Team:UTArlingtonTexasUSA/Model
OUR MODEL
The microbial fuel cell we built is a standard h-type design which is characterized by having 2 compartments separated by a salt bridge. For easy maintenance and fabrication, we have used a simple and portable design so that it could be convenient to use and available for mobile operations of future experiments.
After the construction of the MFC, we simulated the baseline methodology by utilizing methylene-blue as a mediator in conjunction with ferricyanide as an electron acceptor to ensure that a current could be measured. We obtained a current of 1.5 mA and this measurement allowed us to confirm that the construction of the MFC was capable of supporting whether the hypothesized gene sequence could be accurately tested and implemented for the detection of xylene.
The first portion of our hypothesized gene sequence is always on, so the bacteria continuously is producing the protein of interest, XYLR. This protein initiates a cascade that activates the pyocyanin promoter and a fluorescent protein m.cherry. The change in fluorescence because of the m.cherry and GFP can then be used to calibrate the biosensor.
