Project description
Improving the thermodynamic performance of synthetic biological systems
Synthetic biology combines engineering disciplines to generate novel biological systems such as sensors that can be applied in the biomedical and biotechnology fields. Studying these cell-free systems in detail is central for their future optimisation and design. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the TSBC project focuses on how temperature, composition and other factors affect the thermodynamics of synthetic biological systems. To do this, it will break down complex circuits into specific modules to understand their thermodynamic properties. This knowledge will be used to optimise the thermodynamics of important biological circuits. The key goal is to improve the thermodynamic performance of these systems and their potential.
Objective
The goal of this project will be to create a general theoretical framework to study the non-equilibrium thermodynamics of biological systems with particular focus on synthetic circuits in cell-free environments. To do this, we will rely on the recently developed theory of stochastic thermodynamics, which makes it possible to study the fluctuating thermodynamics of small-scaled systems arbitrary far from equilibrium.
Firstly, we will construct a framework to determine the thermodynamic performance of any given synthetic biological circuits. This can be done by breaking the complicated circuits up into specific modules and derive general expressions for the thermodynamic properties of these individual modules. We will first look at cell-free translation-free nucleic-acid networks, and subsequently extend the results to transcription-translation systems and cellular implementations.Secondly this framework will be used to optimize the thermodynamic performance of some of the most important biologically relevant circuits. We will first focus on simple network motives such as toggle-switches and oscillators, where we will study the optimal network structures leading to the correct behaviour. Subsequently, we will move to more complicated systems such as molecular amplifiers and absolute concentration robust sensors, where we will look at optimal designs, but also derive general trade-off relations between dissipation and robustness.
We expect that our results will lead to new design principles for synthetic circuits and give a better understanding of what can and cannot be done using these synthetic networks, but we also believe that our results will lead to a better understanding of the motives behind the evolution of real gene-regulatory networks.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences thermodynamics
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.