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CSIRO BioFoundry: Bioengineering Capability

The BioFoundry is a state-of‑the‑art facility providing a platform to accelerate discovery and bioengineering for the emerging bioeconomy. With a suite of specialist equipment to meet the needs of high-throughput bioengineering projects, we are open to projects with industry and academia.

Working in the area of synthetic biology, bioengineering makes it possible to develop more sustainable and effective solutions to tackle environmental, health, manufacturing and other industry challenges through designing and building biological systems.

Applications can include medical treatments like insulin that are produced without needing animal parts, biodegradable plastics made without petroleum products and microorganisms harnessed for bioremediation to clean pollutants from our water, soil and air.

BioFoundry services

  • Design DNA for construction
  • Microorganism bioengineering
  • High-throughput strain screening
  • Development of methodologies and protocols to use new organisms.

Specialising in high-volume design and build services, the BioFoundry’s equipment allows us to perform full workflows including combinatorial genetic design and high-throughput genetic strain build. This is made possible by our suite of robotics for DNA assembly and transformation. Our testing capacity extends to basic phenotyping and we can link in access to metabolomics, protein production, and other facilities in CSIRO.

The CSIRO BioFoundry operates in the Design - Build – Test – Learn bioengineering workflow.

CSIRO BioFoundry Modular Workflows

Design

  • DNA design
  • DNA parts order

Build

  • DNA Assembly
  • Organism transformation
  • Colony pick

Test

  • Strain analysis
  • DNA recovery and analysis
  • Sequencing (outsourced)

Learn

  • Data analysis
  • AI/ML (Data61)
Choose the services that suit your project from our modular pipeline.

Recent projects include high-throughput multi-level combinatorial DNA construct assembly, ribosome binding site optimisation using machine learning and artificial intelligence, and cell-free protein expression.

We can also link in strain engineering consultation, metabolomics, fermentation, protein purification, machine learning, and other services through CSIRO’s extensive portfolio.

[Image appears of a rear view of a person walking towards the Ecosciences Precinct]

Narrator: Welcome to the CSIRO BioFoundry.

[Image changes to show a facing view of three researchers walking through the inside of the facility, entering a laboratory, and then a female working with a CyBio FeliX robotic machine]

The BioFoundry’s purpose is to provide the synthetic biology community a pipeline of high-throughput, automated build services in bioengineering.

[Image changes to show a close view of the machine taking liquid from a petri dish and placing it into pipettes, and then the image changes to show a researcher working on a computer]

We’re developing a core set of protocols in DNA construct design and assembly as well as organism transformation and testing.

[Image changes to show a female researcher working with the CyBio FeliX robotic machine again]

We’re open to projects from academia to industry with a modular fee-for service model to fit our modular workflows.

[Image changes to show a female researcher entering a laboratory room and walking towards another female researcher and looking together at a computer screen]

In the BioFoundry we are providing an accessible platform for Australian research and industry to accelerate bioengineering and discovery.

[Images move through to show a female researcher placing a plastic tray into a Thermoline machine and closing the door, and then a researcher placing a tray on a Cytation machine]

As a founding member of the Global Biofoundries Alliance, a community of biofoundries, we are using this shared knowledge to assist development of a robust SynBio community in Australia.

[Image changes to show two female researchers looking at a plastic tray while a male looks on, and then the image changes to show the male researcher placing liquid into test tubes in a tray]

Together we can harness the power of nature to solve problems in health, manufacturing, agriculture and the environment.

[Image changes to show the Ecosciences Precinct building and the camera pans up the building]

Contact us today if you’d like to work with us.

[Music plays and the image changes to show the CSIRO logo on a white screen]

The CSIRO BioFoundry provides bioengineering capability to Australia. Offering a full suite of specialist equipment to meet the needs of high volume research and commercial projects in synthetic biology.

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Use this facility

CSIRO’s BioFoundry is based at the Ecosciences Precinct at Dutton Park and we are open for business. We welcome academia and industry, Australian and international clients. If you have an enquiry relating to the BioFoundry, please contact Dr Janet Reid.

Dr Janet Reid

CSIRO BioFoundry Facility Manager (LAND & WATER)

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