Brown iGEM's 2008 Team focused on designing a novel electrical reporting system that could be used as a method of toxin detection, particularly in third-world countries, where water pollution is a prevalent problem.
Through the use of a lysis gene cassette bound to an inducible promoter in E.coli bacteria, the biosensor will have the ability to detect the presence of a certain substance (for example a water toxin)and report that information back via a change in the conductance of the bacterial solution. Through the use of minimal biological machinery and a versatile construct, our system can provide for a sensitive and compact system for substance analysis.