Photolithographic synthesis is a highly scalable and cost-effective method for large-scale DNA synthesis. It can produce extensive DNA libraries at a low cost, with current systems capable of synthesizing 2 million unique 100mers for about 100 Euros every 3 hours. Despite its advantages, photolithographic synthesis faces significant challenges due to high error rates, especially at increased synthesis densities. These errors primarily result from optical effects such as diffraction and scattering of light. However, in data storage applications, coding and information reconstruction strategies can compensate for these high error rates. The DiDAX project aims to address these challenges by optimizing synthesis density and improving photo/chemistry.
Additionally, the project will develop advanced encoding and decoding techniques to further mitigate errors, resulting in significant cost reductions. By understanding and quantifying error rates as a function of synthesis density and other parameters, DiDAX seeks to enhance the efficiency and feasibility of DNA-based data storage, making it a viable and affordable option for the future.