Advances in biocontainment strategies of engineered microbes for use in humans.

Optogenetic Therapeutic Cell Implants

With the rapid expansion of synthetic gene technologies and engineered bacteria for disease diagnosis or therapy, biosafety concerns have intensified. Substantial efforts have therefore been directed toward developing biocontainment systems that prevent the unintended release of engineered microorganisms and the horizontal transfer of synthetic genetic elements into natural ecosystems. Recent advances in synthetic biology have yielded a diverse suite of biocontainment strategies, including engineered biosafety genetic circuits, genetic isolation approaches, targeted degradation of genetic material, and physical encapsulation of microbial chassis. Furthermore, the incorporation of unnatural nucleic acids and noncanonical amino acid-based orthogonal replication, transcription, and translation systems has markedly improved the robustness and orthogonality of these containment platforms. In this review, we summarize the latest developments in biocontainment strategies for genetically engineered bacteria and discuss how these innovations may address current and emerging biosafety challenges.

The natural genetic code only allows for 20 standard amino acids in protein translation, but genetic code reprogramming enables the incorporation of non-standard amino acids (NSAAs). Proteins containing NSAAs provide enhanced or novel properties and open diverse applications. With increased attention to the recent advancements in synthetic biology, various improved and novel methods have been developed to incorporate single and multiple distinct NSAAs into proteins. However, various challenges remain in regard to NSAA incorporation, such as low yield and misincorporation. In this review, we summarize the recent efforts to improve NSAA incorporation by utilizing orthogonal translational system optimization, cell-free protein synthesis, genomically recoded organisms, artificial codon boxes, quadruplet codons, and orthogonal ribosomes, before closing with a discussion of the emerging applications of NSAA incorporation.

Advancements in synthetic biology have led to the use of genetically modified organisms in research and industrial fields. Bacteria were one of the first organisms to be genetically engineered due to their fast growth and simple genetics, and have emerged as a major scientific and commercial interest. For instance, modified commensal bacteria can be used as an oral delivery vector of therapeutics, or as probiotics to target specific pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract. The impact of the release of pathogens used in research or vaccine development could be catastrophic to the environment and public health. In addition, there is growing concern about using genetically modified organisms in open systems, as there is a possibility for unintentional proliferation into natural environments. Therefore, is imperative that the environmental safety of genetically modified organisms are addressed, and that adequate biocontainment mechanisms are developed.

Smallpox, caused by variola virus, was eradicated in 1980, but remains a category A bioterrorism agent. A decade ago, smallpox ranked second after anthrax in a multifactorial risk priority scoring analysis of category A bioterrorism agents. However, advances in genetic engineering and synthetic biology, including published methods for synthesizing an Orthopoxvirus, require the assumptions of this scoring for smallpox and other category A agents to be reviewed. The risk priority framework was reviewed and revised to account for the capability for creation of synthetic or engineered smallpox and other category A agents. The absolute score for all agents increased because of gene editing and synthetic biology capability, which was not present when the framework was developed more than a decade ago, although new treatments revised scores downward for smallpox, Ebola, and botulism. In the original framework, smallpox scored 0 for global availability, given the high security around known seed stocks of variola in two laboratories in the United States and Russia. Now, smallpox can be created using synthetic biology, raising the score for this criterion to 2. Other agents too, such as Ebola, score higher for availability, based on synthetic biology capability. When advances in synthetic biology and genetic engineering are considered, smallpox and anthrax are now equally ranked the highest category A bioterrorism agents for planning and preparedness. Revision of a risk priority framework for category A bioterrorism agents shows that smallpox should be elevated in priority for preparedness planning, and that gene editing and synthetic biology raises the overall risk for all agents. The ranking of categories A, B, and C agents should also be revisited, as there is an endless possibility of engineered threats that may be more severe than any agent on the category A list.

Sense and sensibility: of synthetic biology and the redesign of bioreporter circuits.

The ability of natural biomaterials to shape, support, and orchestrate function inspires our efforts to produce functional materials. Guided by protein‐based biomaterials, template‐directed incorporation of synthetic building blocks, such as nonstandard amino acids (nsAAs), can expand the functions of biomaterials by endowing them with new physical and biophysical properties. In this short review, we describe existing technologies for multi‐site nsAA incorporation into proteins. We then discuss examples of the application of this technology for engineering new functions in artificial biopolymers, for creating bio‐inspired adhesives, and for improving the stability of biomaterials. We conclude by briefly discussing recent advances in synthetic biology that have the potential to expand our ability to design protein‐based biomaterials composed of numerous and increasingly exotic nonstandard monomers.

Applied photosynthesis: An idea whose time has come

Coumarins, a class of benzopyrone derivatives predominantly found in plants, have garnered extensive scientific interest for their broad-spectrum biological activities and promising applications across pharmaceutical, agricultural, and cosmetic sectors. Their historical use in traditional medicine, combined with modern evidence supporting their therapeutic potential, positions coumarins as valuable natural scaffolds for drug development and sustainability-driven innovation. This review explores the natural diversity, biosynthesis, biological activities, and sustainable development strategies associated with coumarins. Emphasis is placed on their role in modern pharmacology, the advances in synthetic biology, and their applications within the context of environmental conservation and green chemistry. A comprehensive analysis was conducted using peer-reviewed literature obtained from major databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Key topics include coumarin biosynthesis, plant and microbial sources, traditional and modern applications, and sustainability practices related to their extraction and commercialization. Coumarins demonstrate potent antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties, many of which are linked to structural variations in their core scaffold. Advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology have enabled scalable production and derivatization. Coumarin-based compounds are increasingly being applied in skincare formulations, eco-friendly agrochemicals, and as templates in drug discovery. Ethical sourcing, conservation strategies, and regulatory frameworks play critical roles in ensuring sustainable utilization. Coumarins exemplify the convergence of natural product chemistry and sustainable innovation. Their structural diversity, bioactivity, and multifaceted applications underscore their importance in both traditional and modern contexts. Future research should focus on biosynthetic optimization, novel therapeutic targeting, and integration into circular bioeconomy frameworks to maximize their scientific and societal impact.

