DNA has emerged as an attractive medium for archival data storage due to its durability and high information density. Scalable parallel random access to information is a desirable property of any storage system. For DNA-based storage systems, however, this still needs to be robustly established. Here we report on a thermoconfined polymerase chain reaction, which enables multiplexed, repeated random access to compartmentalized DNA files. The strategy is based on localizing biotin-functionalized oligonucleotides inside thermoresponsive, semipermeable microcapsules. At low temperatures, microcapsules are permeable to enzymes, primers and amplified products, whereas at high temperatures, membrane collapse prevents molecular crosstalk during amplification. Our data show that the platform outperforms non-compartmentalized DNA storage compared with repeated random access and reduces amplification bias tenfold during multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Using fluorescent sorting, we also demonstrate sample pooling and data retrieval by microcapsule barcoding. Therefore, the thermoresponsive microcapsule technology offers a scalable, sequence-agnostic approach for repeated random access to archival DNA files.

Colloid Supported lipid bilayer membrane fluidity is dependent on the amount of lipopolymers incorporated for stabilization. Beyond a threshold mol fraction of lipopolymers, lateral mobility is significantly reduced due to heterogeneity.

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Silica materials attract an increasing amount of interest in (fundamental) research, and find applications in, for example, sensing, catalysis, and drug delivery.A st he properties of these (nano)materials not only depend on their chemistry but also their size, shape,a nd surface area, the controllable synthesis of silica is essential for tailoringt he materials to specific applications. Advantageously,b ioinspired routes for silica production are environmentally friendly ands traightforward since the formation process is spontaneousa nd proceeds under mild conditions. These strategies mostly employ amine-bearing phosphorylated (bio)polymers. In this work, we expand this principle to supramolecular polymers based on the water-soluble cationic cyanine dye Pinacyanol acetate. Upon assembly in water, these dye molecules form large, polyaminated, supramolecular fibers.T he surfaces of these fibers can be used as ascaffold for the condensation of silicic acid. Controlo ver the ionic strength, dye concentration, and silicic acid saturation yielded silica fibers with ad iameter of 25 nm and as ingle, 4nmp ore. Unexpectedly,o ther unusual superstructures, namely,n ummulites and spherulites, are also observed depending on the ionic strength and dye concentration.T ransmission and scanning electronm icroscopy (TEM and SEM) showedt hat these superstructures are formed by aligned silica fibers. Close examination of the dye scaffold prior silicification using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and UV/Vis spectroscopy revealed minor influence of the ionic strength and dye concentration on the morphologyo ft he supramolecular scaffold.T otal internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) during silicification unraveledt hat if the reaction is kept under static conditions, only silica fibers are obtained. Experiments performed on the dye scaffold and silica superstructures evidenced that the marked structurald iversity originates from the arrangemento fs ilica/dye fibers. Under these mild conditions, external force fields can profoundly influence the morphologyo ft he produced silica.