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An international joint research effort has created a new standard framework that simplifies and enhances the accuracy and efficiency of synthetic biology research. This framework is anticipated to serve as an international standard for biofoundries鈥攁utomated laboratories in synthetic biology.

The research is in the journal Nature Communications. The team was led by Dr. Haseong Kim with The National Biofoundry Project Team at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB).

Driven by advancements in deep-tech fields such as synthetic biology and AI, the global bioeconomy is rapidly expanding. It holds the potential to address global challenges by transitioning toward biomanufacturing in areas such as pharmaceuticals, biotherapeutics, and chemical materials.

Biofoundries are increasingly recognized as a core technology for realizing the global bioeconomy. They integrate automated robotics and AI with ICT technologies to standardize, accelerate, and automate the entire synthetic biology pipeline鈥攕upporting both experimental and manufacturing processes with high-throughput capabilities.

Since the launch of the Global Biofoundries Alliance (GBA) in 2019, publicly funded biofoundries around the world have engaged in sharing resources and fostering collaboration. To date, 33 member institutions have joined the GBA to exchange experiences and jointly address scientific and engineering challenges.

However, biofoundries have struggled to share resources and experiences due to differences in equipment, workflows, and operational practices. The lack of standardization and interoperability has also raised concerns about the cost-effectiveness of these expensive facilities.

To address this issue, the research team developed a four-level hierarchical framework that standardizes all experimental processes in biofoundries. This structure enables consistent recording, sharing, and automation of complex biological experiments, facilitating the accumulation of high-quality process data usable in AI applications.

The 4-level standard framework:

1. Project: A set of tasks performed to meet user-defined goals.
2. Service/capability: The functions offered by a biofoundry.
3. Workflow: The iterative Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle.
4. Unit operations: Individual tasks based on specific equipment or software tools.

This research represents the first globally unified operational structure for biofoundries. It effectively creates a common language and framework, allowing laboratories to operate like a single coordinated team. The standard enhances compatibility among automation equipment, improves reliability and reproducibility of experimental data, and facilitates integration with AI-driven and software-based experimental design and analysis.

Dr. Seung-Goo Lee, the corresponding author, commented, "This research is a key strategy to enhance Korea's biofoundry capabilities through global interoperability, especially following the recent passage of the Synthetic Biology Promotion Act in April."

Dr. Haseong Kim, the first author, stated, "Collaborating with researchers from the U.S., U.K., and other countries helped us identify several practical challenges in adapting experimental protocols to the biofoundry environment. We hope that by leading workflow standardization, K-Biofoundry can play a leading role in solving global challenges and advancing the bioeconomy."

Prof. Paul Freemont of the London Biofoundry (co-corresponding author) emphasized, "Due to the diversity of practices across labs, collaboration has been difficult. This framework provides a highly flexible and practical approach for sharing and utilizing the unique expertise of each laboratory."