Surfactant-Directed DNA Compaction and β-Cyclodextrin-Driven Decompaction for Next-Generation Data Storage

DNA-based data storage has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional storage technologies because of its high information density, the ability to replicate through polymerase chain reactions, and long-term stability over centuries. However, the development of physical storage media for DNA is still in its infancy, with none of the current solutions excelling in DNA loading capacity, stability, and handling. In this study, we investigated the potential of the DNA compaction and decompaction processes for data storage and retrieval. Two types of DNA─natural duplex salmon DNA (sDNA) and custom-designed synthetic DNA (synDNA)─were compacted using cationic surfactants (hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide or cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride or cetyltrimethylammonium chloride) and subsequently decompacted with β-cyclodextrin (2HP-β-CD). Our results demonstrate enhanced DNA stability and efficient data storage capabilities. Notably, accelerated aging experiments (under elevated temperature and humidity) showed that the compacted DNA could be recovered and retained in its original structure and information integrity, confirming the feasibility of our developed DNA-based data storage and retrieval technique.