MINI REVIEW article
Front. Synth. Biol.
Sec. Genetic Systems and Circuit Design
Volume 3 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsybi.2025.1630026
Frontiers in Biofoundry: Opportunities and Challenges
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute of Bioscience, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
- 2Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
- 3Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Synthetic biology, with its vast potential applications in diverse fields such as biomanufacturing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medicine, environment and food industries, is increasingly recognized for its transformative solutions and sustainability potential. This is reflected in the booming of biofoundries in which automation, robotic liquid handling systems and bioinformatics are strategically integrated to streamline and expedite the synthetic biology workflow. The high-throughput capability of biofoundry not only accelerates the discovery pace of synthetic biology but also makes it possible to expand the catalogue of bio-based products that can be produced. In this review, we present the core concept of Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) engineering cycle for biofoundry, early success stories and current challenges in developing a sustainable biofoundry before concluding with future perspectives. Continuous concerted efforts are required to support the planning and establishment of a biofoundry as well as in addressing the gaps and challenges of maintaining a sustainable biofoundry.
Keywords: Synthetic Biology, artificial intelligence, Automation, bioeconomy, biosafety, biosecurity, sustainability, Genetic Engineering
Received: 16 May 2025; Accepted: 17 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 YU, Ang, Mat Isa and Chan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
CHOO YEE YU, chooyee85@gmail.com
Geik Yong Ang, geikyong@uitm.edu.my
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.