Synthetic biology is a rapidly growing field that has emerged in a global, multidisciplinary effort among biologists, chemists, engineers, physicists, and mathematicians. Broadly, the field has two complementary goals: To improve understanding of biological systems through mimicry and to produce bio-orthogonal systems with new functions. Here we review the area specifically with reference to the concept of synthetic biology space, that is, a hierarchy of components for, and approaches to generating new synthetic and functional systems to test, advance, and apply our understanding of biological systems. In keeping with this issue of Current Opinion in Structural Biology, we focus largely on the design and engineering of biomolecule-based components and systems.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbi.2008.06.006 | DOI Listing |
Sci Adv
January 2025
Molecular Pharmacology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
A major limiting factor in the success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for the treatment of solid tumors is targeting tumor antigens also found on normal tissues. CAR T cells against GD2 induced rapid, fatal neurotoxicity because of CAR recognition of GD2 normal mouse brain tissue. To improve the selectivity of the CAR T cell, we engineered a synthetic Notch receptor that selectively expresses the CAR upon binding to P-selectin, a cell adhesion protein overexpressed in tumor neovasculature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcc Chem Res
January 2025
Department of Chemistry and Research Center for Chemical Biology and Omics Analysis, College of Science, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.
ConspectusThe advancement of synthetic methodologies is fundamentally driven by a deeper understanding of the structure-reactivity relationships of reactive key intermediates. Carbyne anions are compounds featuring a monovalent anionic carbon possessing four nonbonding valence electrons, which were historically confined to theoretical constructs or observed solely within the environment of gas-phase studies. These species possess potential for applications across diverse domains of synthetic chemistry and ancillary fields.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Chem
January 2025
Department Chemistry and Biochemistry, Clemens-Schöpf-Institute, Technical University Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany.
In recent years, rationally designed macrocycles have emerged as promising therapeutic modalities for challenging drug targets. Macrocycles can improve affinity, selectivity, and pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters, possibly via providing semirigid, preorganized scaffolds. Nevertheless, how macrocyclization affects PK-relevant properties is still poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Bioeng Biotechnol
January 2025
IHRC, Inc, Atlanta, GA, United States.
ISME Commun
January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Universität Potsdam, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
The cyanobacterium causes harmful algal blooms that pose a major threat to human health and ecosystem services, particularly due to the prevalence of the potent hepatotoxin microcystin (MC). With their pronounced EPS layer, colonies also serve as a hub for heterotrophic phycosphere bacteria. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the genotypic plasticity in its ability to produce MC influences the composition and assembly of the phycosphere microbiome.
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