Team:LMU-Munich/Why Beadzillus

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Revision as of 14:53, 26 October 2012

The LMU-Munich team is exuberantly happy about the great success at the World Championship Jamboree in Boston. Our project Beadzillus finished 4th and won the prize for the "Best Wiki" (with Slovenia) and "Best New Application Project".

[ more news ]

The Filter Issue

Filters are widely used in everyday life and within the lab. Filters, such as Brita filters for removing calcium and other contaminants from drinking water and plumbing systems are abundant. In the lab, filters (here usually refered to as columns) are used for DNA/protein purification and for protein characterization.

Fig. 1: Filters for different applications.

Synthetic beads

Suchof filters usually consist of a cartridge that is filled with some type of matrix which determines the function of the filter. To maximize the surface in a minimal volume, microbeads are commonly used in all types of filters. These beads have a specific size and can for example be used to display protein on their surface. The coupling of proteins to the beads is based on affinity binding. An example are Ni-NTA resins (or beads)that can be used to bind proteins that harbour a His-tag. If a protein is bound this way to the beads, its features then determine the functional properties of such protein-loaded beads.

Such beads are usually quite expensive and coupling of proteins to the beads is laborious, as the protein has to be expressed, bound to the beads and then washed. Additionally, the binding of the protein is non-covalent.

SynBio beads

To solve this problem, we have developed a synthetic biology solution in our project Beadzillus, in which we produced biological beads display a protein of choice. We call these biological beads Sporobeads.

But what are our biological beads made of? Using clever natural engineering millions of years ago, evolution developed endospores of the soil bacteria Bacillus subtilis. Endospores, which are highly resistant to environmental stressors and can survive harsh conditions, are a dormant life stage of B. subtilis. To get to know more about the life cycle and the production of endospores, have a look at the life cycle of B. subtilis on the next page.

Project Navigation


Bacillus Intro	Bacillus BioBrickBox	Sporobeads	Germination STOP

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+== The Filter Issue ==
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-Filters are widely used in everyday life and within the lab. Filters, such as ''Brita'' filters for removing calcium and other contaminants from drinking water and plumbing systems are abundant. In the lab, filters are used for DNA purification and protein purification.
+Filters are widely used in everyday life and within the lab. Filters, such as ''Brita'' filters for removing calcium and other contaminants from drinking water and plumbing systems are abundant. In the lab, filters (here usually refered to as columns) are used for DNA/protein purification and for protein characterization.
 </p>
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 |}
 <br>
+== Synthetic beads ==
 <p align="justify">
-All types of filters are filled with some type of matrix which determines the function of the filter. To maximize the surface in a minimal volume, beads are commonly used in all types of filters. These microbeads have a specific size and can display protein on their surface for functional use of the proteins. Then the features of the protein characterize the filter. The coupling of proteins to the beads is based on affinity binding. An example is nickle NTA-tags, in which a protein carrying a histidine tag binds to the nickel ion of the bead. Several companies offer such microbeads with proteins coupled to their surface using affinity tags.
+Suchof filters usually consist of a cartridge that is filled with some type of matrix which determines the function of the filter. To maximize the surface in a minimal volume, microbeads are commonly used in all types of filters. These beads have a specific size and can for example be used to display protein on their surface. The coupling of proteins to the beads is based on affinity binding. An example are Ni-NTA resins (or beads)that can be used to bind proteins that harbour a His-tag. If a protein is bound this way to the beads, its features then determine the functional properties of such protein-loaded beads.
 <br>
 <br>
-Such beads are usually very expensive -- their production is laborious, as the protein has to  be expressed, bound to the beads and then washed. Additionally, the binding of the protein is non-covalent. To solve this problem, we offer a synthetic biology solution in our project '''Bead'''zillus, in which we produced biological beads. We call these biological beads '''Sporo'''beads.
+Such beads are usually quite expensive and coupling of proteins to the beads is laborious, as the protein has to  be expressed, bound to the beads and then washed. Additionally, the binding of the protein is non-covalent.
+<br>
+== SynBio beads ==
+To solve this problem, we have developed a synthetic biology solution in our project '''Bead'''zillus, in which we produced biological beads display a protein of choice. We call these biological beads '''Sporo'''beads.
 <br>
 <br>