Abstract
The front cover artwork is provided by the group of Dr. Baojun Wang (The University of Edinburgh). The image shows an engineered bacterial cell containing a genetic amplifier circuit which transforms a weak input signal into a larger easily detectable output signal. The electronics symbols used to illustrate the genetic circuit highlight the programmability of the circuit components enabled by state-of-the-art synthetic biology tools. Read the full text of the Review at 10.1002/cphc.201900739.
Highlights
We present the state-of-the-art tools offered by synthetic biology to allow construction of cellbased biosensors with customisable performance to meet the real world requirements in terms of sensitivity and dynamic range and discuss the research progress to overcome the challenges in terms of the sensor stability and biosecurity fears
Despite the increasing number of biosensors in the literature capable of sensing relevant concentrations there are still very few commercial examples.[12]. This is because commercial cell-based biosensors face challenges in acceptance arising from biosecurity fears, and concerns over the stability and reliability of the sensors and the methods for determining results
This review aims to give an overview into current areas of potential applications, examines the state-of-the art synthetic biology tools developed for improving the response of biosensors, the current research on expanding the range of biosensors and discusses the approaches currently being investigated to overcome the ongoing challenges of stability and biosecurity
Summary
Cell-based biosensors have been developed as potential alternative analytical devices for the detection of a wide range of molecules in various areas. Key areas have been bioproduction, medical and environmental monitoring due to the particular advantages biosensors offer in these areas. Bioproduction is a large area of research because it has the potential to allow the production of commercially important chemicals in a cheap and environmentally friendly way. More recently using cell-based biosensors to create functional materials has become an area of focus. These would allow materials to gain functionality but potentially regenerative abilities.[25] Table 1 highlights the range of areas for which biosensors have been developed, giving recent examples. The increasing ease of sequencing has meant a large increase in the number of bacterial genomes
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