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From 2014.igem.org

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The new burning aid

Our aim is to introduce a ‘smart’ bandage that will moderate the use of antibiotics in modern healthcare. As a case-study for this concept, we want to make a bandage specifically designed for burn-wounds that offers an alternative to the current (antibiotic-intensive) treatment. With the ever increasing antibiotic resistance it will become harder to treat all kinds of bacterial infections, thus an alternative to the use of antibiotics is sought for. When activated, our bandage aims to abate the most common infections in burn-wounds. These are caused by either Pseudomonas aeruginosa and/or Staphylococcus aureus. Our bandage will secrete three kinds of anti-microbial molecules, each targeting a different aspect of the infection. The first molecule is the lantibiotic called nisin, which aims to kill the gram-positive S. aureus. Nisin is used more often in the food industry, but seldom used for medical purposes. Besides nisin we want AiiA (auto inducer inactivator) and DspB (Dispersin B) to be secreted by our bandage. The AiiA protein is a quorum quenching molecule that will disturb the quorum sensing of P. aeruginosa. DspB is an anti-biofilm molecule, which will destroy the biofilm formed by P. aeruginosa. Similar to nisin, AiiA and DspB are not widely used in a medical context. In line with our choice for reducing the general use of antibiotics, the three anti-microbial compounds only are to be secreted when the pathogens are present. The key lies with the fact that the bandage will be activated when an infection arises. At this point, secretion of anti-microbial compounds will start. The system thus prevents an excess use of antibiotics. As a chassis we will use Lactococcus lactis. The modified L. lactis will be put into a contained compartment within the bandage and will not be able to enter the wound or environment. As a back-up, the bandage should be able to sense these kind of infections by producing a blue chromoprotein, amilCP. This helps users to know if they should seek further medical attention. To increase the safety of our product we are considering certain kill switches that come into play when the bacterium is released into the environment (e.g. when the bandage is thrown in the dustbin).

This bandage minimizes the use of antibiotics when treating burn-wounds. In the future, this system of detection and secretion of anti-microbial molecules might be used in other fields, thus preventing antimicrobial resistance and helping society.