Team:KULeuven/Project

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Vanilla Perfume, the story of a control bacterium

‘Essencia Coli’ is a vanillin producing bacterium equipped with a control system that keeps the concentration of vanillin at a constant level. The novelty of the project is the feedback mechanism. Vanillin synthesis is initiated by irradiation with blue light. The preferred concentration can be modulated using the intensity of that light. At the same time the bacterium measures the amount of vanillin outside the cell and controls its production to maintain the set point. An additional advantage lies in the universal nature of the system. The concept can easily be applied to other flavours and odours: any application that requires a constant concentration of a molecular substance.