Biomolecular Computing Devices in Synthetic Biology - Advancing Artificial Intelligence Through Biological Process Applications - page 265

• Understandingcomplexbiologicalsystems,

fromcellsandorganismstoecosystems.

• Pharmacology and medicine, with a view

toproducingnewdrugsinspiredbythese
devices.Thebiomolecularautomatoninthis
chapterisanexample.

• A computational theory of synthetic

biology.

• Personalised in situ molecular-computer

'smartdrug'.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

• Computer science concepts now core dis-

ciplineinnaturalsciences(asmathematics
aretodayinphysicalsciences). Some of the most interesting future research

linesinourgroupwithinsyntheticbiologyand
biomolecularcomputationare:

• Molecularcomputersincreasinglyusedto

design alternative 'smart' medical thera-
pies.

• Designnewprogrammablebiomolecularau-

tomatawithnewbiologicalinformation-pro-
cessingcapabilities,likestochasticautomata
andbiomolecularautomatanetworks.

CONCLUSION

Thepurposeofthischapteristostudythenew
devicesthatsyntheticbiologyofferstobiomolecu-
larcomputation.Bothdisciplinescometogether
whenitcomestocreatinginformation-processing
devicesbasedonbiologicalprinciples.Oneproof
ofthecloserelationshipthereisbetweenthetwo
disciplinesisthatresearchonsyntheticbiology
focusesonthedevelopmentofgeneticcircuits,
which clearly fall within the field of biomolecular
computation.
Inthischapter,wedetailanumberofexamples
inspiredbydevicesthathavebeenimplementedin
thelaboratoryandpublishedinimportantjournals.
Thesearethreelogicgates,aDNAnanodevice
andabiomolecularautomaton.Theoperationof
thesedevicesisbasedongeneexpressionregula-
tion and other more specific biological processes,
like competitive hybridization, which are also
explainedatlength.
Fromanengineeringviewpoint,thekeygoal
istodesignbiomoleculardevicesinspiredbythe
computerengineeringhierarchytoperformin-
creasinglycomplextasks.Andthesenewdevices
canbeveryusefulinotherdisciplineslike:

• Descriptionandmathematicalformalization

ofbiomolecularprocessesusingautomata
andformallanguagetheory.

• Distributedbiomolecularcomputationusing

microfluidic systems. These systems are
composed of microchannels and micro-
chambersthatcontainbiomoleculardevices
capableofworkingtogetheronatask.

• Modelling of cellular and neurobiological

processesdevelopingnewPsystems.

ACkNOwLEDgmENT

Thisresearchhasbeenpartiallyfundedbythe
Spanish Ministry of Science and Education
(MEC)underprojectTIN2006-15595,byBES-
2007-16220 and by the Comunidad de Madrid
(grantNo.CCG06-UPM/TIC-0386totheLIA
researchgroup)."

REFERENCES

Adleman,L.M.(1994).Molecularcomputation
ofsolutionstocombinatorialproblems. Science ,
226,1021-1024.

• Cell biology and systems biology, with a

view to getting a better understanding of
theoperationofcellbiologyprocesses.