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Trends in Biotechnology
Published in Firdos Alam Khan, Biotechnology Fundamentals, 2020
Synthetic genome basically refers to the set of technologies that makes it possible to construct any specified gene from short strands of synthetic DNA called oligonucleotides, which are normally produced chemically and are 50 and 100 base pairs in length. In August 2002, the virologist Eckard Wimmer announced that over a period of several months his research team had developed live, infectious poliovirus from customized oligonucleotide viral genome available online and similarly in the year 2003, researchers at the Center Institute developed a quick method for genome assembly by using synthetic oligonucleotides to construct a bacteriophage called lambda X174 in two weeks’ time. Additionally, in 2005, scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention synthesized the Spanish influenza virus that was responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide. Considering the various benefits of synthetic biology, it’s also possible to reconstruct any existing virus for which the complete DNA sequence is known. The arrival of high throughput DNA synthesis machines has sharply reduced the cost of DNA and in the year 2000, the price of customized oligonucleotides was as low as $1.0 per base pairs; in 2004, researchers from Harvard Medical School, USA invented a new multiplex DNA synthesis technique that has finally reduced the cost of DNA synthesis to 20,000 base pairs for $1.0.
Civil Society and the Politics of Nano-Scale Converging Technologies
Published in Kamilla Lein Kjølberg, Fern Wickson, Nano Meets Macro, 2019
“Nanobiotechnology” refers to the application of nano-scale science to the life sciences. In some cases, nanobiotechnology involves the merging of living and non-living matter to make hybrid materials and organisms. Chemists, for example, are entering the realm of biology by creating electronic components out of viruses and bacteria (Leo 2002). With the new, nano-scale science of synthetic biology (often a synonym for nanobiotechnology) scientists aim to create designer organisms built from synthetic DNA. They are re-engineering living organisms to do things they can’t do in nature, creating new organisms that have never existed before, and also manipulating living organisms to perform mechanical functions (ETC Group 2007a). Nano-scale technologies potentially involve all of these areas.
Application of Industry 5.0 in the Production of Fine Chemicals and Biopolymers
Published in Pau Loke Show, Kit Wayne Chew, Tau Chuan Ling, The Prospect of Industry 5.0 in Biomanufacturing, 2021
Nurul Natasha binti Azhar, Kai Ling Yu, Tau Chuan Ling, Pau Loke Show
Synthetic biology is the scientific field that entails the reprogramming of the genome of organisms by modifying them to have controllable and functional properties (National Human Genome Research Institute USA 2019; H. H. Wang, Mee, and Church 2013). Since it is a relatively new field, the exact definition of synthetic biology is still ambiguous but the general consensus is that synthetic biology re-designs and re-constructs the genome of existing biological systems for an entirely new purpose (Jin et al. 2019). On that note, synthetic biology seems to be similar to genome editing or genetic modification but the National Human Genome Research Institute USA (2019), draws the line between synthetic biology and genome editing based on how the changes are made. Genome editing typically involves cutting out a section of an organism’s genetic codes to make small changes in the DNA (National Human Genome Research Institute USA 2019). Synthetic biology involves weaving and stitching the genes of various other organisms or entirely new genes to create a synthetic DNA that does not exist in nature as shown in Figure 3.5.3 (National Human Genome Research Institute USA 2019). This cutting, stitching and manipulating of biological components means that this scientific field is a fusion of biology with chemistry, computer science, mathematics and engineering (F. Wang and Zhang 2019). The rapid advances being made in these respective fields have a direct effect on the progress being made in synthetic biology (F. Wang and Zhang 2019). One of the first achievements of synthetic biology was the creation of an engineered yeast that produces the precursor of the antimalarial drug, artemisinin (Ro et al. 2006). Ro et al. (2006) re-designed the common baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce artemisinic acid, which is the immediate precursor of artemisinin and the result was a high quality and reliable source of the antimalarial drug produced in a cost-effective manner with minimum environmental impacts. A process that produces high-quality products while being profitable and environmentally friendly is what process design engineers strive for and applying synthetic biology within the process line could help achieve that. Employing the concepts of synthetic biology does not have to come in the form of directly fitting in a bioreactor into the process, but in the form of producing the catalyst or the intermediate chemical as these tend to be the most expensive raw materials used in the process. There is already a database of the genetic information of various species of microorganisms and by integrating an evolutionary algorithm and machine learning with the database, there is a high possibility of synthetic biology being implemented for other industrial applications (Presnell and Alper 2019). With the highly anticipated IR 5.0 happening in the near future, there will be a challenge to the conventional boundaries of nature with the advances being made in synthetic biology. The application of the concepts of synthetic biology in various products such as biopolymers and fine chemicals is only the beginning.
Technology fitness landscape for design innovation: a deep neural embedding approach based on patent data
Published in Journal of Engineering Design, 2022
Another interesting example of such disruptive technology is DNA data storage, which uses synthetic DNA as a medium to store massive quantities of digital information at very high density in the long term (Church, Gao, and Kosuri 2012). Theoretically, a coffee mug full of synthetic DNA could store the data of the entire world (Erlich and Zielinski 2017). In our technology fitness landscape, the emergence of DNA data storage has also changed the genotype of the traditional information storage domains by involving advanced synthetic biology technologies and DNA sequencing, bringing a breakthrough in their performance. Such a biologically inspired analysis suggests the need to continually update the classification of technologies, embrace new domain definitions, and redefine the boundaries of technologies.
Beyond the smiley face: applications of structural DNA nanotechnology
Published in Nano Reviews & Experiments, 2018
Aakriti Alisha Arora, Chamaree de Silva
The self-assembly process of DNA was first showcased with the creation of 2D nucleic acid junctions and lattice shapes [4]. These junctions were developed as clusters; the clusters were linked directly to each other, or with interspersed linear DNA pieces (later coined as ‘sticky ends’) [4]. Subsequently, creation of immobile branched junctions allowed for a building framework upon to which other molecules could be attached [5]. Specifically, a closed cube-like structure containing six faces, eight vertices, and 12 double helical edges was developed [5]. Ultimately, 2D crystalline DNA forms were developed from synthetic DNA double crossover molecules [6]. ‘Sticky ends’ of DNA allowed for intermolecular interactions between each unit, leading to the formation of specific patterned DNA crystals [6].
Unique enantiopure camphor-based neutral arene–ruthenium(II) complexes: DNA/BSA binding, kinetic and cytotoxic studies
Published in Journal of Coordination Chemistry, 2022
Milan M. Milutinović, Angelina Z. Caković, Dušan Ćoćić, Eduard Rais, Roland Schoch, Bojana Simović Marković, Nebojša Arsenijević, Vladislav Volarević, Snezana Jovanović-Stević, Jovana V. Bogojeski, René Wilhelm
Complexes 1 and 2 were docked into the DNA fragments representing either: (i) canonical B-DNA (PDB 1BNA) or (ii) DNA with an intercalation gap (PDB 1Z3F). 1BNA is the crystal structure of a synthetic DNA dodecamer, while 1Z3F is the crystal structure of a 6 bp DNA fragment in a complex with an intercalating anticancer drug, ellipticine. The best-docked poses with DNA are displayed in Figures 7 and 8, with the top-ranked poses according to used scoring functions displayed in Table 5. Based on docking results, 2 shows a better ability to dock into selected DNA fragments compared to 1. By comparing the results from different binding modes, both complexes are better docked in the DNA fragment presenting an intercalation gap (PDB ID: 1Z3F).