Building synthetic cells with nucleic acids (just not how you would expect)
Synthetic cells are artificial microdevices constructed from the bottom-up to replicate responses typically associated with live biological cells, from environmental sensing to communication, regulated metabolism, growth and motility. By designing and building these devices we can learn about biological principles, explore possible routes for the origin of life, and lay the foundations for next-generation technological solutions in healthcare and bioprocessing.
In this seminar, I will explore the concept of synthetic cells and outline our group’s vision for a platform to engineer them using nucleic acid nanotechnology. I will then discuss highlights of our research, starting from the DNA- and RNA-based materials that form the scaffolds of synthetic cells (but not only), and moving on to implementations capable of life-like functionality such as dynamic regulation of internal structure, biomolecule synthesis and storage, and communication with biological and synthetic cells.
Synthetic cells are artificial microdevices constructed from the bottom-up to replicate responses typically associated with live biological cells, from environmental sensing to communication, regulated metabolism, growth and motility. By designing and building these devices we can learn about biological principles, explore possible routes for the origin of life, and lay the foundations for next-generation technological solutions in healthcare and bioprocessing.
In this seminar, I will explore the concept of synthetic cells and outline our group’s vision for a platform to engineer them using nucleic acid nanotechnology. I will then discuss highlights of our research, starting from the DNA- and RNA-based materials that form the scaffolds of synthetic cells (but not only), and moving on to implementations capable of life-like functionality such as dynamic regulation of internal structure, biomolecule synthesis and storage, and communication with biological and synthetic cells.
