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DNA with a single strand (ssDNA or single strand DNA) has been proposed to for use as a detector for particle interactions, specifically to attempt to detect WIMPs (dark matter particles) in dark matter detectors. An interaction with one of the atoms in such a strand could cut the strand, which could be monitored for occurrence of such a change. Current technology allows reasonably efficient manufacture of such strands and a detector could employ thousands. Arrays of such suspended strands are nicknamed beaded curtains. Such a detector is an alternative to current detectors typically designed around crystals that act as scintillators.
DNA's normal state is not single-strand, but formed into a pair of strands interconnected over their lengths (forming the double helix). The two are temporarily divided when being copied, during normal cellular processes. There do exist viruses that carry DNA as single strands..