Integrative Synthetic Biology and Bioelectronic Sensing: Engineering Biomolecules, Microbial Systems and Intelligent Diagnostic Platforms

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, ‘Integrative Synthetic Biology and Bioelectronic Sensing: Engineering Biomolecules, Microbial Systems and Intelligent Diagnostic Platforms,’ aims to bring together cutting-edge advances across synthetic biology, protein engineering, cellular biosensing, and next-generation bioelectronic detection technologies.

Rapid progress in microbial engineering, genetic circuit design, and metabolic pathway optimization is enabling the construction of programmable biological systems capable of performing precise sensing, computation, and actuation. At the same time, innovations in protein engineering, directed evolution, and rational biomolecule design are expanding the toolkit for building high-performance enzymes, receptors, binding domains, and reporter systems.

These biological capabilities are increasingly being integrated with advanced biosensing platforms, including electrochemical, bioelectronic, and microfluidic sensors, creating robust and miniaturized systems for real-time detection of metabolites, small molecules, pathogens, and physiological biomarkers. Emerging genetically encoded sensors and cell-based biosensing platforms further enhance sensitivity and specificity, enabling the detection of complex biochemical environments that traditional sensors cannot access.

A growing frontier in the field involves biological–electronic hybrid interfaces, where engineered living systems are coupled with electronic circuits to enable continuous monitoring, adaptive feedback, and closed-loop control. Complementing these advances, machine learning and transformer-based models are redefining gene regulation prediction, codon optimization, protein modeling, and biosensor design, accelerating the development of engineered biological systems and intelligent diagnostic tools.

This Special Issue invites submissions on the following topics (and related areas):

• Synthetic biology tools for microbial engineering and metabolic pathway optimization.
• Protein engineering, directed evolution, and rational biomolecule design.
• Advanced biosensing platforms, including electrochemical, bioelectronic, and microfluidic sensors.
• Genetically encoded and cell-based biosensors.
• Biological–electronic hybrid interfaces.
• Machine learning and transformer-based approaches for gene regulation, protein design, and biosensing applications.

By gathering contributions from synthetic biology, computational biology, bioengineering, and sensing technology researchers, this Special Issue aims to accelerate innovation and highlight integrative approaches that bridge biology and electronics for next-generation diagnostic and analytical solutions.

Dr. Bruna Matturro
Guest Editor

Dr. George Luka
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Bioengineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• synthetic biology
• codon optimization
• transformer models
• protein engineering
• biosensing
• electrochemical sensors
• bioelectronics
• genetic circuit design
• computational biology
• AI for gene design