Team:BostonU HW/Archive

BostonU_HW

Repository

Explore the MARS Repository

When the team began designing the MARS Repository, we wanted to base it on the principles behind most complex synthetic biology protocols.

We began by generalizing synthetic biology protocols into three key stages:
  1. Isolation: Acquiring the desired genetic material
  2. Modification: Manipulated or processing genetic material
  3. Quantification: Measuring the success of the previous two stages
These stages “fit” together to form the entirety of the protocols that are carried out everyday in synthetic biology labs.

In the existing fields of microfluidics, each of these stages is taken care of on individual chips. However, when it comes time to replicate a full synbio procedure using these chips - it becomes difficult to “fit” them together realistically. This is due to the fact that most chips:
  1. Fabrication using different and complicated techniques such as soft lithography
  2. Operated using varying hardware
  3. Lack thorough documentation required to run them
  4. Do not have easily accessible design files
Furthermore, the majority of these chips are highly specialised to specific experimental protocols. As a result, they are not relevant in the context of day-to-day procedures in most synthetic biology labs.

After consultation with researchers at BU’s Biological Design Center, we were able to identify nine essential synthetic biology protocols and generalize them into these three categories. After confirming that this chip selection was relevant with an iGEM team poll, we moved on to designing and iterating on chips. The resulting design files, fabrication instructions and usage protocols are housed here - easily accessible to synbiologists and structured in a standardised workflow.

Isolation

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Modification

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Quantification

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Isolation

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Cellular Lysis

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DNA Digestion

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Ligation

Modification

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Transformation

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PCR

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Cell Culturing

Quantification

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Antibiotic Resistance

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Fluorescence

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Cell Sorting