Résumé

Synthetic biology has been described as the design and construction of biological devices and systems for useful purposes [1]. The synthesis of DNA is a critical part of this construction. Advanced measurements have been both enabling and motivating for advances in DNA synthesis chemistry. Building on decades of development of chemical synthesis of DNA [2] and the development of DNA microarrays [3], additional careful attention to minimizing rare side reactions and very small non-idealities in reaction yields has enabled unprecedented levels of synthesis perfection and throughput [4]. The industrialization of this advanced chemistry has been shown to serve as a robust and economical basis for highly sensitive and specific hybridization assays [5]. It has also been shown to serve as a robust and economical source of user defined DNA oligonucleotides of sufficient quality to be used for synthetic biology [6]. The availability of high quality DNA oligonucleotides, coupled with analogously industrialized processes for combining them into larger constructs, opens up the possibility of widespread adoption of synthetic biology methods. New measurement modalities are being developed as a consequence. These examples, along with others elaborated elsewhere in this journal, illustrate the close and sometimes unpredictable interplay amongst measurement, science, and biotechnology, and the foundational role of measurement in advancing the bio-economy.