Team:USMA-West Point/Description
USMA-West_Point
Description
The International Genetically Engineered Machine (IGEM) foundation encourages work inside and outside the lab to create sophisticated projects using standard biological parts. This project for the IGEM competition is geared towards creating a system that detects chemicals by way of scent for potential health and military use. We propose to develop a controlled environment where neurons with enhanced olfactory receptors can be exposed to certain olfactants and a voltage signal can be read from them. In order to achieve this, we obtained a multi electrode array to seat the neurons and read a signal, and designed a bioreactor and perfusion system to expose the neurons to media and olfactants while maintaining a closed system. A program was developed to convert the signal output by the neurons into a digital voltage signal. From this signal, we determined how the neurons react when exposed to certain odorants. This data is important to the progression of this project by helping develop an easy, inexpensive method for neuronal research and establishing more information about the constraints of neurons and olfactory receptors.
Our Purpose
USMA West Point's "eNOSE" was designed with the purpose of saving soldiers' lives. Rather than relying on electronics or dogs to detect bombs, our team wanted to find a way for a non-electronic biological sensor to do the same job. eNOSE is a biological machine built to detect target odorants with both high specificity and sensitivity.
References
- Niimura, Y., Matsui, A. & Touhara, K. Extreme expansion of the olfactory receptor gene repertoire in African elephants and evolutionary dynamics of orthologous gene groups in 13 placental mammals. 1-14 (2014). doi:10.1101/gr.169532.113.24
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Inspiration
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