Team:US AFRL CarrollHS/Interlab


Interlab

This year, we completed the 2017 Interlab to qualify for the bronze medal! Below you can find our data including our completion of the competent cell test kit, our reference points to determine background fluorescence, our standard curve, and our raw data. We collaborated alongside Cadets2Vets to determine a conclusion from each other’s data and the variation of results from team to team.

Note: We used a Molecular Device SpectraMax M5 Plate Reader to perform the Interlab

Competent Cell Test Kit:

First, the students performed the Competent Cell Test Kit following the protocol provided by iGEM. The students used E. Coli DH5a as the competent cells being tested. The competent cells were grown on Chloramphenicol plates and left over night. In the morning, the plates showed a significant amount of growth, in the form of distinct pink colonies that the students believed would be easy to count without assistance. Luckily, Dr. Harbaugh suggested an easier method for counting: using a sharpie to dot each colony and then a clicker so we wouldn’t lose our place. After the students counted, the results were:

Concentration of Plasmid DNA Number of Single Colonies
10 pg/μl 254
50 pg/μl 2105
100 pg/μl 4121

From left to right: 10 pg/μl, 50 pg/μl, and 100 pg/μl


Results:

Figure 1: Our reference point data providing our background fluorescence

Figure 2: Our stock fluorescence data and our standard curve

Figure 3: Raw data from each device read

Figure 4: Experimental data!