Dynamic Operations in Macromolecular Data Storage

In recent years, numerous concepts have been reported for storing data on molecules, either small molecule mixtures, oligomer libraries or polymers. In the latter case, binary information is stored in a controlled monomer sequence. This can be achieved in biological polymers such as DNA but also in a variety of synthetic macromolecules. However, most existing approaches focus on passive "cold" storage, in which macromolecules serve as static archives. This minireview explores recent advances in reconfigurable macromolecular storage, highlighting strategies for erasing, rewriting, computing, repairing, or sorting-out binary-encoded macromolecules. All these options are discussed herein for both natural and synthetic polymers.