Team:Newcastle/solution

Required BioBricks

• 1) Sequential Programming (Richard)
• 2) End of crack & signaling system
• 3) Non-target-environment kill switch inc. inducible lysis
• 4) Spider silk & filamentous cells
• 5) Glue & lysis
• 6) CaCO₃/Urease

Research teams

BioBrick 2 (End of crack & signalling system): D.Y.; P.H.; Y.E.; H.S.

BioBrick 3 (Non-target-environment kill switch): S.W.; A.L.; R.B.; J.S.

BioBrick 4 (Spider silk & Filamentous Cells): J.S.; R.B.; S.W.; Y.E.

BioBrick 5 (Glue & lysis): H.S.; A.L.; P.H.; D.Y.

BioBrick 6 (CaCO₃ /Urease): All

Characteristics / Actions

• Alkaline resistant
• Motility
• Sense Oxygen (for cracks)
• Quorum Sensing
• UV Sensitivity
• Produce glue/Silk
• Produce product in response to signal

Products

• Spider silk
• Glue
• Amyloid Fiber (forms Beta-Sheet)
• Calcium Carbonate
• Quorum Sensing Peptides
• Surfactin

Priorities

• Filamentous cells
• CaCO₃
• Quorum Sensing
• Spider silk
• Glue
• Directed movement

Types of Bacillus cells

• Motile rod cells
• Filamentous
• Chain of rods
• Spores
• Lysed
• Biofilm
• Dividing cell

Environment

• Fermenter (Batch)
• External Face of Concrete
• Inside Crack
• Spray
• End of crack
• Non-target

Experiments

1. Movement into cracks
2. Speed of swimming in a particular direction

Models

1. Rate of migration down micro crack
2. Rate of protein production
3. Mechanical model of repair strength
4. Whole process. Signal propagation to release glue

Concrete Questions

• How big are micro cracks?
• How porous is concrete?
• How fast will concrete soak up liquid?
• Will a surfactant speed up this process?
• How to inspect for micro cracks:
  1. fluorescence
  2. ultra sound

Parameters

1. Speed of swimming in a particular direction (wt)
2. Quantities of glue, s.s, CaCO3, cell density
3. Strength (tensile) of bonding agents, filamentous cells

 ???

1. Grown in fermenter, rich medium
   • Rods
2. Sporulation medium
   • spores
3. Spray canister
   • spores
4. Sprayed on concrete surface
   • germinate -> rods
5. In crack
   • rods
6. End of crack
   • Produce glue/CaCO3/silk/filaments
   • Produce signal peptides

Papers

Research Papers