Team:UNC-Chapel Hill

Background

Type 1 diabetes affects the production of insulin in the body, requiring continual monitoring of blood glucose levels in order to prevent the worsening of symptoms, which in many cases lead to death. With the development of solutions to produce supplemental insulin emerging, the production of insulin is no longer problematic in developed countries. However, glucose monitoring is and continues to be a source of financial trouble for many people with Type 1 diabetes. The current method for measuring blood sugar levels in diabetics utilizes a blood sugar monitor and expensive testing strips. The most basic can cost at least of $30.00 and test strips $1.38 each (One Touch Ultra)¹, and when taken into account that diabetics must test their blood at least five times a day with these non reusable strips, the glucose monitoring equipment can cost at a minimum $2500 a year. In addition, insulin costs may be much higher, creating an even bigger burden.

Motivation and Example System

Through the development of a novel glucose sensing system in which glucose-responsive promoters drive the expression of three reporter chromoproteins, it will allow for the quantization of glucose concentration based on fluorescence emitted by the cell. With each chromoprotein linked to a different promoter with unique glucose sensitivities, each wavelength will correspond to a specific concentration of glucose. In conjunction with preexisting parts, we designed four novel glucose-sensitive promoters and tested their ability to drive expression of reporter chromoproteins at various concentrations.

Originality and Improvement

While glucose sensitive reporter systems are not a new to concept to iGEM, our novel three-color system revolutionizes the creation of sensing systems. This would solve the qualitative characterization flaw inherent in the current one-color systems, especially those utilizing chromoproteins. Our sensor has cut sites before and after each promoter, allowing the interchange of various promoters depending on what the user wants to measure. This customization allows for the three-color system to be applied into other fields where sensitive measurement is of vital importance.

Project Aim

In order to turn our three-color glucose sensor into a more viable solution, more characterization of the system will be necessary. This will allow for better identification of concentrations based on the fluorescence. While our project’s intended application was the detection of glucose concentrations, we believe its greatest utility is in its versatility towards other sensing systems. By changing out the promoters, it will allow for the cell to become sensitive to other chemicals and be used to calculate concentration.

References