Team:Exeter/Applications

From 2012.igem.org

(Difference between revisions)

Revision as of 08:45, 19 July 2012

Slashdot's Menu

Medical


	The medical applications of custom made polysaccharides are vast, ranging from improved drug delivery to antiseptic wound gel. Perhaps the greatest benefit would be in vaccine use. Polysaccharide-based vaccines (either normal or conjugated to a protein) are a vaccine subunit and provide effective immunity to diseases such as Haemophilus influenzae type b. The ability to produce novel polysaccharides quickly could lead to very fast vaccine production in the case of an epidemic. Vaccine types could be 'stored' and then, in effect 'grown' in a lab for rapid dispatch. Blood type is determined exclusively by polysaccharides on the surface of blood cells. In the future we envisaged a system by which a donars blood type could be 'masked', and therefore readily induced to the accepters blood despite not matching. This could be achieved by creating a polysaccharide which binds to the donar blood whilst exhibiting the properties of the accepters blood.

Industrial


	Industrial applications for novel materials are endless, so having the ability to create new polysaccharides is particularly useful. Various properties are required to make a valuable material for industrial purposes. High impact materials are required for drill tips and other equipment - so a strong force produces an equally strong repulsion. Could this be possible with our polysaccharides? A bullet proof suit? Electrical properties are also important, could a polysaccharide be the next Graphene?..studied by Physicists and Bio-Scientists alike? A polysaccharide semiconductor could be used as a solar cell, producing green energy in the future.

Food


	Food preservation is a key part of the industry. With novel polysaccharides we could potentially create a 'food spray', naturally preserving food from degradation. Having longer lasting food could allow us to go on longer journeys. Could future astronauts be using polysaccharide food spray for the next mission to Mars? Watch this space....

Miscellaneous


	Creating unique uses for new materials is always exciting. These are a few that the Exeter iGEM team have come up with: A self-healing metal coating would be scatch proof and therefore ideal for cars; bio-degradable plastic polysaccharides would be environmentally friendly and great for storage. Self-assembling brigdes with separate hydrophobic/hydrophilic domains could be a neccessity for the avid traveller of the future. These are just some possibilites of creating new polysaccharides!

