offers a way to store this digital information at very high density: In theory, a coffee mug full of DNA could store all of the world's data. DNA is also very stable and relatively easy to synthesize and sequence.

In 2021, Banal and his postdoc advisor, Mark Bathe, an MIT professor of biological engineering, developed a way to store DNA in particles of silica, which could be labeled with tags that revealed the particles' contents. That work led to a spinout called Cache DNA.

One downside to that storage system is that it takes several days to embed DNA into the silica particles. Furthermore, removing the DNA from the particles requires hydrofluoric acid, which can be hazardous to workers handling the DNA.

To come up with alternative storage materials, Banal began working with Johnson and members of his lab. Their idea was to use a type of polymer known as a degradable thermoset, which consists of polymers that form a solid when heated. The material also includes cleavable links that can be easily broken, allowing the polymer to be degraded in a controlled way.