Project Description

Most people fail to realize just how expensive, and environmentally detrimental current inks and its production methods are. For instance, the pigment Carbon Black is produced by the combustion of petroleum, leading to a great release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. As well, modern ink production methods involve mining for minerals and harvesting large amounts of plants. This process produces large amounts of Volatile Organic Compounds, more commonly known as VOC’s, which are harmful to the environment. Looking to the price, current inks found in markets range from $0.53 to $3.40.The price of ink can even be compared to that of Chanel no.5 perfume, which costs anywhere from $2.50 to $3.30. In addition to this, ink companies are known to spend over one billion dollars per year in testing and manufacturing ink products. It is simple to see why current ink production methods should change.

SynthetINK is our solution to these harmful effects of ink production. We are producing pigments in the bacteria Escherichia coli, using four constructs to create four different pigments in bacteria that will be extracted from the cells using an organic extraction. The pigment will be able to be used in a variety of applications, such as paint, printers, and textiles. Following extraction, the ink will be placed into a fountain pen as a proof of concept.

Looking into the human practices aspect of the project, our team has planned for a number of interviews to be conducted throughout the course of the season. We have interviewed a few experts in the industry and they have stated that they would be very interested in using our project in their businesses. We have also hosted a parent-teacher night to spread synthetic biology aspects to the community, as well as to display our project. Besides this, we intend to create a mathematical model of the growth of our bacteria and the expression of the genes and pigments produced.

Our hope is to successfully produce an ink at the end of the season to be showcased to the world.