In this section

Research

Biological systems - including the simplest cells - exhibit a broad range of functions to thrive in their environment. Research in the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology is focused on the possibility of engineering the underlying biochemical processes to solve many of the challenges facing society, from healthcare to sustainable energy. In particular, we model, analyse, design and build biological and biochemical systems in living cells and/or in cell extracts, both exploring and enhancing the engineering potential of biology.

As part of our research we develop novel methods to accelerate the celebrated Design-Build-Test-Learn synthetic biology cycle. As such research in the Centre for Synthetic Biology highly multi- and interdisciplinary covering computational modelling and machine learning approaches; automated platform development and genetic circuit engineering ; multi-cellular and multi-organismal interactions, including gene drive and genome engineering; metabolic engineering; in vitro/cell-free synthetic biology; engineered phages and directed evolution; and biomimetics, biomaterials and biological engineering.

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Rajakumar:2019:10.1177/2472630318798304,
author = {Rajakumar, PD and Gower, G and Suckling, L and Kitney, R and McClymont, D and Freemont, P},
doi = {10.1177/2472630318798304},
journal = {Slas Technology},
pages = {291--297},
title = {Rapid prototyping platform for Saccharomyces cerevisiae using computer-aided genetic design enabled by parallel software and workcell platform development},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2472630318798304},
volume = {24},
year = {2019}
}

Download

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Biofoundries have enabled the ability to automate the construction of genetic constructs using computer-aided design. In this study, we have developed the methodology required to abstract and automate the construction of yeast-compatible designs. We demonstrate the use of our in-house software tool, AMOS, to coordinate with design software, JMP, and robotic liquid handling platforms to successfully manage the construction of a library of 88 yeast expression plasmids. In this proof-of-principle study, we used three fluorescent genes as proxy for three enzyme coding sequences. Our platform has been designed to quickly iterate around a design cycle of four protein coding sequences per plasmid, with larger numbers possible with multiplexed genome integrations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This work highlights how developing scalable new biotechnology applications requires a close integration between software development, liquid handling robotics, and protocol development.
AU  - Rajakumar,PD
AU  - Gower,G
AU  - Suckling,L
AU  - Kitney,R
AU  - McClymont,D
AU  - Freemont,P
DO  - 10.1177/2472630318798304
EP  - 297
PY  - 2019///
SN  - 2472-6303
SP  - 291
TI  - Rapid prototyping platform for Saccharomyces cerevisiae using computer-aided genetic design enabled by parallel software and workcell platform development
T2  - Slas Technology
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2472630318798304
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/63436
VL  - 24
ER  -