Extracellular Vesicle and Synthetic Vesicle Engineering
Natural cells secrete vesicles that are composed of phospholipids and biomolecules. Harnessing and mimicking these vesicles could create novel solutions for biomedical applications. But, engineering such vesicles that are multifunctional and “smart” remains challenging. The Tan lab builds synthetic vesicles that mimic specific properties of natural extracellular vesicles. We use synthetic biology approaches that integrate advanced cloning methods, proteomics, high-resolution imaging, and cell-free systems. The synthetic vesicles are minimal and functionalized with proteins, genes, and biomaterials. Our work will generate novel synthetic vesicles for disease diagnostics and treatment.
Representative publications
- T. Henson, A. Arizzi, C. Meyer, D. Wang, N. Lowe, Y. Wang, K. Ananda, R. Carney, A. Wang, C. Tan. Prototyping Minimal Extracellular Vesicle Mimetics Using Cell-free Synthesis. ACS Nano, 2026 pdf
- R. Carney, R. Mizenko, B. Bozkurt, T. Henson, A. Arizzi, A. Wang, C. Tan, S. George. Harnessing extracellular vesicle heterogeneity for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Nature Nanotechnology, 2025, pdf
Cell-Free Synthetic Biology and High-Throughput Protein Engineering
Much of life science revolves around understanding and exploiting the function of proteins. Yet, only a small subset of proteins is routinely studied in basic research or used in applications. The Tan lab integrates cell-free protein synthesis, molecular tools, microfluidics, and computational algorithms to accelerate the study of proteins. Our work will enable the high-throughput study of “difficult” and understudied proteins.
Representative publications
- C. Zhou#, J. Shim#, Z. Fang, C. Meyer, T. Gong, M. Wong, C. Tan*, T. Pan*. The engineering of a microfluidic printing robot for protein network reconstitution. ACS Analytical Chemistry, 2022, pdf
- F. Wu, J. Shim, and C. Tan. Orthogonal tuning of gene expression noise using CRISPR-Cas. Nucleic Acids Research, 2020.
Synthetic Cells, Cyborg Cells, and Growth-Arrested Cell Therapies
Natural cells are modified for broad applications by exploiting their ability to synthesize biomolecules, respond and adapt to environments, and change their structures dynamically. But, it remains challenging to engineer synthetic cells that are robust, safe, and effective, akin to microrobots. The Tan lab integrates material and genetic approaches to create novel synthetic cells (ranging from bacterial pathogens to human primary cells) that respond to environmental stimuli. Our work aims to create novel synthetic cells that are safe and effective for immunotherapy, regeneration, bioproduction, and chronic disease therapy.
Representative publications
- J. Lee-Kin, O. Baghdasaryan, L. Contreras-Llano, A. Wang, C. Tan. Therapeutic Applications of Engineered Cell Death, Arrest, and Persistence. Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 2026 pdf
- L. Contreras‐Llano, Y. Liu, T. Henson, C. Meyer, O. Baghdasaryan, S. Khan, C. Lin, A. Wang, C. Hu, C. Tan. Engineering Cyborg Bacteria Through Intracellular Hydrogelation. Advanced Science, 2204175, 2023.
Quantitative Synthetic Biology and Biological Network Control
Biological networks consist of biomolecules linked by various feedback loops. These feedback loops operate under noisy cellular environments and can cause emergent behavior of cells. Understanding and controlling the flow of information through complex biological networks are crucial for the engineering of synthetic cells and vesicles. The Tan lab uses mathematical modeling and quantitative measurements to reveal emergent dynamics of synthetic biological networks. We are among the first to discover the holistic interactions between genetic and non-genetic factors, including molecular crowding, antagonistic signaling pathways, and host-circuit interactions. Our work will create quantitative frameworks to predict and control the functions of synthetic biological networks.
Representative publications
- C. Meyer, A. Arizzi, H. Tanner, S. Aviran, M. Longo, A. Wang, C. Tan. Designer artificial environments for membrane protein synthesis. Nature Communications, 2025, pdf
- C. Meyer, L. Contreras-Llano, Y. Liu, R. Pasula, S. Lim, M. Longo, C. Tan. Holistic engineering of cell-free systems through proteome-reprogramming synthetic circuits. Nature Communications, 2020