Medicinal plants have garnered significant attention in ethnomedicine and traditional medicine due to their potential antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Recent advancements in genome sequencing and synthetic biology have revitalized interest in natural products. Despite the availability of sequenced genomes and transcriptomes of these plants, the absence of publicly accessible gene annotations and tabular formatted gene expression data has hindered their effective utilization. To address this pressing issue, we have developed IMP (Integrated Medicinal Plantomics), a freely accessible platform at https://www.bic.ac.cn/IMP. IMP curated a total of 8 565 672 genes for 84 high-quality genome assemblies, and 2156 transcriptome sequencing samples encompassing various organs, tissues, developmental stages and stimulations. With the integrated 10 analysis modules, users could simply examine gene annotations, sequences, functions, distributions and expressions in IMP in a one-stop mode. We firmly believe that IMP will play a vital role in enhancing the understanding of molecular metabolic pathways in medicinal plants or plants with medicinal benefits, thereby driving advancements in synthetic biology, and facilitating the exploration of natural sources for valuable chemical constituents like drug discovery and drug production.

Shape memory polymer (SMP) systems exhibiting semicrystalline- elastomer blends, such as thermoplastic polyurethane and polylactic acid have been well studied, but their use in biomedical shape memory applications has been limited by their high activation temperature. SMPs are capable of deformation and recovery through the activation of an external stimuli, such as temperature. Critical criteria for SMPs used in biomedical applications is achieving a stimulus temperature close to 37°C while still experiencing sufficient shape recovery. A polymer’s glass transition temperature has been well defined as the SMP system’s activation temperature and therefore should be decreased to achieve a decreased activation temperature. In this work, a well-known, biocompatible plasticizer, polyethylene oxide (PEO), was added to thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) – polylactic acid (PLA) SMP blends to observe the plasticizing effect on the structural, thermal, mechanical, and shape memory properties of the polymer blends. Additionally, the geometry of the fabricated SMP samples was tailored to further enhance the shape memory effect through a bowtie honeycomb structure. Our results suggest that the addition of PEO into the SMP system may be an effective method for decreasing the polymer’s glass transition temperature through the alteration of the polymer chain structure. With the addition of 30% PEO, the glass transition temperature of the TPU/PLA blend was successfully decreased from 62.4°C to 34.6°C while achieving 86.5% shape recovery when activated at 37°C, which is only a 5% decrease in shape recovery when activated at 50°C. These results suggest that the addition of a biocompatible plasticizer may overcome the limitation of employing temperature activated SMP systems in biomedical applications, and enhances the potential of these materials for reconfigurable structures, energy dissipation systems, and SHM in civil engineering applications.

Advanced Strategies for Production of Natural Products in Yeast.

A systemic review on Aloe vera derived natural biomaterials for wound healing applications

The unique physical and chemical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), including SWCNTs (single-walled carbon nanotubes), allow their applications in many fields, including biomedicine. The optical properties of SWCNTs are attractive for application in the field of nanobiotechnology compared to MWCNTs (multi-walled carbon nanotubes). An important objective of SWCNT application for biomedical purposes is obtaining homogenous dispersions characterized by bioavailability and biocompatibility. The possibility of obtaining homogenous dispersions of different types of SWCNTs in biocompatible media for further use in different biomedical experiments and applications has been investigated. The sizes of SWCNT agglomerates in prepared dispersions were measured by the method of dynamic light scattering; bioavailability was studied by dark field microscopy in BEAS-2B bronchial epithelium cells. The dispersions were analyzed for the presence of bacterial contamination. Biocompatible and bioavailable dispersions have been obtained on the basis of cell culture media and 1% bovine serum albumin, which can be used in experiments on assessing the safety of SWCNTs at biological objects but have a number of limitations in the field of biomedicine. Dispergents based on lung surfactant components, which could be used in biomedical applications (DPPC and Survanta®), did not show efficency.

Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary branch of biology and engineering. The subject combines various disciplines from within these domains, such as biotechnology, evolutionary biology, genetic engineering, molecular biology, molecular engineering, systems biology, biophysics, and computer engineering. The definition of synthetic biology is debated, not only among natural scientists and engineers but also in the human sciences, arts and politics. One popular definition is “designing and constructing biological modules, biological systems, and biological machines for useful purposes.” However, the functional aspects of this definition are rooted in molecular biology and biotechnology. As usage of the term has expanded to many interdisciplinary fields, synthetic biology has been recently defined as the artificial design and engineering of biological systems and living organisms for purposes of improving applications for industry or biological research. In the present book, fourteen typical literatures about synthetic biology published on international authoritative journals were selected to introduce the worldwide newest progress, which contains reviews or original researches on biotechnology, genetic engineering, molecular biology, molecular engineering, systems biology, ect. We hope this book can demonstrate advances in synthetic biology as well as give references to the researchers, students and other related people.