We believe that our main contributions in the project to the greater iGEM communities are from our model methodologies as we display a new and unique way of approaching processes that have not been documented, modeled, or experimented before. All 3 of our drylab models include original aspects that would be useful to future teams to refer to in their projects.

Our production-release model demonstrates a novel way of approaching two completely different biological systems of enzyme kinetics and minicell diffusion into a combined methodology to simulate the entire mechanism of the system. The methodology exhibits the start of the entire process with glucose to the final product of L-borneol diffusing out of the minicell into the air after the water evaporates. We modeled this process using differential equations and code to display the relationship between substrate concentration for each step in the pathways to the amount of L-borneol that will be effective in mosquito repellency. Our model allows us to change values and concentrations to optimize the system and make sure that the final product is efficacious, both in production and in its diffusion from minicell. To summarize, our model uniquely establishes a model framework that future teams can follow when they want to understand the process of synthetically producing and releasing another chemical compound from bacteria.

Our stickiness metrics framework explores the quantification of the stickiness of low-viscosity colloids without the use of expensive equipment. This is significant since previously there hasn’t been a convenient way of determining the viscosity of liquids that are below 200cp. Most viscometers that we encountered required a base viscosity of at least 200cp to operate effectively. The way we measured viscosity is special as it utilizes the ratio of the fall time of our target substance compared to the fall time of water which has a known viscosity of 1cp. This is a simpler method that can effectively determine the viscosity of colloids and other substances that have a similar viscosity to water. Additionally, this method better mimics real-world conditions where fluids flow under the influence of gravity, making it suitable for practical applications. Overall this is an effective method of modeling viscosity for real-world applications that can be easily reproduced by other iGEM teams that don’t have access to equipment such as viscometers.

Our market adoption model, a modified Bass diffusion model, integrates both the repellent and fragrance markets to capture cross-market potential. To achieve this, we developed an innovative method for estimating the Bass model parameters. Since obtaining the coefficients of innovation and imitation for a combined market is particularly challenging, we created a weighted-average approach where the weights reflect the relative importance of each market (e.g., if the repellent function is more critical, the weight for repellents would be greater than that for fragrances). This approach allows us to logically estimate adoption rates for products spanning multiple sectors. Additionally, it establishes a framework for future teams to assess the potential of products in emerging or poorly defined markets, where direct data may be limited.