The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has unveiled an interactive inventory to track products and applications using the emerging technology of synthetic biology. The inventory seeks to crowdsource expertise to provide the most accurate information about products and applications, companies and market status. Registered users of the inventory can update current product information, upload supporting scientific studies, and add new products.

In light of the rapid development of the field (see this WP blog post on recent developments in the field), the data represented in the inventory is a limited first attempt to compile a picture of the market of synthetic biology products and applications and may not represent the most current developments in any particular product category, company or market status.

“As the U.S. government, the United Nations and other bodies start to grapple with the governance and regulation of synthetic biology, it is imperative to track the market and understand the sectors primed for growth,” says Dr. Todd Kuiken, a senior program associate with the Synthetic Biology Project. “As more products and platforms move onto the market, there will be increased demand for risk research to underpin regulatory decisions.”

The Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies manages a similar inventory tracking the use of nanoscale materials in consumer products. First released in 2005, that inventory was updated in 2013 and has been widely cited to illustrate the growth of products utilizing nanotechnology.

The Synthetic Biology Products and Applications Inventory can be found here: http://www.synbioproject.org/cpi/