Recent Progress and Prospects of Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology combines the knowledge systems and methods of traditional biology, engineering, and mathematics. It creates or modifies living organisms by establishing artificial systems to understand and apply life. In the context of sustainable development, the green and renewable advantages of synthetic biology have made it a hot research topic since the 21st century. However, synthetic biology still faces many problems that urgently need to be solved, such as unpredictability in the design process, high costs in large-scale production, and relatively lagging policies and regulations. In view of the lack of systematic discussion on the latest research progress of synthetic biology, this review introduces the development process of synthetic biology, focusing on its applications in polymer materials, chemical engineering, biomedicine, food, and energy fields. Firstly, the breakthrough progress and development stages of synthetic biology over the past 20 years are introduced in detail. Then, the practical application of synthetic biology is introduced through examples, demonstrating its importance in different application directions. The synthetic biology industry is roughly divided into upstream, midstream, and downstream companies, and is supported by laws and regulations. The amount of investment and financing in synthetic biology is constantly increasing. Finally, to propose suggestions for the healthy development of synthetic biology, it is necessary to develop disciplines such as bioengineering, chemical engineering, and fermentation engineering to reduce costs and strengthen supervision to prevent synthetic biology deviating from the development track. This review aims to effectively promote the rational design and industrialization process of synthetic biology.