Team:NYMU-Taipei

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Goal

Create wireless neuro-stimulator, focusing on achieving remote neuro-stimulation to minimize invasion and damage to the neuron.

Why Do We Want to Do That?

Optogenetics, the latest neuroscientific method, has improved specificity for stimulating certain cell types of neurons, reversible bi-directional stimulation, and elevated spatiotemporal precision. However, to achieve neuronal network stimulation, light cables are still needed, leaving long-standing annoying issues regarding immune responses unresolved.

Specific Aims

(1) Wireless stimulation for neurons

(2) Minimization of neuro-immuno response

Our Design

To achieve this goal, we use a species of magnetic bacterium, Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1. We have chosen mms13, a transmembrane protein as our target for protein design in this bacterium, as it serves as a linker between reception of wireless magnetic field and optogenetic neuro-stimulation output. Regarding the neuroimmune response, we have utilized three genes to achieve neurosymbiosis within glial cells: MinC, a division inhibitor, INV, a gene for invasion and LLO, a gene for facilitating escapes from phagosomes.

Our design is made up of the following two devices:

(1) Optomagnetic Design

Bridging magnetics and optogenetics.

(2) NeuroSymbiosis

Enabling magnetotactic bacteria to be neurosymbiosis with glia cells.