Voltage addressable nanomemories in DNA?

Short single-stranded DNA (or RNA) molecules can be designed to have several long lived (> hours) secondary structures. In principle, such molecules could be used as nanomemories if they could be easily induced to switch between trapped states. We propose here that the necessary work required to drive the molecule into one particular trapped state can be provided by its own synthesis. Following this idea, we argue that a low voltage (<1 V) may induce a bistable DNA molecule to switch structure at will, by forcing it to thread through a nanopore and refold alternatively from either of its ends. To cite this article: H. Isambert, C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 391–396.