Team:UNC-Chapel Hill

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is prevalent throughout the world especially in the United States and Mexico. Current methods of treatments have largely remained the same. Patients prick their fingers to draw blood in order for a device to report their blood glucose levels. After the device gives them that information, they administer the appropriate amount of insulin to themselves. There has yet to be a unified system for the sensing of blood glucose levels and insulin administration. As a solution, we propose the following:

The UNC Chapel Hill team has devised a protein controlled system in which E coli detects high glucose levels in its environment, and in response release one of two proteins, insulin or glucagon-like peptide-1

cyclic AMP-CRP Complex

This project utilizes the relationship between cAMP (Cyclic adenosine monophosphate) levels and glucose levels in the bacteria's immediate surroundings in order to accomplish accurate glucose sensing. When glucose levels are high cAMP levels are low, and likewise when glucose levels are low cAMP levels are high. Find out more at our project page.

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