Team:Sheffield/Notebook

progress during our iGEM project.

Week 1

24 june 2019

biology

Brainstorming for possible projects.

Literature research.

Finalising project choice.

Designing the device

Decided to improve upon the cheap DIY plate reader started by the 2017 Sheffield Igem project, Bright biotics.

engineering

Research into the previous project on plate readers(Bright Biotics).

Viewing of CAD files from Bright Biotics.

Interview with an engineer from the Bright Biotics project.

Ordering of items for building new plate reader.

wiki and media design

Brainstorming on design concept for our wiki.

Week 2

05 July 2019

biology

Orientation and safety sessions in the wet lab.

Research into applications of plate readers in biology.

Research into choice of bacterial strains for testing the plate reader.

designing a device
Made a list of the areas to improve upon and started modelling the new device.

engineering

Orientation and safety sessions in the makerspace (iFORGE).

Research into ways to improve upon previous plate reader project.

3D printing of moulds, testing sensors and working on the LED matrix for the new plate reader.

wiki and media design
Deciding a template for the wiki and the main sections.

Week 3

12 July 2019

biology
Shortlisting the different assays for which we will employ our plate reader for.

Contacting Academics and Cancer researchers within the University to discuss about the microplate readers.

Research into potential buyers of our microplate reader from the biotechnology industry.

engineering
Adding a motorized system for moving between wells.

Testing the motor system and estimating the time taken to read a 48 well plate as roughly 3 mins.

wiki and media design
Main sections for the wiki decided.

Template design for the wiki made.

Our project name and logo made.

human practices
Market research for plate readers including specs, prices, competitors and consumer base.

Interview with an Academic, a cancer researcher, and a member of FabLab Barcelona(Community lab).

Skype call with iGEM Thessaly for possible collaboration.

Week 4

19 July 2019

biology
Preparing liquid cultures for four different bacterial strains.

engineering
Completing the first model of the plate reader with videos showing how the device moves in the x-axis and y-axis.

Receiving feedback on first model and inculcating the suggested improvements into the second model.

wiki and media design
Decided on pastel colours for the background to have a minimalistic design.

human practices
Email exchange with a director of Media Lab Prado in Spain(Community lab) to discuss the benefit of having our device Open Source.

Week 5

26 July 2019

biology
Contacting our competitors for specifications and prices of microplate readers they sell.

Preparing for the UK iGEM meetup in Newcastle by filling the biology section on the poster.

engineering
Finalising the improvements of the first model and building the second model in time for the UK iGEM meetup in Newcastle.

Filling the engineering section of the poster.

Researching into the principles of our presentation for the UK iGEM meetup

Practising the presentation for the UK iGEM meetup.

wiki and media design
Designing of poster for the UK iGEM meetup.

Designing of powerpoint slides for the UK iGEM meetup.

human practices
Deciding the awards to apply for in the Boston Jamboree.

Contacting biotechnology companies that could use our products.

Week 6

02 August 2019

Congratulations for being awarded best presentation in the UK iGEM meetup.

biology
Receiving feedback from companies about specs, prices and comparing it with our device.

Testing of sensors in the plate reader with bacteria liquid cultures, and comparing with results from a standard spectrophotometer in the lab.

engineering
Designing a new model of our device based on feedback from the poster presentation and Q&A in the UK iGEM meetup e.g. 96 well plate, different sensors, modular filter system.

wiki and media design
Scheduling team photograph for the wiki.

Designing the animations to be incorporated in the wiki.

human practices
Collaborations with St Andrews iGEM, iGEM Nottingham, Manchester iGEM and iGEM Edinburgh proposed following our outing in Newcastle for the UK iGEM meetup.

Week 7 - 13

09 august 2019

biology
Perform well plate reading experiments and statistically analyse results.

engineering
Complete making a functional prototype.

Complete making a functional prototype, altering and fixing any problems faced with the machine.

Calibration experiments and analysis of growth curves.

wiki and media design
Deciding which team member is writing each section of the wiki.

Writing-up Wiki content.

human practices
Interviewing biotechnology companies.

Completing collaboration activity with St Andrews iGEM by outreach events to high schools in Sheffield.

Week 14-22

13 September 2019

biology Prep samples sent by other iGEM teams to test with our microplate reader as part of collaboration.

Analyse results and provide feedback to other Igem teams that we are collaborating with.

engineering
Finalise the software and UI for the microplate reader .

Finalise and test run the IOT for the microplate reader.

wiki and media design
Finish writing up the wiki.

Prepare poster and practice presentation for the Igem Jamboree in Boston.

human practices
Complete collaborations with iGEM Manchester, iGEM Edinburgh, iGEM Nottingham, iGEM St Andrews, iGEM Madrid.

Presentation at the University of Sheffield departments of Bioengineering, Biomedical Sciences, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.