Introduction

This page summarizes all medal criteria in one place, with links to Wiki parts and corresponding pages. We embarked on an ambitious journey to create a natural adhesive, venturing into uncharted scientific territory never before explored by researchers. Through considerate consultations with people around us, we developed a thorough plan for our adhesive implementation by laying a solid foundation with supporting data that our project is full functional. Not only that, we engaged with the many people around us to not only tell them about our ideas but to spread the word about synthetic biology. Every part of our Wiki is valuable to explore, as our project ultimately achieved substantial engineering success and made a meaningful contribution to the iGEM community, future researchers, and the public we interacted with.

Bronze Medal

Competition Deliverables

Synhesion completed and submitted all required competition deliverables (Wiki, Project Promotion Video, Judging Form) and will satisfy the requirements for the Presentation Video and Judging Session deliverables.

Attributions

Our team completed a standardized Attribution Form, fairly and accurately acknowledging all contributors, including the principal investigator, student members, instructors, and advisors, for their roles in our project. We also recognized external contributors for their input and provided a project timeline illustrating the development of Synhesion.

Read more in the Wiki Attributions section.

Project Description

Synhesion team completed our Project Description, detailing our inspiration and the relevance of our idea: Synhesion addresses the challenges posed by conventional adhesives, particularly in the medical field. While adhesives are crucial in various applications, many are synthetic and raise significant environmental and health concerns. With over 537 million people worldwide living with diabetes, existing adhesive patches for insulin pumps and glucose sensors often cause skin irritations and can detach prematurely, putting patient safety at risk and incurring high costs. Our solution leverages genetically engineered Escherichia coli to produce bio-based adhesives derived from Caulobacter crescentus, providing a sustainable, biodegradable alternative that is stronger than traditional adhesives and reduces allergy risks. By utilizing the adhesive properties of bacterial polysaccharides, Synhesion revolutionizes adhesive applications in the medical industry and beyond, contributing to a greener future while improving the lives of diabetes patients worldwide.

Read more in the Wiki Project Description section.

Contribution

We developed two new E. coli strains, HMS147(DE3)ΔWecA (BBa_K5246037) and HMS147(DE3)ΔWecB (BBa_K5246040), which are deficient in the Enterobacterial Common Antigen pathway and N-mannosamine uronic acid production, for use by future iGEM teams. To streamline protein expression experiments, we designed a simple, affordable lab-scale bioreactor, complete with detailed schematics and instructions available in the Hardware section of our wiki. We also created an interactive software interface for automating the bioreactor, allowing users to monitor data and control parameters remotely; more information can be found on our Software wiki page. Additionally, we developed the “Science Communication with Universities of the Third Age (U3A)” guide to help educators effectively communicate life sciences to older audiences, with further details in the Education section. Lastly, we established a protocol for holdfast synthesis in E. coli, accessible in the Experiments section for teams wishing to build on our work.

Read more on our Contributions page.

Silver Medal

Engineering Success

Adherence to sound engineering principles guided our team throughout the entire project, allowing us to maximize the efficiency and quality of the final product. Although it took us multiple reconsiderations to optimize our work, through 5 cycles with multiple iterations, we developed a recombinant manufacturing system in E. coli, with 2 working composite parts and 5 basic parts for future development, for the efficient and tunable production of the strongest naturally found glue - holdfast.

See more on our Engineering page.

Human Practices

From the very beginning of the Synhesion project, we prioritized a value-driven approach to Human Practices, actively engaging with stakeholders in science, business, laws, safety and ethics and society. This collaborative approach helped us overcome challenges with our project, ensuring evidence-based decision-making for problem-solving and future development. Each meeting was carefully documented to evaluate feedback responsibly and integrate it into our work using GROW model. More details can be found in our Wiki's Integrated Human Practices section.

See more on our Integrated Human Practices page.

Gold Medal / Special Prizes

Best Part Collection

We developed a system for producing environmentally friendly and health-conscious adhesives using E. coli. Our system is based on two plasmids that contain the genes needed for tetrasaccharide assembly and polysaccharide polymerization, completing a holdfast synthesis pathway with 12 proteins involved in bacterial adhesive production.

In addition, we characterized five of these proteins individually. We cloned their genes, expressed the proteins, and established a purification strategy. These proteins, with further bioengineering, can be utilized for customizable glycolipid production, such as labeling liposomes for targeted drug delivery.

All the parts in our collection are thoroughly documented in the iGEM Registry. They are versatile and can be beneficial for projects related to polysaccharide or glycolipid production.

Learn more about our Part Collection on our Parts page.

Best Software

As a team, we are driven by the vision of creating a lasting legacy for future iGEM participants and businesses. With this aspiration in mind, we have developed a cutting-edge software system - an interactive bioreactor interface that seamlessly integrates with any bioreactor model. This tool enables full automation of bioreactor operations and provides real-time monitoring of critical parameters from anywhere in the world, as long as you are connected to the Internet.

The interface offers advanced features, including detailed, downloadable graphs that capture essential bioreactor data, allowing for comprehensive analysis and optimization. To further enhance functionality, we have implemented a robust alert system. Users can set specific threshold values, and should the bioreactor exceed these parameters, immediate notifications will be sent via email. This ensures timely intervention, safeguards processes, and maximizes efficiency. Our system represents not just a tool but a step toward innovation in bioreactor management, designed to empower future generations of scientists and enterprises.

See more on our Software page.

Best Education

Our primary objective was to promote lifelong learning by incorporating life sciences into the daily lives of both older adults and younger students through targeted, age-appropriate formats. For older adults, we developed customized educational programs and a guide for educators, focusing on different learning strategies to address their specific needs. For younger audiences, we introduced interactive formats, including a mobile game and a children's book, designed to make synthetic biology accessible and engaging. Additionally, we organized a series of science popularization events, further enhancing public engagement with life sciences. These diverse approaches allowed us to identify effective strategies for fostering curiosity and lifelong learning across various age groups.

See more on our Education page.