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Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Plasmid-derived DNA Strand Displacement Gates for Implementing Chemical Reaction Networks
Published on: November 25, 2015
Genetic switches based on nucleic acid strand displacement
Tianhe Wang1, Henning Hellmer1, Friedrich C Simmel1
1Physics of Synthetic Biological Systems - E14, Physics Department and ZNN, Technische Universität München, Am Coulombwall 4a, 85748 Garching, Germany.
Abstract:
Toehold-mediated strand displacement (TMSD) is an isothermal switching process that enables the sequence-programmable and reversible conversion of DNA or RNA strands between single- and double-stranded conformations or other secondary structures. TMSD processes have already found widespread application in DNA nanotechnology, where they are used to drive DNA-based molecular devices or for the realization of synthetic biochemical computing circuits. Recently, researchers have started to employ TMSD also for the control of RNA-based gene regulatory processes in vivo, in particular in the context of synthetic riboregulators and conditional guide RNAs for CRISPR/Cas. Here, we provide a review over recent developments in this emerging field and discuss the opportunities and challenges for such systems in in vivo applications.
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