Team:Glasgow/sandbox
From 2011.igem.org
![](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6122/5958857609_b9df31d718_b.jpg)
Results of Promoter Library + MCS
Results for the Biofilm Dispersal
Results for the Biofilm Fixation - Encapsulation
Results
Collated here are the results from numerous experiments that have been performed for the DISColi project. Detailed information about the biobricks we made is contained in links in the details of the experiment in which they are used.Some of the application ideas we had for our project included:
Creation of medicinal products in extreme environments:
As light is an ubiquitous resource, it makes sense to have light-controlled machinery inside bacteria. This would mean that creation of desired products - such as medicines or enzymes - wouldn't require the expensive transport of chemicals to trigger these responses. This is particularly relevant in places such as space, where transport of any material is extremely expensive. Imagine bringing a small vial of bacteria up in a rocket and having it self-assemble into a complex piece of machinery by simply adding re-cycled growth media and light!
Micro-engineering:
Through target-specific encapsulation and dispersal machinery, partially permeable biofilm could be formed into areas which allow either a rapid or slow movement of fluids through them at specific points. On top of this, any individual bacteria in the formed matrix could be triggered to produce a specific chemical or enzyme at any time allowing formation of a microscopic chemical engineering production line. We have performed modelling on the diffusion gradients of all our biobricks to generate approximate applicable resolutions.
Industrial Cleaning of Bio-reactors:
Biofilm formation is a constant menace in large-scale biotechnology, where bacteria left resting in a reactor form a biofilm which resists conventional cleaning methods. They also reduce reactor lifespan through corrosion and reduces reaction efficiency by insulating heat or absorbing nutrients. We have created several biobricks which trigger biofilm dispersal. By joining these to a specifically active promoter - either a light, chemically, or temperature activated promoter - and inserting them into the bacterial machinery. Once the bio-reaction is completed, the tank can be treated in such a manner that the biofilm dispersal mechanisms become active - thus eliminating the biofilm and increasing the profitability of the Biotechnology industry.