Synbio Has Never Been Easier

Access to Synthetic Biology by the interested layperson is currently hampered by several barriers, including a required background knowledge and availability of expensive and often bulky technological equipment. Printeria, a fully-equipped bioengineering device able to automate the process of printing genetic circuits in bacteria but made as simple and easy to operate as a domestic desktop printer, breaks down these barriers. It uses a digital microfluidic system creating little droplets that can be mixed and moved across predefined electrode paths on a PCB surface. Printeria combines this novel system with Golden Gate Technology, low-cost sensors and electronics, and a user-friendly software application. This way, the user is capable of assembling domesticated DNA parts in a one-step reaction and can control all biotechnological steps, from the assembly of parts and transformation to cell culture, with high accuracy. Printeria opens the door to a world of applications affordable for the general public.