Synthetic Biology and Personalized Medicine

Jain, K.K.

Synthetic biology, application of synthetic chemistry to biology, is a broad term that covers the engineering of biological systems with structures and functions not found in nature to process information, manipulate chemicals, produce energy, maintain cell environment and enhance human health [1] . Synthetic biology includes technologies for DNA synthesis and assembly of fragments of DNA for gene synthesis, sometimes referred to as synthetic genomics. Craig Venter, a pioneer in this area, has described synthetic biology in a video (http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=dvBV2qnSZwo). Genome engineering includes approaches to construct synthetic chromosomes and goes beyond traditional genetic engineering. Metabolic engineering can be used to manipulate metabolic pathways for correction of metabolic disorders and can also be applied to microorganisms to produce chemicals more efficiently than by genetic engineering. Synthetic biology devices contribute not only to improve our understanding of disease mechanisms, but also provide novel diagnostic tools. Methods based on synthetic biology enable the design of novel strategies for the treatment of cancer, immune diseases metabolic disorders and infectious diseases as well as the production of cheap drugs [2] . The potential of synthetic genome, using an expanded genetic code that is designed for specific drug synthesis as well as delivery and activation of the drug in vivo by a pathological signal has been reported [3] .