Team:Aachen/Project

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(Cellock Holmes - A Case of Identity)
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= Cellock Holmes - A Case of Identity =
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= ''Cellock Holmes'' - A Case of Identity =
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"What is living in on the table in front of you?" seems to be an easy question to answer: microoganisms. However, ''which'' microorganisms are living on the table in front of you is not such a trivial question anymore, especially in environments where you only want to have a non-pathogenic microflora, or no microorganisms at all, such as lab spaces or health care institutions.  
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'''"What's living on the table in front of you?"''' seems to be an easy question to answer: microoganisms.  
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'''Our project ''Cellock Holmes'' tries to solve this case of identy.'''
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However, '''"''Which'' microorganisms are there?"''' is not such a trivial question anymore, especially in environments where you only want to have a non-pathogenic microflora or no microorganisms at all, such as lab spaces or health care institutions.
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''Cellock Holmes'' encompasses our 2D biosensing technology with which we want to enable detection of bacteria on solid surfaces. When developing ''Cellock'' Holmes, a main goal was to overcome shortcomings of excisting detection methods such as high cost, heavy and sensitive equipment, complicated handling and long detection times. Instead of inventing a mainly fancy concept for detecting bacteria, we wanted to create a biosensor that is
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'''Our project ''Cellock Holmes'' solves this case of identy.'''
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* fast
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* inexpensive
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* open source
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* mobile
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* easy to handle
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As a '''proof-of-concept''' for ''Cellock Holmes'' we decided to detect the bacterium '''''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'''''. This opportunistic bacterium mainly infects patients with open wounds and burns as well as immuneodeficient people. ''P. aeruginosa'' cells use quorum sensing to communicate with each other, and in doing so secrete autoinducers into their environment. Using Synthetic Biology, our team '''engineered sensor cells, so-called ''Cellocks''''', that are able to detect said autoinducers and to elicit a fluorescence signal. And through the use of our REACh construct, the response time of our sensor cells is sped up.  
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''Cellock Holmes'' encompasses our '''[https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/2D_Biosensor 2D biosensing technology]''' with which can detect bacteria on solid surfaces. ''Cellock Holmes'' is mainly devised to overcome the drawbacks of existing techniques and aims for a faster, inexpensive, open source, mobile and an easy to handle detection method.
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So far ''Cellocks'' are able to detect ''P. aeruginosa'' only, however, due to the modular composition of our genetic device, it is possible to engineer ''Cellocks'' in a way that they are able to detect other bacteria's autoinducers. Even more flexibility would be introduced using our alternative molecular approach using Galectin-3.
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We demonstrate the '''proof-of-concept''' for ''Cellock Holmes'' by detecting an opportunistic pathogen ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa''. This gram-negative prokaryote infects patients with open wounds and burns as well as immunodeficient people. ''P. aeruginosa'' cells use quorum sensing to communicate with each other by secreting autoinducers into their environment. Using a Synthetic Biology (SynBio) approach, our team engineered sensor cells, so-called ''Cellocks'', that are able to detect the native autoinducer of ''P. aeruginosa'' and elicit a distinct fluorescence signal. Further, the response time of our sensor cells has been highly enhanced by the use of our special [https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/FRET_Reporter '''REACh construct''']. The advantages of our REACh construct is also backed-up by a [https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/Model '''model'''] of our biosensor's kinetics.
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Hand in hand with the biological side of our project, our IT crew built the '''measurement device ''WatsOn''''' that is able to read and analyze the fluorescent signal.  
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While ''Cellocks'' are specifically designed to detect ''P. aeruginosa'', with a modular composition of our genetic device, it is possible to easily engineer ''Cellocks'' to detect autoinducers of other bacteria. Even more flexibility is introduced when using our [https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/Gal3 '''alternative molecular approach using Galectin-3'''].
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Hand in hand with the biological side of our project, our IT crew built the [https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/Measurement_Device '''''WatsOn'''''], our measurement device. ''WatsOn'' is able to read and analyze the fluorescent signal emitted by the 2D biosensor. For an Open access, we publish DIY construction manual and technical details of our devices.
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<html><ul class="team-grid">
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To learn more about the different parts of our 2D biosensor, click on the respective panels on the right.
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<!-- Overview -->
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<li style="width:186px;margin-left: 11px;margin-right: 11px;margin-bottom: 11px;margin-top: 11px;">
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    <a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/2D_Biosensor" style="color:black">
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<a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/2D_Biosensor" style="color:black">
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     <div class="team-item team-info" ><div class="menukachel">2D Biosensor</div></div>
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     <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-info" style="height: 180px; width: 180px;" > <div class="menukachel" style="top: 33%;line-height: 1.5em;">2D Biosensor</div></div>
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     <div class="team-item team-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/5a/Aachen_14-10-14_cellock_liegend_panel_iNB.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%">
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     <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/5a/Aachen_14-10-14_cellock_liegend_panel_iNB.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%; height: 180px; width: 180px;">
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<li style="width:186px;margin-left: 11px;margin-right: 11px;margin-bottom: 11px;margin-top: 11px;">
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    <a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/FRET_Reporter" style="color:black">
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<a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/FRET_Reporter" style="color:black">
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     <div class="team-item team-info" ><div class="menukachel">REACh Construct</div></div>
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     <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-info" style="height: 180px; width: 180px;" > <div class="menukachel" style="top: 33%;line-height: 1.5em;">REACh Construct</div></div>
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     <div class="team-item team-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/b/ba/Aachen_14-10-13_REACh_construct_tile_iNB.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%">
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     <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/b/ba/Aachen_14-10-13_REACh_construct_tile_iNB.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%; height: 180px; width: 180px;">
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<li style="width:186px;margin-left: 11px;margin-right: 11px;margin-bottom: 11px;margin-top: 11px;">
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    <a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/Gal3" style="color:black">
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<a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/Model" style="color:black">
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     <div class="team-item team-info" > <div class="menukachel">Galectin-3</div></div>
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     <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-info" style="height: 180px; width: 180px;" > <div class="menukachel" style="top: 33%;line-height: 1.5em;">Modeling</div></div>
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     <div class="team-item team-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/7/74/Aachen_14-10-13_Galectin-3-YFP_iNB.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%">
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     <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/c/c6/Aachen_14-10-18_Modeling_Panel_iNB.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%; height: 180px; width: 180px;">
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<li style="width:186px;margin-left: 11px;margin-right: 11px;margin-bottom: 11px;margin-top: 11px;">
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    <a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/Measurement_Device" style="color:black">
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<a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/Gal3" style="color:black">
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     <div class="team-item team-info" > <div class="menukachel"><i>WatsOn</i></div></div>
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     <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-info" style="height: 180px; width: 180px;"> <div class="menukachel" style="top: 33%;line-height: 1.5em;">Galectin-3</div></div>
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     <div class="team-item team-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/6/64/Aachen_14-10-14_WatsOn_white_iVA.jpg); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%">
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     <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/7/74/Aachen_14-10-13_Galectin-3-YFP_iNB.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%; height: 180px; width: 180px;">
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<li style="width:186px;margin-left: 11px;margin-right: 11px;margin-bottom: 11px;margin-top: 11px;">
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<a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Project/Measurement_Device" style="color:black">
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    <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-info" style="height: 180px; width: 180px;"> <div class="menukachel" style="top: 33%;line-height: 1.5em;"><i>WatsOn</i></div></div>
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    <div class="menusmall-item menusmall-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/c/c7/Aachen_WatsOn_easy.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%; height: 180px; width: 180px;">
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</ul>
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</center>
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{{Team:Aachen/BlockSeparator}}
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= The OD/F Device - A Project Spin-Off =
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<html><ul class="menuright-grid" style="width:215px;margin-left:20px;">
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<!-- Overview -->
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  <li style="margin-top:6px; margin-bottom:4px;margin-right:10px;">
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    <a class="menulink" href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/OD/F_device" style="color:black">
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    <div class="menuright-item menuright-info" > <div class="menukachel"><i>OD/F Device</i></div></div>
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    <div class="menuright-item menuright-img" style="background: url(https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/0/0f/Aachen_14-10-10_ODF_Button_ipo.png); norepeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; background-size:100%">
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Last but not the least, we present our [https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/OD/F_device OD/F Device]. This device is designed to '''measure optical density and fluorescence''' of a liquid sample in cuvettes. The measurement values are subsequently displayed to the user.
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The OD/F Device is as well designed in accordance with the '''Open Source''' principle and all [https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Notebook/Engineering/ODF technical details] as well as [https://2014.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Notebook/Engineering/ODF#diy construction manuals] are published on our wiki. We demonstrate immediate application of the OD/F Device in '''schools, community labs''' and in the '''bio-hacker scene'''.
{{Team:Aachen/Footer}}
{{Team:Aachen/Footer}}

