The primary reason the Warwick team selected to develop a new detection system was the opportunity to contribute to improving the quality of human life. We fully understand the importance of understanding different perspectives and considering different opinion, hence why we have devoted a large amount of effort to corresponding with members of the public and incorporating feedback.
Over the course of the project, we were assisted by Gurpreet, a Nuffield Bursary Student from Whitley Academy in Coventry currently entering her 2nd year of sixth form. Through joining us she hoped to further her knowledge of biology and chemistry enabling her to make a more well-informed decision for University applications. In addition to teaching her practical skills in the lab, we also educated her on synthetic biology topics not covered in her current academic syllabus.
Gurpreet was very helpful in providing an alternative perspective as someone from outside the academic sphere with which to share ideas. By identifying the more complex concepts that were that were most difficult to explain, she helped us prepare for attending public events such as open days. Gurpreet expressed a keen interest in the different methods that could be applied when constructing our sensor in order to make it most suitable for use by a wide demographic. By encouraging us to consider the different environments in which our device could be applied, and further involving herself by researching potential solutions, she influenced the development of the physical composition of our device and method of delivery.
Team:Warwick/HP/Gold
Summary
Nuffield Collaboration
Over the course of the project, we were assisted by Gurpreet, a Nuffield Bursary Student from Whitley Academy in Coventry currently entering her 2nd year of sixth form. Through joining us she hoped to further her knowledge of biology and chemistry enabling her to make a more well-informed decision for University applications. In addition to teaching her practical skills in the lab, we also educated her on synthetic biology topics not covered in her current academic syllabus.
Gurpreet was very helpful in providing an alternative perspective as someone from outside the academic sphere with which to share ideas. By identifying the more complex concepts that were that were most difficult to explain, she helped us prepare for attending public events such as open days. Gurpreet expressed a keen interest in the different methods that could be applied when constructing our sensor in order to make it most suitable for use by a wide demographic. By encouraging us to consider the different environments in which our device could be applied, and further involving herself by researching potential solutions, she influenced the development of the physical composition of our device and method of delivery.
Westminster UK iGEM Meet Up
On Wednesday the 17th of August, Warwick iGEM travelled up to Westminster University to attend a two-day event, along with 16 other teams from around the UK.
After being welcomed to the University of Westminster by Dean Professor Jane Lewis, the event began with a question and answer session with Dr Markiv – a spokesperson for iGEM. She provided ideas that helped develop the Human Practices aspect of the Warwick project, as well as troubleshooting the few issues that had become apparent with the Wiki page. After she voiced her concerns, we investigated how we could obtain and incorporate the views of the public and relevant professionals. Following this, we arranged to facilitate discussions with patients, researchers, and students in secondary education.
The opportunity to interact with and get to know other teams and their projects, along with the fantastic talks given by a variety of speakers, made the meet-up a very enjoyable and beneficial experience.
FredSense
We were very fortunate to speak to David Lloyd, CEO of FredSense Technologies - a leading biosensor company based in Canada. He was able to advise our team with regards to the business side of our project. On his advice, we decided that our sensor should not cost more than 0.50 USD per sensor, in order to successfully target the developing world. When estimating manufacturing costs, David recommended considering pre-treatment requirements, such as purification of the RNA and the freeze-drying process, as well as any hardware needed. His general guide figure of the overall cost of production was less than 30% of the resale price. He also proposed additional applications for our sensors, including testing mine runoff and domestic wells in developed countries.
David identified numerous issues that FredSense determined may affect the success of biosensors. Illiteracy and poor governmental structure may prevent success in developing countries, while lack of available treatment may render identifying health hazards potentially pointless. To tackle these problems, the team proposed a colorimetric sensing system that could be supplied to charities and governmental aid associations. However, he did warn that colour is subjective, and so for application within more developed areas, such as supplying environmental consultancies, we determined that a more quantitative measurement would be more helpful. We also considered further developing our product by combining the sensor with a water purification treatment.
After more detailed discussion, the team gained a greater insight into the potential interference resulting from other metal ions present in the sensing solution – potassium for example, interferes with the detection of lead. FredSense found they had to take preventative measures to reduce the effects of arsenic on antimony detection in particular, an interaction which we had not previously considered. Following this, we decided to combat any potential interference issues we may have by treating sample water with 18-crown-6 ether. This chemical specifically binds and precipitates potassium out of solution, enabling removal by filtration, leaving lead detection unaffected.
