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Automated Robotic Liquid Handling Assembly of Modular DNA Devices
Published on: December 1, 2017
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Automated Assembly of Programmable RNA-Based Sensors
James M Robson1,2, Nery R Arevalos1,2, Alexander A Green1,2,3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.
ACS Synthetic Biology
|March 18, 2026
Summary
We developed an automated pipeline for rapidly creating RNA sensors, significantly speeding up the design and production of genetic circuits and diagnostic tools.
Area of Science:
- Synthetic Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Engineered programmable RNA sensors are crucial for diagnostics and genetic circuits.
- Current methods for RNA sensor design and production are slow and labor-intensive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an automated plasmid assembly pipeline for high-throughput construction of RNA sensors.
- To evaluate the efficiency and reliability of automated versus manual assembly methods.
- To demonstrate the platform's utility by constructing diverse RNA regulators.
Main Methods:
- Utilized liquid handling robotics for automated plasmid assembly.
- Compared automated and manual assembly methods using the NGS Hamilton Microlab STAR.
- Constructed 174 plasmids, including toehold switch riboregulators, single-nucleotide-specific riboregulators, and metal-responsive riboswitches.
Main Results:
- Automated assembly proved efficient and reliable compared to manual methods.
- Successfully constructed a diverse set of functional programmable RNA regulators.
- Demonstrated functionality of assembled toehold switch plasmids in bacterial and cell-free systems.
Conclusions:
- The automated pipeline significantly accelerates the creation of RNA sensors.
- This platform enables high-throughput construction and screening of RNA-based genetic tools.
- The developed methods are applicable to various RNA sensor designs and expression systems.
