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Synthetic Biology

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary science that involves using principles from disciplines such as engineering, molecular biology, cell biology, and systems biology. It involves remodeling existing organisms from nature or constructing completely new synthetic organisms for applications such as protein or enzyme production, bioremediation, value-added macromolecule production, and the addition of desirable traits to crops, to name a few.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 18, 2025

Preparation of Functional Silica Using a Bioinspired Method

Preparation of Functional Silica Using a Bioinspired Method

Published on: August 1, 2018

Programmable cell aggregation by a synthetic biosilicification approach.

Qing Wang¹, Jing Sun^2,3, Lei Zang¹

¹State Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.

|June 23, 2025

Summary

Researchers engineered cells to use silica for rapid, programmable aggregation. This novel biosilicification approach enables precise control over cell assembly for biomanufacturing and materials engineering applications.

Keywords:

Bioengineering Biomaterials Synthetic biology

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Published on: March 9, 2017

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Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Materials Science
Synthetic Biology

Background:

Programmable cell aggregation is crucial for understanding synthetic multicellular systems and controlling material structures.
Existing methods often rely on organic-based cell adhesion modules for patterned assembly.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel method for guiding cell assembly by manipulating organic-inorganic interactions.
To engineer cells for self-assembly using biosilicification.

Main Methods:

Engineered cells to express a silicifying peptide on their surfaces.
Utilized the peptide to promote silica deposition and inter-cell binding, triggering aggregation.
Quantified aggregation speed and efficiency.

Main Results:

Engineered cells rapidly aggregated, with ~95% assembly achieved within 15 minutes.
Demonstrated the potential for materials assembly and chemical production using this method.
Established a novel biosilicification-based approach for cell clustering.

Conclusions:

This biosilicification-based strategy provides new insights into multicellularity mechanisms.
The engineered cell aggregation has significant potential for biomanufacturing and materials engineering.