Real-time genetic reprogramming of micron-scale soft matter devices

活细胞在生物技术应用中的一个决定性特征是它们能够通过基因改造重新编程。这一特点导致合成生物学在生物医学、传感、生物生产和环境修复等应用领域的兴起。由于与生命系统工作相关的固有局限性，合成细胞越来越被认为是生物细胞的强大替代品。然而，到目前为止，对合成细胞进行重新编程的方法还不可行：一旦产生，进一步修改它们的基因组成是不可能的。随着合成细胞在现实环境中的应用越来越接近，这本身就成为了一个瓶颈。在这个项目中，我们将开发技术来解决这个问题。我们将探索如何将新的遗传软件传递给合成细胞硬件，使它们能够经历分化过程。通过这种方式，我们将展示相同的合成细胞可以用作生物反应器、传感器、抗菌剂、抗癌剂和疫苗剂，这取决于它的环境。该项目将涉及开发和表征新的微流体、生物膜和化学生物学工具，这些工具将使基于软物质材料的可重新编程合成细胞微设备的创建成为可能。

One of the defining featured of living cells which underpins their utility in biotechnological applications is their ability to be reprogrammed through genetic modification. This feature has led to the rise of synthetic biology in application areas including biomedicine, sensing, bioproduction, and environmental remediation. Synthetic cells are increasingly being recognised as a powerful alternative to biological cells, due to inherent limitations associated with working with living systems. However, to date, methods to reprogramme synthetic cells are not yet available: further modification of their genetic makeup, once generated, is not possible. As synthetic cells are nearing deployment in real-world settings, this is presenting itself as a bottleneck. In this project we will develop technologies to remedy this. We will explore how new genetic software can be delivered to synthetic cell hardware, which allow them to undergo a process of differentiation. In this way, we will show that the same synthetic cell can be used as a bioreactor, sensor, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, and vaccine agent, depending on its context. The project will involve the development and characterisation new microfluidic, biomembrane, and chemical biology tools which will enable the creation of reprogrammable synthetic cell microdevices, based on soft matter materials.