AI Design

Nuclex uses Claude to turn natural-language descriptions into functional genetic circuits.

How it works

The AI pipeline follows five stages:

1. Intent Parsing — Claude extracts the biological function, target organism, constraints, and requirements from your prompt.
2. Parts Retrieval — The system queries the parts database using semantic search, ranking results by similarity, characterization level, and organism compatibility.
3. Circuit Assembly — Claude assembles the retrieved parts into a circuit following biological rules (Promoter → RBS → CDS → Terminator), with confidence scores for each placement.
4. Validation — The assembled circuit is checked for structural correctness and biosafety. Flagged sequences are blocked.
5. Output — The circuit is rendered on the canvas with annotated parts, connections, and a confidence summary.

Writing good prompts

Better prompts produce better circuits. Include:

• Biological function: What should the circuit do? (“detect arsenic”, “produce insulin”)
• Organism: Where will it run? (“in E. coli”, “in yeast”)
• Constraints: Any specific requirements? (“use a strong constitutive promoter”, “include antibiotic resistance”)
• Reporter: How will you measure output? (“GFP reporter”, “luciferase”)

Example prompts

Design a biosensor that detects arsenic and produces GFP in E. coli

Create a gene expression cassette for human insulin in E. coli BL21 with T7 promoter

Build a kill switch using the mazF toxin-antitoxin system with IPTG induction

Refining designs

After the initial generation, you can chat with the AI to refine the design. The refinement system understands context and can:

• Swap individual parts for alternatives
• Add or remove circuit elements
• Explain design choices and trade-offs

Example refinement: “Replace the constitutive promoter with an IPTG-inducible one”

AI credit system

AI features use a weighted credit system. Different actions cost different amounts:

This means you can use 5 chat messages for every 1 generate. Your credit balance is shown in the AI panel header.

Credits per plan

Usage resets at the start of each billing cycle. Free users reset on the 1st of each month. Guest credits do not reset.