Oh hello there,I am Charlie,a trusty member of the "Herb Tasters" and also the brainiest E. coli in the colony.
I know all the secrets of Chinese herbs and their magical healing powers.
If you are up to a challenge,find me at team HSiTW at the jamboree.
I am the one in a straw hat,showing them pearls.I will be waiting.
Muhahahahaha
Hi there! My name is Nu Zhen Chi. This is how I look like.
Take a closer look; guess which part of me is used as medicine?
(1) the root
(2) the stem
(3) the leaf
(4) the seed
Ans.(4) the seed
Name: 女貞子 (Nu Zhen Chi)
Botanical Name: Ligustrum lucidum Aiton
I can treat people who are yin deficient, and liver problems that cause dizziness,cataract of the eyes,
lower back pain, premature graying of the hair and tinnitus.
Hello! My name is Chuan Xiong. This is how I look like.
Make a guess, which part of me is used as medicine?
(1) the root
(2) the stem
(3) the leaf
(4) the seed
Ans.(1) the root
Name: 川芎 (Chuan Xiong)
Botanical Name: Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort
I help with blood regulation to prevent relevant to blood stasis and non-stop bleeding.I can also strengthen your qi circulation.
In addition, I relieve you of physical pain,
such as headaches, abdominal aches, chest pain, and muscle pain.
Finally, I free the ladies of menstrual disorders and amenorrhea.
What’s up? My name is Dang Gui. I can:
(1) stop coughing
(2) regulate mense
(3) reduce internal heat
Ans.(2) Regulate mense
Name: 當歸 (Dang Gui)
Botanical Name: Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels
I can remove blood stasis and clots, so I am usually used to regulate menses,lubricate intestines to correct constipation, reduce swelling, expel pus.
Reference
臧堃堂 (2005) 中華材輕百科-現代版本草綱目,山岳文化出版社,台北
Non-Profit Organization Brion Research Institute of Taiwan.
Chinese Herb Gallery. Jade Institute
Herbal Glossary. Shen-Nong- Chinese Traditional Medicine
Acknowledgement
Thank you for Non-Profit Organization Brion Resaerch Institute of Taiwan that provide us Chinese herbs and photos.
Product
- Framework
- Design of Biosensor Function
- Design of Biosafety
- User Guide
Product
Framework
We designed an E.coli biosensor to detect the poison in the Chinese Medicine. When E.coli detects the poison, the device will show fluorescence to quickly warn the user of the existence of poison in Chinese Medicine. Our product fulfills most of the requirements and the standards that the government set for detecting toxins/heavy metals in Chinese Medicine. We also innovated design for eco-friendly biosafety guarantee.
Figure 1 Product of Shen-Nong Biosensor
Design of Biosensor Function
Our device can detect four kinds of toxins, copper, lead, arsenic, and aflatoxin. The contents of these four toxins in Chinese Medicines are limited by FDA. If there’s any of those toxins are detected in the Chinese Medicine, the E.coli will perform fluorescence, so the user can see the result only by watching the fluorescence.
Figure 2 Product of Shen-Nong Biosensor
* Funnel: Where the user put the Chinese Medicine in.
* Syringe: To let the Chinese Medicine flow into the E.coli plate.
* Filter: To remove the impurities in the Chinese Medicine
* Latch: To lock the E.coli plate in the device, so user can’t take them out again.
* Hibiscus: To prevent the leakage of E.coli from the device.
* Sodium Percarbonate: To clean all E.coli after testing.
Figure 3 Four different plate of our biosensor
Design of Biosafety
For the safety concern, we innovated a three-step bio-safety guarantee. First, we designed a latch that can lock the E. coli plate inside the device when they are loaded. Second, we designed a way, which is no harm to the environment, to prevent the leakage of E.coli from the device, inside of which the inner layer is covered by hibiscus. Hibiscus is a special plant which has great function of bacteria sterilization. We also conducted experiments to verify hibiscus's function of bacteria sterilization.(Figure 5)Third, after use of this device, the user twist a button to inflow sodium percarbonate to the bacteria plate. The interaction of soidum percarbonate with any organic compounds (E. coli in our case) produces hydrogen peroxide, which diffuse into the plate and kill all E.coli. These three steps secure the users safety of use.
Figure 4 Three-step biosafety guarantee
Figure 5 Hibiscus's function of bacteria sterilization
In this figure, we can see that hibiscus can inhibit the growth of E.coli effectively.
User Guide
Our device is sample and safe for anyone to use. Users only have to put the Chinese Medicine into the device and then wait two hours for the result. They can tell if there’s any poison in the Chinese Medicine easily by observing whether the E.coli produce fluorescence or not. Finally, users just have to twist the button to let the Sodium Percarbonate kill all the E.coli in the device without contacting any bacteria.
Figure 6 User Guide of Biosensor
In conclusion, our product can efficiently detect the toxins in Chinese medicine. This product is eco-friendly and has high quality of bio-safety.
Patent Application
The fallowing pictures are working for patent application.
Figure 7 Outside Box
Figure 8 Inner E.coli Plate
Figure 9 Lid of The Inner E.coli Plate
Figure 10 Button of The Sodium Percarbonate Capsule
Figure 11 Bolt of The Inner E.coli Plate