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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

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Published on: August 30, 2021
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Next generation tools to accelerate the synthetic biology process
Steve C C Shih1, Christopher Moraes
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Canada. steve.shih@concordia.ca.
Summary
Synthetic biology accelerates new system creation using microfluidic tools. Automation of the design-build-test-learn workflow enhances functionality development for bioenergy, health, and biomaterials.
Area of Science:
- Synthetic biology
- Bioengineering
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Synthetic biology employs an engineering approach (design-build-test-learn) for novel biological systems.
- Current workflows face challenges in speed and efficiency, limiting rapid development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present microfluidic tools for automating the synthetic biology workflow.
- To enhance the speed and success rate of creating desired biological functionalities.
Main Methods:
- Development and application of advanced microfluidic systems.
- Integration of microfluidics with the synthetic biology design-build-test-learn cycle.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated automation of key synthetic biology processes.
- Potential for increased throughput and reduced development times.
Conclusions:
- Microfluidic automation offers a robust solution to accelerate synthetic biology.
- This integration is poised to drive advancements in bioenergy, health, and biomaterials.
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