Welcome to the Wet-Lab GitHub page for iGEM 2021 Bettencourt team! You will find there all the relevant informations and links related to the experimental design and procedures of this project from ideas brainstorming to experimental setups and protocols.
This is very very new paper, just published on March 16, 2021. Looks simple and more impactful. Can we improve the design or find potential application of it?https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369702121000663
The biosensors, called AL-PHA beads, have been designed to recognise specific proteases – enzymes that play complex roles in human health and disease.
The beads are made from PHAs, a family of microbially produced biopolymers that are biodegradable and can potentially be used as more environmentally friendly plastics
The new findings published in Materials Today describe for the first time how specially engineered PHA beads can be used as protease biosensors for global health applications in resource-limited settings.
The fluorescent biosensors include fusion proteins which are designed to only be recognised by specific disease-associated proteases. When this happens, the beads lose their fluorescence, which can in turn be measured by researchers.
This would be a game-changer for being able to assess the infection risk associated with individual water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers) and allow to monitor the effects of schistosomiasis prevention strategies on this risk
Also, beads successfully recognised metalloproteinases including MMPs, ADAMs and ADAMTSs, suggesting that they could be used to support cancer diagnostics and extracellular vesicle (EV) research.
The researchers are now hoping to build on the proof-of-concept findings and further develop their low-cost, biodegradable biosensors by improving the fusion protein designs.
They will also look to test the beads against a wider range of samples to ensure greater accuracy.
This is very very new paper, just published on March 16, 2021. Looks simple and more impactful. Can we improve the design or find potential application of it? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369702121000663 The biosensors, called AL-PHA beads, have been designed to recognise specific proteases – enzymes that play complex roles in human health and disease. The beads are made from PHAs, a family of microbially produced biopolymers that are biodegradable and can potentially be used as more environmentally friendly plastics The new findings published in Materials Today describe for the first time how specially engineered PHA beads can be used as protease biosensors for global health applications in resource-limited settings. The fluorescent biosensors include fusion proteins which are designed to only be recognised by specific disease-associated proteases. When this happens, the beads lose their fluorescence, which can in turn be measured by researchers.
This would be a game-changer for being able to assess the infection risk associated with individual water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers) and allow to monitor the effects of schistosomiasis prevention strategies on this risk
Also, beads successfully recognised metalloproteinases including MMPs, ADAMs and ADAMTSs, suggesting that they could be used to support cancer diagnostics and extracellular vesicle (EV) research.
The researchers are now hoping to build on the proof-of-concept findings and further develop their low-cost, biodegradable biosensors by improving the fusion protein designs.
They will also look to test the beads against a wider range of samples to ensure greater accuracy.