Team:Imperial College

From 2008.igem.org

Revision as of 13:49, 17 October 2008 by Saint (Talk | contribs)


For the 2008 iGEM competition, the Imperial College Team aims to develop a genetically-engineered Biofabricator, using the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis as our chassis. Our Biofabricator aims to produce self-assembling biomaterials in specified 3D shapes, using light as the trigger.

  • Light on
  • Motility arrested
  • Biomaterial produced
  • Light off
  • Biomaterial production stopped, movement resumed

Overview
  • First by utilising an endogenous light-sensing mechanism, the bacteria is captured in the desired location using 3D holography.
  • Next bacterial locomotion is suspended in the region of interest using a recently-discovered clutch mechanism. This involves disengaging the flagellum from the motor protein.
  • Finally, when our bacteria are stationary in the correct location, the biomaterial production is triggered. These biomaterials can self-assemble to form a 3D bio-scaffold.

Applications of our Biofabricator range from regenerative tissue engineering to BioCouture.


Please continue on to our project pages - you may want to start with our >>> Project Specifications >>>




The Imperial College Team 2008 has received sponsorship from a number of generous companies. We are grateful for their kind support.



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