Patent ID: 6741956
Filing Date: 2004-05-25
Classification: B01J,B82Y,C12Q,C40B

Abstract:
An analog, oligomer-based method for determining a mathematical result of carrying out an operation of vector or matrix algebra on input data,wherein single-stranded oligomers Ei and Ei are a subset of all single-stranded oligomers and are each in 1:1 correspondence with the basis vectors ei, =1, 2, . . . m in an abstract m-dimensional vector space; wherein a set of the oligomers Ei and Ei represents an m-component vector V=&Sgr;iViei, wherein the Ei and Ei oligomers have complementary nucleotide sequences, with the Ei oligomers representing the i-th component of V for which the amplitude Vi is positive, and the Ei oligomers representing the i-th component of V for which Vi is negative; and wherein the concentration of each of the oligomers Ei or Ei is proportional to the absolute value of the amplitude Vi of the i-th component of V, the method comprising the steps of (1) obtaining a composition comprising at least one set of single-stranded oligomers Ei and Ei representing the components of a vector, said composition comprising an oligomer representing a vector component with a positive amplitude and also comprising an oligomer representing a vector component with a negative amplitude, wherein the concentrations of the oligomers Ei or Ei in the composition are proportional to the absolute values of the amplitudes of the components they represent, which composition represents input data; and (2) subjecting said composition to at least one physical or chemical treatment having an effect on said oligomers in said composition that is an analog representation of an operation of vector or matrix algebra, and (3) detecting the effect of said treatment on said oligomers in said composition to determine the analog result of carrying out said operation of vector or matrix algebra on said input data; wherein said analog result of carrying out said operation of vector or matrix algebra on said input data is quantitatively dependent on the concentrations of said at least one set of single-stranded oligomers Ei and Ei in said composition.