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 	<title>Slashdot's Menu</title>
+<script src="https://2012.igem.org/Team:Exeter/sdmenu.js?action=raw&amp;ctype=text/js" type="text/javascript"></script>
+<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://2012.igem.org/Team:Exeter/sdmenu.css?action=raw&amp;ctype=text/css" type="text/css"  media="screen" />
-	<script type="text/javascript">
-	function SDMenu(id) {
-	if (!document.getElementById || !document.getElementsByTagName)
-		return false;
-	this.menu = document.getElementById(id);
-	this.submenus = this.menu.getElementsByTagName("div");
-	this.remember = false;
-	this.speed = 15;
-	this.markCurrent = true;
-	this.oneSmOnly = false;
-}
-SDMenu.prototype.init = function() {
-	var mainInstance = this;
-	for (var i = 0; i < this.submenus.length; i++)
-		this.submenus[i].getElementsByTagName("span")[0].onclick = function() {
-			mainInstance.toggleMenu(this.parentNode);
-		};
-	if (this.markCurrent) {
-		var links = this.menu.getElementsByTagName("a");
-		for (var i = 0; i < links.length; i++)
-			if (links[i].href == document.location.href) {
-				links[i].className = "current";
-				break;
-			}
-	}
-	if (this.remember) {
-		var regex = new RegExp("sdmenu_" + encodeURIComponent(this.menu.id) + "=([01]+)");
-		var match = regex.exec(document.cookie);
-		if (match) {
-			var states = match[1].split("");
-			for (var i = 0; i < states.length; i++)
-				this.submenus[i].className = (states[i] == 0 ? "collapsed" : "");
-		}
-	}
-};
-SDMenu.prototype.toggleMenu = function(submenu) {
-	if (submenu.className == "collapsed")
-		this.expandMenu(submenu);
-	else
-		this.collapseMenu(submenu);
-};
-SDMenu.prototype.expandMenu = function(submenu) {
-	var fullHeight = submenu.getElementsByTagName("span")[0].offsetHeight;
-	var links = submenu.getElementsByTagName("a");
-	for (var i = 0; i < links.length; i++)
-		fullHeight += links[i].offsetHeight;
-	var moveBy = Math.round(this.speed * links.length);
-	var mainInstance = this;
-	var intId = setInterval(function() {
-		var curHeight = submenu.offsetHeight;
-		var newHeight = curHeight + moveBy;
-		if (newHeight < fullHeight)
-			submenu.style.height = newHeight + "px";
-		else {
-			clearInterval(intId);
-			submenu.style.height = "";
-			submenu.className = "";
-			mainInstance.memorize();
-		}
-	}, 30);
-	this.collapseOthers(submenu);
-};
-SDMenu.prototype.collapseMenu = function(submenu) {
-	var minHeight = submenu.getElementsByTagName("span")[0].offsetHeight;
-	var moveBy = Math.round(this.speed * submenu.getElementsByTagName("a").length);
-	var mainInstance = this;
-	var intId = setInterval(function() {
-		var curHeight = submenu.offsetHeight;
-		var newHeight = curHeight - moveBy;
-		if (newHeight > minHeight)
-			submenu.style.height = newHeight + "px";
-		else {
-			clearInterval(intId);
-			submenu.style.height = "";
-			submenu.className = "collapsed";
-			mainInstance.memorize();
-		}
-	}, 30);
-};
-SDMenu.prototype.collapseOthers = function(submenu) {
-	if (this.oneSmOnly) {
-		for (var i = 0; i < this.submenus.length; i++)
-			if (this.submenus[i] != submenu && this.submenus[i].className != "collapsed")
-				this.collapseMenu(this.submenus[i]);
-	}
-};
-SDMenu.prototype.expandAll = function() {
-	var oldOneSmOnly = this.oneSmOnly;
-	this.oneSmOnly = false;
-	for (var i = 0; i < this.submenus.length; i++)
-		if (this.submenus[i].className == "collapsed")
-			this.expandMenu(this.submenus[i]);
-	this.oneSmOnly = oldOneSmOnly;
-};
-SDMenu.prototype.collapseAll = function() {
-	for (var i = 0; i < this.submenus.length; i++)
-		if (this.submenus[i].className != "collapsed")
-			this.collapseMenu(this.submenus[i]);
-};
-SDMenu.prototype.memorize = function() {
-	if (this.remember) {
-		var states = new Array();
-		for (var i = 0; i < this.submenus.length; i++)
-			states.push(this.submenus[i].className == "collapsed" ? 0 : 1);
-		var d = new Date();
-		d.setTime(d.getTime() + (30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000));
-		document.cookie = "sdmenu_" + encodeURIComponent(this.menu.id) + "=" + states.join("") + "; expires=" + d.toGMTString() + "; path=/";
-	}
-};
-</script>
-<style>
-div.sdmenu {
-	width: 1075px;
-	font-family:DokChampa, sans-serif;
-	font-size: 30px;
-	padding: 10px;
-	background: url(bottom.gif) no-repeat  right bottom;
-	color: #fff;
-}
-div.sdmenu div {
-	background: url(title.gif) repeat-x;
-	overflow: hidden;
-}
-div.sdmenu div:first-child {
-	background: url(toptitle.gif) no-repeat;
-}
-div.sdmenu div.collapsed {
-	height: 70px;
-}
-div.sdmenu div span {
-	display: block;
-	padding: 5px 25px;
-	font-weight: bold;
-	color:#000;
-	background:url(../Documents/igem/uparrow.png) #F0C427 no-repeat 10px center;
-	cursor: default;
-	border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
-	text-align:center;
-}
-div.sdmenu div.collapsed span {
-	background-image:url(../Documents/igem/downarrow.png);
-}
-div.sdmenu div a {
-	padding: 5px 10px;
-	background: #eee;
-	display: block;
-	border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
-	color: #066;
-	font-size:16px;
-}
-div.sdmenu div a.current {
-	background : #ccc;
-}
-div.sdmenu div a:hover {
-	text-decoration: none;
-}
-</style>
 	<script type="text/javascript">