Nanotechnology for Synthetic Biology: Crossroads Throughout Spatial Confinement

The convergence between synthetic biology and nanotechnology can be inferred from their common exploitation of the spatial organization at the nano-to-micrometer scales. One of the paradigm of synthetic biology is that one can design complex biological systems by combining standardized modules with predictable functions. Development of nucleic acids as structural bricks for the construction of rationally designed and highly organized materials is a typical orthogonal approach in synthetic biology. This technology takes advantage of predictive method using computer tools to build 1D- to 3D-scaffolds. These scaffolds were used in turn to spatially organize functional nanostructures including biocatalysts and nanoparticles or to build functional materials. In the case of enzymes, the main goal was to build enzymatic cascades in which spatial organization favors coupling. Convergences between synthetic biology and nanotechnologies are starting to have bodies and will offer future co development tools to generate synthetic supramolecular organizations with defined, complex, biological functions useful for industrial applications.