Judging

1.Best New Basic Part

Our BBa_K5209001 part offers an effective solution for improving NIR-II deep tissue imaging. By mutating Cys476 to Gly (C476G) in human serum albumin (HSA), the disulfide bond is disrupted, exposing a reactive thiol group near Cys477.

Through computational simulations and experimental validation, we demonstrated that this mutation significantly improves dye binding af finity and showed better imaging performance in mouse models. The complex can be prepared at room temperature, simplifying the process and improving reproducibility.

BBa_K5209001 has broad application potential in biomedical imaging, surgical navigation, and disease diagnosis. It is easy to use, performs well, and makes a valuable contribution to the iGEM community.

2.Best Integrated Human Practices

Reflection and Participation in Human Practice

• Cancer statistics-driven early decision-making: Our team was deeply influenced by cancer statistics, recognizing the importance of cancer prevention and the breakthrough need for bioimaging technology. This initial reflection led us to focus on solving problems in areas that are difficult to image, such as the blood-testis barrier (BTB).

• Expert involvement: Our interactions with experts such as Professor Zhu Shoujun from Jilin University helped to clarify the direction of our project and set the goal of designing a new NIR-II fluorescent protein probe. Interactions with other experts further optimized our project goals and ensured the clinical relevance of our project.

The Impact of Public Participation on Project Design

• Survey results: During Cancer Prevention Week, we conducted surveys that revealed the public’s low awareness of bioimaging, prompting our team to include public education as part of our project. This allowed us to establish a grand goal for our project, including raising public awareness of cancer prevention and bioimaging.

• Feedback from patients and clinicians: Interviews with cancer patients and doctors revealed their frustration with current clinical diagnostic methods, further reinforcing the necessity of developing a high-performing bioimaging probe. This feedback helped us prioritize key features such as imaging speed and accuracy, guiding the direction of design and application.

Application of Feedback and Continuous Improvement

• Participation in CCiC conference: After attending the CCiC conference and receiving feedback from other iGEM teams, we identified shortcomings in our human practice strategies, such as not having diverse enough promotional methods. Subsequently, you made improvements based on this feedback, adopting a wider range of new media platforms, demonstrating your ability to absorb feedback and continuously improve.

• Industrial and entrepreneurial feedback: We also communicated with industry experts and entrepreneurs (such as Acro Biosystems and InnoModels Biotechnology) to discuss the potential commercialization path of bioimaging probes. This industry feedback guided you to participate in and successfully win the “Challenge Cup” entrepreneurship competition in China, further promoting the market feasibility of the project.

Ethical, Technical, and Communication Decisions

• Addressing ethical issues in bioimaging: Throughout the project, we have always paid attention to ethical issues, especially when applying probes for imaging sensitive areas such as the blood-brain barrier and blood-testis barrier. We prioritize ensuring that these applications can bring practical benefits to clinical diagnosis without affecting safety or patient ethics.

Closed-loop Design and Achievement of Expected Results

• High precision and high-resolution imaging effects: When sharing project results with clinical doctors, we received positive feedback, especially on your NIR-II fluorescent probe’s successful deep tissue imaging in mouse models, particularly in the blood-testis barrier. This indicates that our team has formed a good closed loop between project design and actual application results, validating our design choices.

3.Best Entreprenuership

In the process of project implementation, we made a business plan and communicated with professors and hospitals to show the commercial value of the product. Through the preliminary questionnaire survey, offline research and other ways, we analyzed the current industry situation, and locked the first batch of potential customers, namely the associated hospitals and research institutes. To learn more about the industry, we also talked to companies ,like Beijing ACRO Biosystems Group and InnoModels Biotechnology,and learned from their experiences. In order to prove the commercial feasibility and creativity of the project, we participated in the "Challenge Cup" National College Student Business Plan Competition, and won the first prize. At the same time, we applied for a number of invention patents, and got many media reports. We constantly explore market conditions and estimate the time line of the business plan according to the experimental process, aiming to develop the domestic market in two years and expand the international market in ten years. Compared with the current market size of the product, we also preliminarily estimated the investment planning and future sales revenue required for the project product, as well as the subsequent risk assessment of product development. Through SWOT analysis, we also believe that the team needs to constantly update the technology to adapt to the development of the industry in the future, and continue to expand the target market to more relevant industries. Throughout the process, our team has always promoted the commercialization process of the project based on the needs of the public, hoping to continuously promote the development of biological imaging and tumor prevention.