How Microfluidics Are Changing Synthetic Biology
What is Synthetic Biology? The great potential of synthetic biology first caught my attention during my undergraduate years as a structural biologist. As a researcher studying protein design, it was exciting to see how the understanding of protein functions could be put to use. For the uninitiated, synthetic biology is the field of biology focused on designing and building biological devices, whether from living cells or from cellular components such as enzymes, proteins, and DNA. Many devices consist of relatively simple alterations to a cell that provide some useful function. One real-world example currently in use as a cancer therapeutic is a CAR-T cell. These are immune cells collected from a patient and altered to produce a receptor on their surface that allows them to recognize and engage cancerous cells. While decades of research were required to achieve this, it is now a reality that is expanding in the medical community. Many other examples exist, and the field is rapidly growing.
Apr 2, 2025
