14TSB_SynBio A High Throughput Miniaturised Mass Spectrometry Tool for Profiling Synthetic Design Libraries

在过去的10年里，合成生物学的新领域通过应用工程原理，设计，模拟和测试，推进了现有的基因改造科学。这种方法使我们能够通过用定制的DNA修饰安全微生物来执行新任务，包括计算、多输入环境传感以及有效生产药物和生物能源（主要通过代谢途径工程），从而可以预见地创造出令人兴奋的新技术。随着我们编写DNA和工程微生物的能力的加快，我们正受到缺乏高数据、高通量细胞测量方法的限制，这些方法可用于评估定制菌株的性能。该项目将伦敦帝国理工学院的基础合成生物学和DNA组装专业知识与工业合作伙伴Sphere Fluidics Limited的微流体和质谱专业知识联系起来，以构建，测试和演示一种新型的微流体-质谱工具，该工具应允许每次运行深入测量数千种工程微生物的性能。该项目的目的是开发一种设备设置（接口微流体和质谱法）和一种方法，它们共同构成一个平台工具，用于对数千种工程微生物菌株的收集进行鉴定。然后，该工具可以作为服务（或设备设置）向下游销售，供参与合成生物学的公司和机构使用。

Over the last 10 years, the new field of synthetic biology has advanced the existing science of genetic modification by applying principles of engineering; design, simulation and testing. This approach has allowed us to predictably create exciting new technologies by modifying safe microbes with customised DNA to perform new tasks including computation, multi-input environmental sensing and efficient production of medicinal drugs and bioenergy, primarily through metabolic pathway engineering. As our ability to write DNA and engineer microbes accelerates, we are becoming limited by the lack of high-data, high-throughput cell measurement methods available with which to assess the performance of customised strains. The project links foundational synthetic biology and DNA assembly expertise at Imperial College London with microfluidics and mass spectrometry expertise at the industrial partner, Sphere Fluidics Limited, in order to build, test and demonstrate a novel microfluidics-mass spectrometry tool that should allow in-depth measurement of the performance of thousands of engineered microbes per run. The intention of the project is to develop an equipment set-up (interfaced microfluidics and mass spectrometry) and a methodology that together is a platform tool with which to characterise collections of thousands of engineered microbe strains. This tool can then be sold downstream as a service (or as an equipment set-up) for companies and institutions involved in synthetic biology.