A research team in Shenzhen has built a working “cassette tape” that stores files as synthetic DNA on a polyester‑nylon tape, with a theoretical capacity that could dwarf today’s magnetic cartridges.
Who Built It, And What Is It?
Scientists led by Professor Xingyu Jiang at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), with collaborators including Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, have designed a compact tape and an automated drive that writes, protects, indexes and retrieves DNA‑encoded files. Their peer‑reviewed paper in Science Advances describes a barcoded membrane tape with hundreds of thousands of addressable partitions, an on‑tape chemical process to encapsulate DNA for long life, and a drive that handles file addressing, recovery and redeposition.
In tests, the team deposited 156.6 kilobytes across four image fragments and successfully reconstructed the full image. The system achieved up to 1,570 partitions per second and created more than 545,000 addressable partitions per 1,000 metres of tape.
Why?
With global data creation expected to reach hundreds of zettabytes by the end of the decade, traditional storage technologies are starting to fall behind in terms of density, durability and efficiency. DNA, on the other hand, offers enormous potential, able to store vast amounts of information in a very small space, with the ability to remain stable for hundreds of years without electricity. This makes it particularly suited to long-term cold storage of archival data.
Not A New Idea
It should be noted here that DNA storage itself is not new. For example, Microsoft and the University of Washington demonstrated the first automated DNA write‑and‑read system in 2019. Startups such as Catalog have also explored ways to make the process faster and more affordable.
What’s So Different About This System?
What sets the SUSTech team’s work apart is the physical format and indexing system, i.e. a roll of membrane tape with barcodes acting as folders and file locations, plus a compact drive that can retrieve and rewrite specific partitions automatically. The idea is to turn DNA storage into something that functions more like a conventional tape library.
How The “Cassette” Works
The tape is actually made from a polyester‑nylon composite. Researchers print black hydrophobic bars and white hydrophilic spaces that form barcodes using a Code‑128 pattern. These barcodes are read by the device’s optical system and used to locate individual files.
To store data, synthetic DNA strands are deposited onto selected partitions and bound using DNA “handles” that have been chemically attached to the tape. A metal-organic protective coating is then applied using zinc ions and 2‑methylimidazole. This Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (ZIF) protects the DNA but can be removed in seconds when the file is needed. The DNA is then released, amplified and sequenced.
According to the team, the system currently supports around 74.7 gigabytes of actual data per kilometre, with a theoretical capacity of over 360 petabytes per kilometre if losses are eliminated.
Capacity Is Huge, But Speed Isn’t There Yet
While the capacity potential is impressive, it seems that performance remains slow. For example, in one demonstration, it took two and a half hours to recover four image files. The researchers believe this could be reduced to 47 minutes with improved parallel processing, but that still lags far behind existing tape technologies.
For comparison, an LTO‑9 cartridge can store up to 45 terabytes of compressed data and transfer it at hundreds of megabytes per second. By contrast, current DNA tape tests managed only around 75 gigabytes per kilometre, with recovery times measured in hours. This confirms the system is still at the research stage and not ready for large-scale deployment.
Density and Shelf Life Are Key Benefits
What makes the cassette system particularly promising is its density and long shelf life. DNA can retain data for centuries when protected, and the ZIF coating developed by the team allows that protection to be switched on and off quickly.
In accelerated ageing tests, the coated tape remained readable after six weeks at 70°C in humid conditions, whereas uncoated samples failed. The barcode indexing system also allows for targeted access and replacement of individual partitions without affecting the rest of the tape.
How It Compares To Other DNA Storage Approaches
Most current DNA storage approaches use particles, microfluidic chips or benchtop sequencers to handle file storage and retrieval. By contrast, the SUSTech system aims for scalability and automation. It converts a flat surface into a rollable medium, uses a mechanical head to dip partitions into reagents, and enables physical file management using barcodes.
However, the trade‑off here is speed. DNA reading and writing still depend on slow chemical and sequencing steps. Also, synthesis costs remain high, making the technology uncompetitive with tape for frequently accessed data.
