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From 2013.igem.org

Project Overview

Abstract

The growth in interest and potential applications of synthetic biology necessitates more efficient methods for developing an idea from conception to a realized product. The integration of design automation into the planning, execution, and sharing of synthetic biology products provides a solution that could easily translate into the industrialization of synthetic biology; in order for the synthetic biologists to be able to use automation technologies, we will ultimately need a well-characterized library of biological components in order to have a basis for designing more complex systems. Currently, synthetic biologists either work from scratch, cloning their own parts, or use the inefficient BioBrick assembly method to assemble parts from the Biobrick registry, which often lacks characterization data and a standard format.We expanded the library for a more efficient assembly method, characterized the parts, and organized the data in a standardized data sheet for distribution.Using the modular cloning (MoClo) assembly method, we constructed a library of bacterial promoters and ribosomal-binding sites, then constructed devices with fluorescent proteins to characterize the promoter-RBS combinations via flow cytometry and designed standard data sheets for the parts with a javascript software program. The library, characterization data, and data sheets fill an essential role in the implementation of automated synthetic biology protocols which will pave the way to industrialized synthetic biology products.