Difference between revisions of "Team:ETH Zurich"
| Line 32: | Line 32: | ||
<section id="second"> | <section id="second"> | ||
| − | <figure | + | <figure> |
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/0/02/T--ETH_Zurich--Ec.png" width="90px"> | <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/0/02/T--ETH_Zurich--Ec.png" width="90px"> | ||
</figure> | </figure> | ||
Revision as of 19:05, 21 October 2017
Cancer kills over 8 million people every year. That's the entire population of Switzerland!
We need more specific therapies because current approaches result in many side-effects. Thats why we invented CATE, the first all-in-one living cancer therapeutic with an integrated two-step safety mechanism.
A living cure to a living disease!
CATE consists of the non-pathogenic bacterium E. coli Nissle that has the intrinsic ability to home preferentially in tumors. It features two safety checkpoint mechanisms to ensure only tumor cells are damaged.
We are engineering E. coli Nissle to carry a MRI contrast and a cytotoxic agent so it can deliver both components to tumor sites.
CATE is administered intravenously, travels through the blood and colonizes tumors. If enough bacteria have gathered at the tumor, they make themselves visible and prepare a payload. A doctor can then control the site with an MRI and activate release of the cancer-killing payload.
To achieve all these novel functions, we designed a genetic circuit that is distributed over two de novo synthesized DNA molecules. All functions were tested and optimized to make the resulting circuit as safe and well characterized as possible.
Engineering
We increased the understanding of the systems underlying mathematics by simulating the functions with models. The models were also used to define important questions to clarify in experiments.
Experimentally, we collected data to support and refine our models and to show that our system works.
Achievements
We worked goal oriented and could experimentally confirm the predictions of the models. After testing every function individually, we combined them one after the other in milestone experiments to show the system in action. We created and characterized new BioBrick parts that are important for the iGEM competition and are freely for the future iGEM teams.
Human Practices
[FILL ME]
Team
We are an interdisciplinary team of eight master students of ETH Zürich who compete in the iGEM championship against hundreds of other teams from all over the world.
