Difference between revisions of "Team:ShanghaiTechChina B/Hardware"

"Simplicity involves digging through the depth of the complexity" (by Steve Jobs). We aimed to build a simple device (we termed ‘warship’) to increase the competitive power of introduced bacteria against native microbiota and biosafety levels of using engineered bacteria. This was inspired by the feedback from our presentation in a workshop (HUST_Cheering) in July. Other iGEMers were curious about the 'fate' of our engineered bacteria in human's gut. Our Gutrio has to compete with other living microorganisms in a such complicated gut environment. Intestinal environment differs from individuals to individuals and the agents cannot survive if they are not well-prepared. Moreover, it is quite dangerous for armed Gutrios to expand their territory without limitation.

We achieved this by sandwiching alien bacteria with pieces of semi-permeable membrane, thereby detaining concentrated aliens and yet still allowing exchange of chemicals between aliens and gut. We extensively elucidated that aliens would not leak out and surrounding bacteria could not invade aliens. Importantly, we revealed small molecules can freely diffuse across the semi-membrane. Therefore, in principle, therapeutic agents produced by aliens can diffuse into gut environment. Thus, our simple device allowed us to target two birds (alien competitive power and biosafety) with one stone.