Team:ETH Zurich

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Revision as of 10:49, 17 October 2011

Can you feel the smoke tonight?

Smoke Sensors

Sensor Design 1: Acetaldehyde Sensor

Sensor Design 2: Xylene Sensor

Abstract

SmoColi cells are engineered to sense toxic substances found in cigarette smoke. They are immobilized in a microfluidic channel, in which a concentration gradient of the toxic substance is established. The sensor is linked to a band-pass filter that leads to input-concentration-dependent GFP expression. Continuous increase of the input concentration and its detection, therefore, establishes a moving fluorescent band in the channel. Finally, if the input concentration exceeds a certain threshold, cells produce RFP and the device turns red.

Data Page

Network Elements

Microfluidics Evaluation

Combined Model

Team

Signal Processing by SmoColi

Overview of the information processing steps in SmoColi

Our Sponsors

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 |style="font-size:2em; height: 30px" class="overview"|Abstract
 |-
-|valign="top" style="height:100%"|'''SmoColi is a bacterio-quantifier of smoke concentration that can be used as a passive smoke detector. Cigarette smoke contains a lot of different toxic and carcinogenic substances, most of which are volatile, e.g. acetaldehyde or xylene. Therefore we can use them as an airborne information carrier. The SmoColi cells are immobilized in an agarose-filled microfluidic device. The test solution is fed to one end of a microfluidic channel, in which a concentration gradient is established by diffusion and synthetic cellular degradation. The cells are engineered to sense a certain molecule. Some sensors were integrated as found in nature, others had to by synthetically re-designed, e.g. the fungal acetaldehyde-responsive transactivator. The sensor is linked to a band-pass filter that drives GFP expression. This allows establishment of an input-concentration-dependent, moving fluorescent band displaying quantitative information of the input. Finally, if the input concentration exceeds the threshold of malignance, a quorum-sensing-based mCherry alarm system springs into action, turning the entire device red.'''
+|valign="top" style="height:100%"|'''SmoColi cells are engineered to sense toxic substances found in cigarette smoke. They are immobilized in a microfluidic channel, in which a concentration gradient of the toxic substance is established. The sensor is linked to a band-pass filter that leads to input-concentration-dependent GFP expression. Continuous increase of the input concentration and its detection, therefore, establishes a moving fluorescent band in the channel. Finally, if the input concentration exceeds a certain threshold, cells produce RFP and the device turns red.'''
 |}
 |}