DNA - the fascinating biomacromolecule in optoelectronics and photonics applications

Taking into account the global situation regarding environmental pollution, the use of natural resources must be one of the priorities of scientists to find clean technologies for the development of materials with new and interesting properties. Thus, bio-residues can be used as a source of extraction of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) - the fascinating and the "smartest" biomolecule. This paper presents a brief survey of the nongenetic properties of DNA and the advances of its applications in optoelectronics and photonics, in the last twelve years. This fascinating biomaterial should be more and better exploited in the field of optoelectronics and photonics. An analysis of the studies from the last twelve years shows a growing interest in the DNA use in these fields, which, however, is still in infancy and therefore, not fully exploited as it deserves. Finally, this paper points out some challenges and perspectives of DNA applications in optoelectronics and photonics.