Research

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Synthetic Biology underpins advances in the bioeconomy

Biological systems - including the simplest cells - exhibit a broad range of functions to thrive in their environment. Research in the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology is focused on the possibility of engineering the underlying biochemical processes to solve many of the challenges facing society, from healthcare to sustainable energy. In particular, we model, analyse, design and build biological and biochemical systems in living cells and/or in cell extracts, both exploring and enhancing the engineering potential of biology. 

As part of our research we develop novel methods to accelerate the celebrated Design-Build-Test-Learn synthetic biology cycle. As such research in the Centre for Synthetic Biology highly multi- and interdisciplinary covering computational modelling and machine learning approaches; automated platform development and genetic circuit engineering ; multi-cellular and multi-organismal interactions, including gene drive and genome engineering; metabolic engineering; in vitro/cell-free synthetic biology; engineered phages and directed evolution; and biomimetics, biomaterials and biological engineering.

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Friddin:2019:10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04885,
author = {Friddin, MS and Elani, Y and Trantidou, T and Ces, O},
doi = {10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04885},
journal = {Analytical Chemistry},
pages = {4921--4928},
title = {New directions for artificial cells using rapid prototyped biosystems},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04885},
volume = {91},
year = {2019}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Microfluidics has been shown to be capable of generating a range of single- and multi- compartment vesicles and bilayer delineated droplets that can be assembled in 2D and 3D. These model systems are becoming increasingly recognized as powerful biomimetic constructs for assembling tissue models, engineering therapeutic delivery systems and for screening drugs. One bottleneck in developing this technology is the time, expertise and equipment required for device fabrication. This has led to interest across the microfluidics community in using rapid prototyping to engineer microfluidic devices from Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings. We highlight how this rapid prototyping revolution is transforming the fabrication of microfluidic devices for bottom-up synthetic biology. We provide an outline of the current landscape and present how advances in the field may give rise to the next generation of multifunctional biodevices, particularly with Industry 4.0 on the horizon. Successfully developing this technology and making it open-source could pave the way for a new generation of citizen-led science, fueling the possibility that the next multi-billion dollar start-up could emerge from an attic or a basement.
AU  - Friddin,MS
AU  - Elani,Y
AU  - Trantidou,T
AU  - Ces,O
DO  - 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04885
EP  - 4928
PY  - 2019///
SN  - 0003-2700
SP  - 4921
TI  - New directions for artificial cells using rapid prototyped biosystems
T2  - Analytical Chemistry
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04885
UR  - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30841694
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/69070
VL  - 91
ER  -
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