Materials design by synthetic biology

Synthetic biology applies genetic tools to engineer living cells and organisms analogous to the programming of machines. In materials synthetic biology, engineering principles from synthetic

biology and materials science are integrated to redesign living systems as dynamic and responsive materials with emerging and programmable functionalities. In this Review, we discuss

synthetic-biology tools, including genetic circuits, model organisms and design parameters, which can be applied for the construction of smart living materials. We investigate non-living and

living self-organizing multifunctional materials, such as intracellular structures and engineered biofilms, and examine the design and applications of hybrid living materials, including

living sensors, therapeutics and electronics, as well as energy-conversion materials and living building materials. Finally, we consider prospects and challenges of programmable living

materials and identify potential future applications.

The authors acknowledge Mr. Lei Chen for assistance in preparing the figures and Dr. Karen Pepper for reviewing the manuscript. B.A. would like to thank the support provided by the China

Scholarship Council (CSC) during his visiting period at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This work was sponsored by the National Key R&D Program of China (grant nos. 2020YFA0908100 and

2018YFA0902804, the two grants provide equal support), the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (key program no. U1932204), the National Institutes of Health of

the USA (grant no. 1-R21-AI121669-01) and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the USA (grant no. HDTRA1-15-1-0050).

These authors contributed equally: Tzu-Chieh Tang, Bolin An.

Synthetic Biology Group, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

The Mediated Matter Group, MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

Materials and Physical Biology Division, School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China

Bolin An, Yuanyuan Huang, Yanyi Wang, Xiaoyu Jiang & Chao Zhong

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China

CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China

All authors contributed to the discussions, writing and reviewing of the article content. T.-C.T., B.A. and C.Z. prepared the figures and tables.

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