scadnano: A browser-based, scriptable tool for designing DNA nanostructures

TL;DR

scadnano is a browser-based, scriptable tool for designing DNA nanostructures that enhances accessibility and automation compared to traditional software, with a focus on ease of use and extensibility.

Contribution

It introduces a web-based, scriptable DNA design tool with a human-readable format, expanding capabilities beyond DNA origami and simplifying workflows.

Findings

Runs entirely in the browser, no installation needed

Provides a Python scripting library for automation

Supports a broader range of DNA structures

Abstract

We introduce $\textit{scadnano}$ (https://scadnano.org) (short for "scriptable cadnano"), a computational tool for designing synthetic DNA structures. Its design is based heavily on cadnano, the most widely-used software for designing DNA origami, with three main differences: 1. scadnano runs entirely in the browser, with $\textit{no software installation}$ required. 2. scadnano designs, while they can be edited manually, can also be created and edited by a $\textit{well-documented Python scripting library}$, to help automate tedious tasks. 3. The scadnano file format is $\textit{easily human-readable}$. This goal is closely aligned with the scripting library, intended to be helpful when debugging scripts or interfacing with other software. The format is also somewhat more expressive than that of cadnano, able to describe a broader range of DNA structures than just DNA origami.