Latest revision as of 02:23, 18 October 2014

Cellock Holmes - A Case of Identity

"What's living on the table in front of you?" seems to be an easy question to answer: microoganisms.

However, "Which microorganisms are there?" is not such a trivial question anymore, especially in environments where you only want to have a non-pathogenic microflora or no microorganisms at all, such as lab spaces or health care institutions.

Our project Cellock Holmes solves this case of identy.

Cellock Holmes encompasses our 2D biosensing technology with which can detect bacteria on solid surfaces. Cellock Holmes is mainly devised to overcome the drawbacks of existing techniques and aims for a faster, inexpensive, open source, mobile and an easy to handle detection method.

We demonstrate the proof-of-concept for Cellock Holmes by detecting an opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This gram-negative prokaryote infects patients with open wounds and burns as well as immunodeficient people. P. aeruginosa cells use quorum sensing to communicate with each other by secreting autoinducers into their environment. Using a Synthetic Biology (SynBio) approach, our team engineered sensor cells, so-called Cellocks, that are able to detect the native autoinducer of P. aeruginosa and elicit a distinct fluorescence signal. Further, the response time of our sensor cells has been highly enhanced by the use of our special REACh construct. The advantages of our REACh construct is also backed-up by a model of our biosensor's kinetics.

While Cellocks are specifically designed to detect P. aeruginosa, with a modular composition of our genetic device, it is possible to easily engineer Cellocks to detect autoinducers of other bacteria. Even more flexibility is introduced when using our alternative molecular approach using Galectin-3.

Hand in hand with the biological side of our project, our IT crew built the WatsOn, our measurement device. WatsOn is able to read and analyze the fluorescent signal emitted by the 2D biosensor. For an Open access, we publish DIY construction manual and technical details of our devices.

To learn more about the different parts of our 2D biosensor, click on the respective panels on the right.

The OD/F Device - A Project Spin-Off


Last but not the least, we present our OD/F Device. This device is designed to measure optical density and fluorescence of a liquid sample in cuvettes. The measurement values are subsequently displayed to the user.

The OD/F Device is as well designed in accordance with the Open Source principle and all technical details as well as construction manuals are published on our wiki. We demonstrate immediate application of the OD/F Device in schools, community labs and in the bio-hacker scene.