Microfluidic Applications in Synthetic Biology

Dear Colleagues,

The quest for understanding and mimicking complex cellular structure and function has given rise to the field of synthetic biology - often boasted as the technology of the 21st century - which has tremendous potential to constructively disrupt biopharmaceutical, agricultural and biofuel industries. A major aim of synthetic biology is also to produce autopoietic systems - artificial cells - capable of persisting under various conditions and designed to perform myriad, often novel, functions of our choosing. Closely following the heels of synthetic biology is the recent maturation of microfluidic technologies. These powerful techniques give us unprecedented access to phenomena at dimensions of scale matching those of cells and cellular components. This has provided us with fine control and awareness over the microenvironment, including input stimuli and the output response, of cells. Microfluidics also allows us to track and probe single cells over extended periods of time, making it a powerful alternative to conventional cell studies. As such, microfluidic systems are admirably suited for studies involving cell-like material. Most importantly, it makes possible the controlled production of vesicle-like microdroplets, each a compartment embodying a specific cellular chemical machine, so important for multiparameter analyses. From this capability might come not only the production, but also the analysis, of organelle-like or even cell-like constructs. For these reasons, and many others, synthetic biologists have begun incorporating microfluidic applications in their work. In this special issue, Microfluidic Applications in Synthetic Biology and Development of the Artificial Cell, we invite researchers to present their novel findings and research advancements. Microfluidics-based work, involving both top-down approaches using cell-derivatives or bottom-up approaches for constructing modular cellular components, will be considered in this issue. We also invite the community to submit relevant and impactful work such as nucleic acid assembly, high throughput screening methodologies using microdroplets, cell-on-a-chip approaches, as well as advances in microfabrication that would impact synthetic biology. This special issue will comprise original research work, short communications, critical and tutorial reviews, and insights or perspectives related to this topic.

Dr. Chaitanya Kantak
Dr. Cherng-Wen Darren Tan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• biofabrication
• autopoiesis
• biomachines
• artificial organelles
• microdroplets
• multiparameter analysis