About SynCell research and SynCellEU

Synthetic Cell (SynCell) research

Cells are the smallest units of life on Earth, present in all terrestrial life. Synthetic cell (SynCell) research, also known as bottom-up synthetic biology, explores how cells work by reproducing their key characteristics and functions from scratch. This build-to-learn approach helps uncover the fundamental rules of cellular life and promises the emergence of new technological solutions.
Microscopy image of synthetic vesicles. Credits: Marijn van den Brink, the Danelon Lab

What are synthetic cells?

There is no universal definition of the term ‘synthetic cell’ (or SynCell). The answer often reflects the opinion and interests of the researcher being interviewed.

“There are many different answers possible to this question depending on how ambitious one is in getting close to mimicking real life in all its complexity.”– Marileen Dogterom, member of the SynCellEU steering committee, in an interview for Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology.

Potential benefits

Nature is our next technology

We believe that reproducing the functionalities of cells using a “bottom-up” approach will help understand the principles governing cellular life and also inspire us all technological solutions, based on natural processes, offering sustainable alternatives to tackle global challenges—from food safety and health to environmental stewardship.

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Examples of application

To help illustrate the potential of synthetic cells, here is a non-exhaustive list of potential applications we have identified.

Health

Drugs that are able to target specific locations and tissues in the body

Patient-tailored treatments (especially for cancer)

New applications in drug delivery systems

Novel screening methods for antibiotics and drugs, biosensors and against antimicrobial resistance

Materials

Smart and environmentally‐friendly materials for high‐tech industry (100% reusable, capable of self-repair)

Biodegradable polymers and plastics

Sustainable chemicals

Energy/ Environment

Biofuels and other compounds produced by synthetic cells

Zero waste production methods

Artificial photosynthesis to capture and store carbon dioxide

Food

Facilitation of the sustainable production of safe and healthy food

New materials for food biotechnology

New methods for pathogen control

The European Synthetic Cell Initiative (SynCellEU)

Thanks to ERC funding and national initiatives and research programmes (e.g., BaSyC and EVOLF in the Netherlands, MaxSynBio in Germany, and fabriCELL in the United Kingdom), European scientists are making considerable progress in understanding and replicating cellular mechanisms. Research teams have succeeded in reconstituting some cellular processes outside living cells.

But nature and billions of years of evolution have produced extremely complex and active systems: cells are a crowded environment whose components are constantly involved in a multitude of processes. Reproducing the functions of cells is no easy task. But integrating them, i.e. creating a system exhibiting several characteristics essential to cells, is a feat of a higher order that requires compatibility between the processes at play and therefore broader collaboration.

SynCell2024 conference in Toulouse, France
cDICE setup. Image from the Dogterom Lab

Furthermore, synthetic cell research and the technologies that will emerge from it, will change our societies. To ensure responsible research and technological development, it is necessary to examine the potential implications and questions related to biosafety, biosecurity, equity, and ethics, and to integrate them into the research process. To this end, researchers from the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have established the European Synthetic Cell Initiative (SynCellEU).

We are a network of excellent European research laboratories, institutions and companies that have joined forces to advance synthetic cell research and accelerate the development of the technologies resulting from this research.

Our mission is twofold:

  • to coordinate and strengthen the efforts of bottom-up synthetic cell scientists to build a functional synthetic cell from its basic components;
  • to support the translation, in a responsible way, of this knowledge into technological applications for a more sustainable world and healthier people.
We are convinced that a pan-European effort — bringing together researchers, companies, regulators, and policymakers, with financial support from the European Commission — is essential for success.

What we do

We focus our activities on three main areas:

  • fostering collaboration among scientists on synthetic cell research;
  • stimulating cooperation between scientists and industry for the development of new technologies resulting from this research;
  • facilitating ethical and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) discussions that will lead to an ethical, societal and legal framework for developing synthetic cell technologies.

Ultimately we aim to develop a European Research and Innovation Ecosystem in Bottom-up Synthetic Biology.

Hiromune Eto in the lab with 3D printers

Our partners

The European Synthetic Cell Initiative is a formal partnership between research institutions from the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Spain. 

Our contributing partners, who have committed to funding the initiative's coordinating office and its activities

  • Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands, which coordinates the initiative;
  • the Max Planck Society (MPG) in Germany;
  • the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

 Our associate partners

  • The University of Oxford in the UK
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Partner
with us!

Our goal is to create a coordinated European innovation ecosystem for synthetic cell research, where scientists can join forces with industry to advance and upscale research and stimulate technologies in Europe. We work closely with our partners, who help us plan our strategy and actively campaign with us for a pan-European innovation ecosystem.


Would you like to become a partner and help us shape the future of synthetic cell research in Europe?

Get in touch with us today!

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