Team:Cornell

From 2011.igem.org

(Difference between revisions)

Revision as of 03:09, 25 September 2011

Home Table

Abstract

Cornell’s 2011 iGEM team has designed a new, scalable, and cell-free method to produce complex biomolecules. Current methods for purification from cellular lysate are expensive and time consuming. Cornell iGEM’s Biofactory consists of microfluidic chips coated with enzyme for use in a modular enzyme-mediated biosynthesis pathway. The surface bonding of enzymes is achieved via the well-characterized biotin-avidin mechanism. Enzymes modified with the avidin-tag are bound to the functionalized surface of microfluidic channels, so that when combined in series, these chips operate as a linear biochemical pathway for continuous flow reactions. Additionally, we engineered E. Coli with a genetic mechanism for light-induced apoptosis to easily lyse cultures producing the desired enzymes. The cell lysate is flowed through the microfluidic channels, coating them with the biotinylated enzyme. We believe this method will reduce unwanted side reactions, as well as significantly lowering the costs of producing bio-pharmaceuticals in the future.

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 </div>
 <p align="justify">
-Our current proposed project for the summer is the fabrication of a
+Cornell’s 2011 iGEM team has designed a new, scalable, and cell-free method to produce complex biomolecules. Current methods for purification from cellular lysate are expensive and time consuming. Cornell iGEM’s Biofactory consists of microfluidic chips coated with enzyme for use in a modular enzyme-mediated biosynthesis pathway. The surface bonding of enzymes is achieved via the well-characterized biotin-avidin mechanism. Enzymes modified with the avidin-tag are bound to the functionalized surface of microfluidic channels, so that when combined in series, these chips operate as a linear biochemical pathway for continuous flow reactions. Additionally, we engineered E. Coli with a genetic mechanism for light-induced apoptosis to easily lyse cultures producing the desired enzymes. The cell lysate is flowed through the microfluidic channels, coating them with the biotinylated enzyme. We believe this method will reduce unwanted side reactions, as well as significantly lowering the costs of producing bio-pharmaceuticals in the future. </p>
-microfluidic device for the cell-free production of bio-pharmaceuticals
-by binding the necessary enzymes of the pathway to the surface of the
-channel. The enzymes would be harvested from cellular lysate created by
-engineering light-induced cell death in bacterial populations which
-produce the needed enzymes. Our goal is to automate and simplify the
-device construction to allow for a scalable microfluidic factory.</p>
 </td>
 <td