Three Key Features
All things considered, three features of this system really stand out. These are:
1. Its high addressability. In other words, the system can store lots of separate files very close together on the tape (500,000 partitions per kilometre), and it can quickly find and access any specific file (1,570 files accessed per second).
2. The ability to erase and redeposit data on a single partition, replacing over 99 per cent of previous content.
3. The rapid ZIF-based protection system, which allows for stable long-term storage and quick decapsulation when needed, i.e. the protective layer can be quickly removed to access the data.
Who Will Use It?
If developed further, the system could be valuable for deep-archive use, where data must be stored securely for long periods without frequent access. For example, sectors such as media, finance, research and government already manage large volumes of rarely accessed data and could benefit from lower storage footprints and energy usage.
However, UK organisations also face strict data governance requirements. For example, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) states: “Holding personal data for too long can be as much a risk as not holding it long enough.” This means that any transition to ultra-dense media must still support data deletion, access control, and documented retention schedules.
Guidance
The ICO’s guidance is clear in this case, i.e. : “You must regularly review the data you are holding, and delete anything you no longer need.” These rules apply regardless of the storage format.
For UK businesses, that means DNA storage must still meet all the requirements of GDPR. Organisations must be able to demonstrate that personal data is held only for as long as necessary, can be retrieved when required, and can be permanently erased when it is no longer needed.
Key Numbers (With Context)
The research team behind the new system estimates a theoretical storage capacity of 362 petabytes per kilometre, which would equal around 375 petabytes on a cartridge the same size as current LTO‑9 media. To put this in context, a petabyte is about 1 million gigabytes, which is roughly equivalent to 250,000 HD movies, or 500 billion pages of standard text.
However, in practice, the system currently delivers just 74.7 gigabytes per kilometre, with slow recovery speeds. The difference between theoretical potential and real-world performance remains significant.
What Next?
Obvious next steps, therefore, include improving the input bandwidth of the system, i.e. ways to write more DNA in parallel, and integrating DNA synthesis directly onto the tape. Other teams are also reportedly working on cheaper synthesis methods and faster access technologies.
Rather than replacing tape, the cassette model from Shenzhen may, therefore, serve as a longer-term complement, packaged in a familiar form, but offering much greater density over time.
Challenges
As with all emerging storage technologies, there are some key challenges. Speed remains the biggest issue, with write and read operations still taking minutes or hours. Costs are also high, and reliable large-scale synthesis is still pretty much out of reach.
Safety and supply chain concerns will also need addressing, given the use of chemicals and lab‑grade processes. Crucially, there are some essential governance and compliance issues to take note of. As the ICO guidance makes clear, any future DNA-based system must allow for secure access, reliable deletion, and transparent oversight, regardless of how much data it can store.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Although this DNA cassette system is clearly not yet ready for commercial rollout, the core concept appears to demonstrate a clear step forward in how molecular storage could one day function at scale. The ability to automate writing, protect data on tape, and target individual partitions for retrieval or replacement is a notable change from lab-bound DNA experiments and towards integrated, physical storage devices.
For businesses in the UK and beyond, the long-term potential lies in highly durable, ultra-dense archives that demand little energy and minimal physical space. Sectors with growing compliance and retention requirements, such as financial services, life sciences and government records, will be watching closely. However, the cost of synthesis, the slow speed of read and write operations, and the reliance on specialised reagents and hardware mean that DNA media is still some way from practical deployment.
From a governance perspective, no format is exempt from data protection duties. The ICO’s guidance is unambiguous on that point. Any move towards alternative media, including DNA, must still support secure access, effective data minimisation, and provable erasure in line with UK GDPR. For organisations weighing up future options, the cassette format may prove useful, but only if it integrates cleanly with legal and operational frameworks already in place.
In short, for now, this is a promising development with strong technical foundations and clear use case potential in cold storage. What happens next will depend on how quickly the underlying processes can be refined and how well the technology can be aligned with real-world business needs.