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Team:METUHS-Ankara/project.html
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Revision as of 11:11, 13 June 2014
METU HS iGEM 2014
Project Description
Design
Results
Human Practices
Lab Notebook
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless gas which can be very poisonous and dangerous. Since it is produced from commonly used household devices and industry, in the case of any leakage it can cause severe poisonings and deaths. Many people die in Turkey because of mishandled ascot and blast heaters. According to statistics 10,154 people, meaning 14 out of every 100,000 people, were intoxicated.
The aim of our project is to prevent these cases. In order to achieve this, we plan to develop a biological device which will include a detection and a conversion system. Firstly, our detection mechanism is based on light dependent sensors. These sensors gather data from the bacteria, in turn triggering an alarm system. Secondly, in the event of CO presence, our conversion system will be activated in order to convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide (CO2). To accomplish this transformation, we are using an enzyme called Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase (CODH). Finally, as a safety measure we will include a kill switch mechanism that aims to inactivate the system.
CO to CO2 Converter & CO Monitoring System
Carbon monoxide is a highly toxic gas which is undetectable by humans and it is fatal when inhaled. We’ve developed a biological device that comprises of both a qualitative detector for this dangerous gas and a conversion system to transform it into carbon dioxide. As for detection, CO sensitive promoters pCooM and pCooF from Rhodosprillum rubrum will initiate the production of fluorescent proteins in the presence of CO. Optic sensors will be used to track the production of these proteins and if the sensors pick up data indicating that CO is present; an alarm will be triggered. Meanwhile, the conversion system of our device will utilize a Cyanobacteria enzyme called Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase (CODH), which converts CO into CO2. We also have a kill-switch design based on the lac-operon. The kill-switch mechanism will be activated to avoid any contamination of the environment, in case the altered bacteria escape the device.
