Team:UCLouvain/HP/Silver
The safety aspect of our project was always in our minds while working, since the primary goal of the sun badge is to be used outside of the lab. We decided to design it in a way that would prevent our modified bacteria from escaping into the environment. The badge includes a ring filled with bleach which is mixed with the bacteria contained into the capsule once it has been used. The bleach will rapidly kill the bacteria and ensure that no one of them can escape.
Although it ensures that no bacteria will leave the badge alive when discarding it, another biosafety mechanism could be used in case of a capsule leak or even a break upon a hit. One way to prevent this kind of escape road is the introduction of a kill switch inside our bacteria. Several kill switches have been designed and registered as biobricks by multiple iGEM teams during the past years. The implementation of one of them would add another barrier and lower even more the risk of our bacteria escaping.
We decided to make our badge in a way that limits its impact on the environment. The badge is mostly made out of Polylactic Acid, which is a biodegradable polymer. The badge is also fully reusable. The support can be kept by the user and the two other parts can be easily cleaned and replenished. The badge is also fully manufacturable using only 3D printers and polymers that are easily accessible.
We noticed that synthetic biology is not yet a common topic among students. In order to explain our project in front of a large audience and at the same time introduce what synthetic biology actually consists in, we decided to collaborate with "Café Numérique". The concept is to attend a presentation and then participate in a debate with a good Belgian beer in your hands. We started the conference with the presentation of our IGEM project and then we had the pleasure to discuss with Gauthier Chapelle. He is a scientist who worked as scientist officer for the International Polar Foundation, he promoted Biomimicry in Europe and he is now a co-founder of a sustainability consultancy firm. Moreover, we were pleased to host Dr. Philippe Gabant, specialist in molecular biology and founder of a biotech company in synthetic biology called Syngulon. Events like this one also help to clarify the concept of synthetic biology among the people.
