In this year’s collaboration, NJU_china helped us to test the microRNA binding ability of miRNA binding sequences. They constructed a dual-luciferase miRNA target expression plasmid with their vector and our miRNA target sequences. Then they transfected the purified plasmids into cells and verify their functions.

In return, we performed nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) to have a more precise determination of the quantity and size of secreted exosomes. Extracellular vesicles, as nanoparticles, can be automatically tracked and sized based on Brownian motion and the diffusion coefficient. We measured the Nanosight enabled quantification and size determination of the extracellular vesicles in our experiment. The result we got from nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) can help NJU_china ascertain the relationship between protein concentration and exosomes quantity.

Figure 1 exosomes magnified 100000x

Figure 2 exosomes magnified 200000x

During the FAFU CCiC (Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University Conference of China’s iGEMers Community) this year, we were reached by the BGIC-Union team asking for the sHRPN-dcas9 and sHRPC-dcas9 plasmids we constructed in iGEM 2016. It was a pleasure to hear that our design could provide convenience to other iGEM teams, so we provided them plasmid samples as well as detailed information for their convenience. They also gave us some useful advice in our project. We really benefited a lot from the communication with BGIC-Union, not only academically, but also in friendship. Their acknowledgement to our contribution can be found in the wiki pages (https://2017.igem.org/Team:BGIC-Union/Collaborations).