Team:UCLA

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Revision as of 22:09, 12 October 2014

iGEM UCLA

Customizing Silk

Modifying the genetic structure of silk can create a diverse new range of biomaterials.

With spider silk as our basis, we started to experiment with the genetic structure of silk. We rearranged portions of the repetitive DNA code to see how it affected the strength, elasticity, and spinning capabilities using Golden Gate Cloning and Iterative Capped Assembly. Click this text to learn about this portion of our project in-depth.

Functionalizing Fibers

By attaching various proteins, we can create silk with specific applications.

Glowing silk is an idea that appeals both to the scientific and artistic worlds. It is a proof of concept for the scientists, demonstrating how we are able to functionalize silk fibers, and an interesting new material to work with for the artists. This method can be applied to different kinds of proteins with different functions as well, but every idea has to start small. To see how we attached GFP to our silk constructs, click this text.

Spinning Silk

Engineering our silk is only half the work, creating a tangible product is the rest.

After some stumbles in the beginning of summer when our makeshift rotary jet spinner failed to work, we decided to look into different methods of spinning synthetic fibers. We tested extrusion with a syringe pump, which gave us very thin, fragile fibers. Click this text to jump into the action and watch fibers take shape from solution.




Requirements
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Tips
We are currently working on providing teams with some easy to use design templates. In the meantime you can also view other team wikis for inspiration! Here are some very good examples 2013 SDU Denmark 2013 SYSU China 2013 Shenxhen BGIG ATCG 2013 Colombia Unianades 2013 Lethbridge For a full wiki list, you can visit iGEM 2013 web sites and iGEM 2012 web sites lists.		This wiki will be your team’s first interaction with the rest of the world, so here are a few tips to help you get started: State your accomplishments! Tell people what you have achieved from the start. Be clear about what you are doing and what you plan to do. You have a global audience! Consider the different backgrounds that your users come from. Make sure information is easy to find; nothing should be more than 3 clicks away. Avoid using very small fonts and low contrast colors; information should be easy to read. Start documenting your project as early as possible; don’t leave anything to the last minute before the Wiki Freeze. For a complete list of deadlines visit the iGEM 2013 calendar Have lots of fun!

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-After some stumbles in the beginning of summer when our makeshift rotary jet spinner failed to work, we decided to look into different methods of spinning synthetic fibers. We tested extrusion with a syringe pump, which gave us very thin, fragile fibers. Click this text to jump into the action and watch fibers form from solution.
+After some stumbles in the beginning of summer when our makeshift rotary jet spinner failed to work, we decided to look into different methods of spinning synthetic fibers. We tested extrusion with a syringe pump, which gave us very thin, fragile fibers. Click this text to jump into the action and watch fibers take shape from solution.
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