Engineering control circuits for molecular robots using synthetic biology

Abstract

The integration of molecular robots and synthetic biology allows for the creation of sophisticated behaviors at the molecular level. Similar to the synergy between bioelectronics and soft robotics, synthetic biology provides control circuitry for molecular robots. By encoding perception-action modules within synthetic circuits, molecular machines can advance beyond repeating tasks to the incorporation of complex behaviors. In particular, cell-free synthetic biology provides biomolecular circuitry independent of living cells. This research update reviews the current progress in using synthetic biology as perception-action control modules in robots from molecular robots to macroscale robots. Additionally, it highlights recent developments in molecular robotics and cell-free synthetic biology and suggests their combined use as a necessity for future molecular robot development.

Lipid vesicle-based molecular robots

“…Thanks to advances in synthetic chemistry and biology, biologically derived molecules such as DNA and proteins have become readily available, leading to the development of biological computers such as DNA computing systems and CFPS. 188,189 In this section, we will briefly explain the characteristics and reveal the research trends in DNA computing and CFPS.…”

Smart Magnetic Microrobots Learn to Swim with Deep Reinforcement Learning

“…[10] This challenge is in part because the design of microrobotic systems is trending toward the use of complex composite materials, [6,[11][12][13][14] dynamic morphologies, [15][16][17][18] and integrated biological components. [19][20][21][22][23] These features add layers of functionality to microrobotic systems, but can create difficulties when constructing accurate dynamic and kinematic models of microrobotic behavior, making it especially complex and challenging to use classical feedback control systems to control microrobot behavior. [5,15,24] Additionally, the environmental dynamics encountered by a biomedical microrobot inside the human body may be variable, complex, and poorly characterized.…”