Difference between revisions of "Team:Concordia"

Combat Cells!

This year, Concordia University’s iGEM team aims to adapt the popular and engaging TV show Robot Wars, in which teams design and battle robots, and incorporate our spin for the synthetic biology community. Our project consists of equipping cells with nanoparticles and have them battle one another, with the intention of creating a broadcast acting as a medium through which we can entertain, educate, and inspire the public to participate in synthetic biology. The project involves three phases: nanoparticle synthesis, nanoparticle attachment, and analysis of cell survival on a microfluidic chip. To generate nanoparticles, we are using plants such as garlic, aloe vera and cabbage. Plants possess a variety of biomolecules that are capable of reducing and stabilizing metal ions to their nanoparticle form. We can manipulate the sizes and shapes of nanoparticles by varying the amounts of plant extract and metallic solutions used. Then, using an AFM or TEM, we will characterize the nanoparticles synthesized. Here we aim to develop optimized methods for controlling the shapes and sizes of the nanoparticles using plant-mediated synthesis. Furthermore, incorporating this eco-friendly and cost-effective approach to synthesizing nanoparticles has allowed our project to reduce the amount of waste we produce, as well as reduce the amount of chemicals we expose to the environment. We then want to develop an effective linkage method between the nanoparticles and the cell’s surface, for both bacterial and eukaryotic model systems. Additionally, we intend to study the relationship between nanoparticle abundance and localization on the protective qualities offered to the cell. After equipping the cells with nanoparticles, cellular opponents will be guided through an obstacle course leading to the battledome, designed on a microfluidics chip. The obstacle course will test the protective abilities of the nanoparticles against varying environmental conditions. Once the opposing species have reached the battledome, they will come into physical contact with each other. Here we will test the protective abilities of nanoparticles against other equipped species. Our aim here is to enhance nanoparticle-coated cell survival in different chemical conditions, and to examine the interactions occurring between coated cells. All of this will occur within the controlled environment of a microfluidics chip, which we will design. Using microfluidics will allow us to dictate the mobility of the cells. Furthermore, experiments run through microfluidics require a small quantity of solutions, permitting us to further reduce the amount of waste we produce throughout our project. After the cell battle is finished, we will test the survival of the cells using pigments. Ultimately, we envision a multi-team league in which every team has a unique nanoparticle synthesis and attachment strategy.