Team:UESTC-China/Hardware1
Overview
In order to utilize our engineered bacteria to degrade ciprofloxacin in expired drugs, we designed a expired drugs recycling and degrading device in combination with the third generation fluorescence detection module.
In order to make it better adapt to more application scenarios and easy to maintain, we adopt a fully modular design, which is mainly divided into two large modules: water tank module and function module. The function module can be further divided into four small modules: a frame module, a pulverizing module, a detection module, and a degradation module.
We also designed double safety sterilization system to ensure the safety of our equipment.
In order to make it better adapt to more application scenarios and easy to maintain, we adopt a fully modular design, which is mainly divided into two large modules: water tank module and function module. The function module can be further divided into four small modules: a frame module, a pulverizing module, a detection module, and a degradation module.
We also designed double safety sterilization system to ensure the safety of our equipment.
Fig. 1. Expired drugs recycling and degrading device, which we call it Drug Avenger
Device design
Pulverizing module
We designed the pulverizing module with reference to the principle of the shredder. It is mainly composed of a combination of a cover, a pulverizing wheel, a water pump, a filter membrane and so on.
Our community drug recovery and treatment tanks have the highest priority in the treatment capacity of the device.
The treatment capacity of the device is the highest priority in our community drug recovery and treatment tanks.
The PH condition of the mobile phase in the whole device is the best working PH of the crpp enzyme, which may result in low dissolution efficiency of ciprofloxacin in the drug. This in turn affects the work of the device, and our shredding module buffers and solves this problem. After entering the pulverizing module, the tablets or capsules are first pulverized into powder by the pulverizing wheel, and then the pump continues to flush the water to dissolve the powder. The undissolved powder will be left by the filter until it is dissolved, and the dissolved ciprofloxacin will flow in the next module.
Fig. 2. Pulverizing module
Detection module
The detection module will act as a sensor for the entire community drug recovery and treatment tank to control the operation of equipment such as pumps in the tank. By placing the detection bacteria we produced in the pulverizing module in the detection module, we can detect the ciprofloxacin from the crushing module, and release AHL to the downstream degradation module to open the expression of CrpP. By detecting fluorescence, the detection module can determine whether ciprofloxacin is contained in the water from the crushing module to control the opening and closing of pumps and other equipment. The whole functional module is divided into three layers. In addition to loading the detection module, the second layer reserves a lot of space. In the future, according to the actual situation, the layer can also be equipped with a small water tank to hold the detection bacteria to provide more AHL.
Fig. 3. Detection module
Fig. 4. Detection module placement diagram
Degradation module
The degradation module is mainly composed of a water tank and a pipeline. The water tank is filled with LB to supply degrading bacteria in the pipeline. The pipeline is composed of a bracket and a dialysis bag, and the inside of the pipeline is filled with degrading bacterias embedded by sodium alginate.The water containing ciprofloxacin and AHL from the upper layer will pass through the pipeline, and AHL will induce the degrading bacteria to express CrpP to degrade ciprofloxacin. Finally, the treated water in the pipeline will be transported to the lower layer of the water tank by the pump under the frame module.
Fig. 5. Degradation module
In the frame module where place degradation module, two bright blue light tubes are installed to keep them alive by using the suicide gene in the degrading bacteria. Once the degrading bacteria in the pipeline leaves, they will die because they cannot receive blue light.
Fig.6. Blu-ray device
Water tank module
The water tank module is used to supply water to the functional module and to dilute, process and discharge the waste water from the functional module. The water tank module is divided into two layers. The upper layer is used to supply water to the functional module, and the lower layer is provided with a dark room to make the degrading bacteria suicide and a UV lamp can be installed for secondary sterilization to ensure the safety of the device.
Fig7. Water tank module
Safety
In order to achieve the goal of double sterilization system as much as possible to ensure the most effective biosafety, we designed a blue light tube channel to ensure the smooth work of the engineering bacteria, and designed a black box to implement the first safety mechanism to prevent engineering E.coli leaks. In addition, we designed UV-sterilized lamps to ensure that all harmful bacteria are killed, and no other super bacteria are produced.
Fig. 8. Safety measures