Enhancing Physical and Thermodynamic Properties of DNA Storage Sets With End-Constraint

With the explosion of data, DNA is considered as an ideal carrier for storage due to its high storage density. However, low-quality DNA sets hamper the widespread use of DNA storage. This work proposes a new method to design high-quality DNA storage sets. Firstly, random switch and double-weight offspring strategies are introduced in Double-strategy Black Widow Optimization Algorithm (DBWO). Experimental results of 26 benchmark functions show that the exploration and exploitation abilities of DBWO are greatly improved from previous work. Secondly, DBWO is applied in designing DNA storage sets, and compared with previous work, the lower bounds of storage sets are boosted by 9%–37%. Finally, to improve the poor stabilities of sequences, the End-constraint is proposed in designing DNA storage sets. By measuring the number of hairpin structures, melting temperature, and minimum free energy, it is evaluated that with our innovative constraint, DBWO can construct not only a larger number of storage sets, but also enhance physical and thermodynamic properties of DNA storage sets.