Triggering the Selective Reading of Sequence-Defined Oligourethanes: An Example Using Computer Scripts, Representing the Next Step in Chemical Logic Gates

Over the past decades, various types of sequence-defined polymers (SDPs) have been explored for use in information storage. However, unlike conventional digital systems, abiotic SDPs commonly lack a means for selective data retrieval. Here, we introduce a set of orthogonally protected linkers that function as molecular logic gates when integrated with sequence-defined oligourethanes (OUs). These linkers enable selective "reading" of specific OUs in response to distinct chemical triggers. Beyond demonstrating selective retrieval, our platform allows OUs to encode executable computer instructions, such as matrix multiplication in Python, thereby interfacing chemical specificity with digital computation. Different chemical triggers yield different computational outputs, illustrating that chemical inputs can control which Python code is run. This work establishes a new paradigm for chemically addressable molecular data storage and its extension toward digital computation.