Synthetic biology for nanotechnology

Synthetic biology-the redesign of biological molecules, structures and organisms-is potentially one of the most powerful emerging technologies today. The modification of biological structures has already been pursued for a variety of nanotechnological objectives; but synthetic biology could provide the tools and understanding needed both to develop 'nanobiotechnology' in a more systematic manner and to expand the scope of what it might achieve. In this article I shall review what has been attained so far in this field, and look at some of the nanoscale possibilities that an engineering approach to cell biology might herald.