Team:Bioriidl Somaiya/Description
Current Setbacks...
Currently, in the world people wait for around 210 hours per year, waiting for their media to get sterilized if they autoclave twice every week. For life-science researchers, this is a major setback because along with studies, if they want to pursue or conduct even the simplest of research, they have to make their media on their own and this requires waiting time of approx 2 hours per batch of media. It is often required to retire home instead of waiting, because even though the media might have been sterilized. This is a huge disadvantage for the researchers, especially ones that are enthusiastic about conducting extracurricular research or carry out projects. According to UNESCO, the scientific research field harbors around 7.8 million life-science researchers in the world as per 2013. Our study tells that, >80% of these people have to go home after setting up the autoclave and carry out their experiment the next day. 78% of these very life-science researchers lose motivation to carry out their projects due to the taxing waiting intervals.
Why hasn't it been done yet?
- To this date, the old version of the autoclave has not been upgraded. Even after years of advancement, no one has ever thought to improvise the system of media sterilization. This is because they choose to live with the current traditional ways.
- According to our survey researchers never thought of new techniques that can be as effective as an autoclave, even-after autoclave is the 1st primary step. But as social researchers, we understand that the mood of the researcher impacts the kind of results obtained after the experimentation. Especially when the equipment and reagents used are costly.
(Check out our results from Human Practices). - So as a part of the iGEM project, and to improve the daily norms kept about the traditional technique. We have taken up this topic to develop a sterilization system to sterilize media, which can be understood by a layman but also efficiently used by the professionals.
How to use it
Almost any life-science requires the need for sterilized media. Our model, steriport is a system that can sterilize and dispense the media within just 8-10 mins. The best thing about our model is that it's very handy to use and also portable. The sterilization is carried out by the action of AMPs such as Lantibiotic nisin-A, Antilisterial bacteriocin subtilosin biosynthesis protein AlbB, and sporulation killing factor (skf). These all are mass-produced by using the chassis E.coli BL21 DE3. The chassis as well as the AMPs are harmless to the human body but have a cidal effect on the contaminating bacteria. For fungal contaminants, we make use of endophytes extracted from Holy Basil and Indian lilac. These all bring about the killing mechanism of the potential contaminants in the media. Also with that, we are using heat and UV-C. The heat will kill the major viruses present in the media. While, we are specifically using the UV germicidal type-C tube, firstly because it will kill or inactivates microorganisms by disrupting the sequence of nucleic acids in DNA, leaving them unable to perform vital cellular functions. As to UV-C effects on human skin isn't harmful, but only irritable to the eyes, for that reason we have coated out UV chamber with acrylic to prevent penetration or possible leakages, this coating also to prevent ‘photoreactivation’ in bacteria.
(Check out our Design)
Global Application
Various fields require the usage of autoclave for minor procedures. Fields like botany, biotechnology, microbiology, zoology, biochemistry, and all other life-sciences fields seldom use these machines, and hence the life-science researchers are not necessarily taught about these procedures, which leads to less knowledge about the functioning or setting up of this machine. While our system is easily understandable by a layman also, just simply on the switch and pour the digested media, then watch the media come out from the other end *Sterile*.
(Check out our Model)