Team:Edinburgh

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iGEM PROJECT "TNT/RDX DETECTOR AND BIOREMEDIATOR"

In 2007, 5 426 new casualties were recorded from landmine explosions. 71% of these casualties were civilians. A further 46% of the civilian casualties were children (Landmine monitor 2009). This made us realise the need for the production of a cheap, safe and accurate method that can be applied in a big scale to help detect landmines. A synthetic organism could be just what is needed.

Even though landmines are buried under soil, they normally leak indicating their imminent position with a chemical fingerprint. TNT-filled landmines produce three major source chemicals, namely 1,3-DNB, 2,4-DNT, and 2,4,6-TNT (Thomas F. Jenkins 2001). In addition, the natural degradation of explosive compounds, such as TNT, by bacterial enzymes produces nitrogen in the form of Nitrites (Christopher E. French 1998). Nitrites are also one of the by-products of the degradation of another explosive used in landmines, namely RDX. In the latter case, this can be achieved by the soil bacterium Rhodococcus rhodochrous (Seth-Smith, H.M.B 2002).

Our project is concerned in making a biosensor that would detect both the presence of TNT and nitrites/nitrates.

Natural nitrite concentration in soil tends to be very low (below 0.1 mg NO2-N /kg)( Oswald Van Cleemput 1996). Thereby the possibility of false positive results decreases. Our biosensor would also detect nitrates but these would need to be at a much higher concentration than nitrites to bring about a response.

The fact that excessive fertilisation with ammonium producing fertilizers such as urea can cause an increase in the presence of nitrites in the soil (Smith & Chalk, 1980; Burns et al., 1995; van Cleemput & Samater, 1996) gives the possibility that our device can be used in diverse fields of interest, from landmine identification (ranging from TNT landmines to RDX ones), to assaying extent of fertiliser induced nitrite/nitrate pollution.

Please read our detailed project description and part characterisation for further details.

PROJECT RELATED SECTIONS

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iGem Team 2009 Edinburgh

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 <br />
-<b>iGEM PROJECT "TNT/RDX DETECTOR AND BIOREMEDIATOR" <a  class="load-local" href="#loadme" rel="#loadme">[Captain Planet, he's our hero!]</a></b>
+<b>iGEM PROJECT "TNT/RDX DETECTOR AND BIOREMEDIATOR" <a  class="load-local" href="#loadme" rel="#loadme"></a></b>
 <br /><br />
-During our brainstorming we discussed a <a  class="load-local" href="#loadme" rel="#loadme"><b>variety of topics</b></a> which we found stimulating and interesting. Topics ranged from <a  class="load-local" href="#loadme" rel="#loadme"><b>employing bacteria to desalinate water</b></a>, to <a  class="load-local" href="#loadme" rel="#loadme"><b>destroying deadly algal blooms</b></a>, and making a synthetic vesicle construct. The latter would enable direct targeting of substances to specific tissues; something that could hopefully bring researchers a step closer to discovering a less invasive cure for diseases such as cancer and HIV.
+In 2007, <b>5 426</b> new casualties were recorded from landmine explosions. 71% of these casualties were civilians. A further 46% of the civilian casualties were children (Landmine monitor 2009). This made us realise the need for the production of a cheap, safe and accurate method that can be applied in a big scale to help detect landmines. A synthetic organism could be just what is needed.
 <br /><br />
-All these ideas are very exciting and compelling, and even though they were so diverse they had something in common. If successful, they could change the public perception of Synthetic Biology from being a frivolous endeavour by mad scientists, to a discipline with real life applications.
+Even though landmines are buried under soil, they normally leak indicating their imminent position with a chemical fingerprint. TNT-filled landmines produce three major source chemicals, namely 1,3-DNB, 2,4-DNT, and 2,4,6-TNT (Thomas F. Jenkins 2001). In addition, the natural degradation of explosive compounds, such as TNT, by bacterial enzymes produces nitrogen in the form of Nitrites (Christopher E. French 1998). Nitrites are also one of the by-products of the degradation of another explosive used in landmines, namely RDX. In the latter case, this can be achieved by the soil bacterium Rhodococcus rhodochrous (Seth-Smith, H.M.B 2002).
 <br /><br />
-A global initiative to develop Synthetic Biology for practical uses can greatly improve the quality of life of people not only directly, but also indirectly through improving the environment we live in.
+<b>Our project is concerned in making a biosensor that would detect both the presence of TNT and nitrites/nitrates.</b>
 <br /><br />
-Something else that these projects had in common was that we could not actually work on them. Reasons ranging from the lack of necessary equipment, a permit to work with mammalian cells, or modelling proved that the project was not industrially and economically feasible.
+Natural nitrite concentration in soil tends to be very low (below 0.1 mg NO2-N /kg)( Oswald Van Cleemput 1996). Thereby the possibility of false positive results decreases. Our biosensor would also detect nitrates but these would need to be at a much higher concentration than nitrites to bring about a response.
 <br /><br />
-Finally, we arrived at the ideal project! It was both feasible, within the time-scale of iGEM, and exciting! As ambitious as it may sound, we are going to engineer Escherichia coli that can detect landmines efficiently and safely by eliminating the risk of injury to military personnel and civilians alike. The bacteria will detect both TNT and nitrites (a by-product of explosive degradation), and produce different light outputs, depending on the stimulus. For more detailed information on our project please check this link.
+The fact that excessive fertilisation with ammonium producing fertilizers such as urea can cause an increase in the presence of nitrites in the soil (Smith & Chalk, 1980; Burns et al., 1995; van Cleemput & Samater, 1996) gives the possibility that our device can be used in diverse fields of interest, from landmine identification (ranging from TNT landmines to RDX ones), to assaying extent of fertiliser induced nitrite/nitrate pollution.
+<br /><br />
+Please read our detailed project description and part characterisation for further details.
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 <a href="#"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2009/2/20/EdinburghEnter.JPG" style="margin-left:375px;" border="0" /></a>