Design and applications of self-assembled soft living materials using synthetic biology

Abstract

In nature, the cells are unique biofactories of various kinds of macroscale structures. These biofactories are as old as the earth. However, as technology developed and new areas of research fields developed these cellular biofactories became the center of attention. The motive was the question if we can engineer them according to the world’s needs. At that point, approaches and tools of synthetic biology came into the picture. After its development, people started to engineer biofactories and produce materials with new properties. One of those materials is classified as self-assembled soft living materials with their specific features and usage areas. To be more specific, biofilms are examples of self-assembled soft living materials due to their self-sustaining and self-assembling properties. They can be engineered starting from genetic circuits leading to creation of their building blocks and finally formation of complex biofilm systems. With the diversity in their engineering aspects, their application areas also vary. In this chapter, the design of biofilm structures from genetic circuits until the formation of complex biofilm structures and their various applications will be investigated.