Synthetic Biology Journal ›› 2022, Vol. 3 ›› Issue (4): 658-675.DOI: 10.12211/2096-8280.2021-069

• Invited Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Application of cell-free synthesis strategy in biomaterial research

Botao JI, Zhigang QIAN, Xiaoxia XIA   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism,Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences,School of Life Science & Biotechnology,Shanghai Jiao Tong University,Shanghai 200240,China
  • Received:2021-06-30 Revised:2021-07-22 Online:2022-09-08 Published:2022-08-31
  • Contact: Xiaoxia XIA

无细胞合成策略在生物材料研究中的应用

吉博涛, 钱志刚, 夏小霞   

  1. 上海交通大学生命科学技术学院,微生物代谢国家重点实验室,教育部代谢与发育科学国际合作联合实验室,上海 200240
  • 通讯作者: 夏小霞
  • 作者简介:吉博涛(1997—),男,博士研究生。研究方向为无细胞表达系统合成生物材料。E-mail: botao-ji@sjtu.edu.cn
    夏小霞(1978—),女,教授,博士生导师。研究方向为蛋白材料合成生物学、人工细胞器、生物大分子自组装等。E-mail: xiaoxiaxia@sjtu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    国家重点研发计划(2020YFA0907702);国家自然科学基金(32071414);上海市自然科学基金(21ZR1432100)

Abstract:

As various issues such as global warming, environmental pollution and the exhaustion of fossil resources become increasingly severe, biomaterials have attracted increasing attention in the fields of biotechnology and biomedical engineering due to their many advantages such as renewable, degradable nature, and good biocompatibility. Based on the “bottom-up” design concept, cell-free expression system as a useful supplement to the cell synthesis system, greatly accelerates the development of biomaterials and expands their application range, becoming a frontier of the materials synthetic biology. This review first introduces the difference between cell-free expression system and conventional cell expression system, and emphasizes the unique advantages of cell-free expression system. Next, this review overviews the application of cell-free strategies in sustainable production, functionalization and innovative design of biomaterials, as well as promotion of new types by accelerating the Design-Build-Test (DBT) cycle. All of these examples fully demonstrate the advantages of cell-free systems in the design and synthesis of novel biomaterials. Although the use of cell-free expression systems for biomaterial synthesis encounters challenges such as cost, weak post-translational modification, and urgent need for cross-field cooperation, we still believe that in the near future, with the development of synthetic biology and the deepening of interdisciplinary research, cell free strategy will provide a faster, cheaper and more friendly way to produce new biomaterials, thereby protecting the earth environment on which we depend. In addition, the continuous development of smart materials that are combined with cell-free strategies, such as virus detection biosensors, will protect the health of human beings around the world to a great extent, and even save thousands of lives. All in all, the cell-free expression system will definitely provide a powerful boost to the research and industrialization of new biomaterials, and make a non-negligible contribution to the joint solution of global environmental problems and the protection of human health.

Key words: biomaterials, cell-free expression system, material intelligence and functionalization, DBT cycle, synthetic biology

摘要:

生物材料凭借其可再生、可降解及生物相容性好等诸多优点,在生物技术及生物医学应用领域备受关注。基于“自下而上”设计理念的无细胞表达系统,作为细胞合成体系的有益补充,大力加速了生物材料的开发生产及其应用范围,并成为了材料合成生物学发展的前沿。本文介绍了无细胞表达系统的独特优势,并列举了其用于生物材料可持续生产的策略、与材料结合后的创新设计、赋予材料功能化和智能化方法,以及通过加速设计-构建-测试(DBT)循环来促进新型生物材料开发的各项应用,而这些例证都充分表明无细胞策略在生物材料设计与合成中的创新优势。尽管无细胞表达系统用于生物材料合成仍然存在诸如成本、翻译后修饰较弱、亟需交叉领域合作等方面的挑战,但相信随着合成生物学的发展及多学科交叉研究的深入,无细胞表达系统将为新型生物材料研发及产业化提供强大的助力,并为共同解决全球环境问题、保护人类生命健康等方面作出不可忽视的贡献。

关键词: 生物材料, 无细胞表达系统, 材料智能化和功能化, DBT循环, 合成生物学

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