Chemical Biology Approaches in Synthetic Biology: Advances in Drug Development, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics

Abstract:

Synthetic biology draws on engineering and biology to accelerate drug discovery, diagnostics, and therapy. The field is advancing rapidly, yet most reviews continue to treat its tools in isolation, examining CRISPR genome editing, biosensors, or nucleic acid therapeutics as individual approaches. An intermediate domain involving chemical–biological hybrid systems has received comparatively less attention, where chemical biology tools are used to extend and refine synthetic biological circuits and pathways. This review examines the complementary capabilities that emerge from integrating these two fields. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for work published between 2021 and 2025, screening on terms such as synthetic biology, chemical probes, biosensors, CRISPR technologies, and nucleic acid therapeutics, and retained 52 peer-reviewed articles. These span three areas: drug biosynthesis, disease diagnostics, and therapeutics. Engineered microbial and cell-free systems already produce complex pharmaceuticals, including precursors of artemisinin and paclitaxel, and cannabinoids, at potentially relevant production scales. Synthetic biosensors and CRISPR assays are sufficiently rapid and sensitive for point-of-care testing. Taken together, the integration of chemical biology with synthetic biology indicates a potentially cost-effective and precise approach to next-generation therapeutics and diagnostics, and to personalized medicine.