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Team:Newcastle
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'''Our project''' aims to fill cracks in concrete with a mixture of: | '''Our project''' aims to fill cracks in concrete with a mixture of: | ||
| - | *[[Team:Newcastle/Urease| CaCO<sub>3</sub>]] , which has the same expansion coefficient as concrete | + | *[[Team:Newcastle/Urease| CaCO<sub>3</sub>]] , which has the same expansion coefficient as concrete, |
| - | *[[Team:Newcastle/glue| Glue]], which is required to gel together the CaCO<sub>3</sub> crystals | + | *[[Team:Newcastle/glue| Glue]], which is required to gel together the CaCO<sub>3</sub> crystals and |
*[[Team:Newcastle/Filamentous_Cells| Filamentous ''Bacillus subtilis'' cells]], which will act as reinforcements like the steel fibres found in concrete. | *[[Team:Newcastle/Filamentous_Cells| Filamentous ''Bacillus subtilis'' cells]], which will act as reinforcements like the steel fibres found in concrete. | ||
| - | We will use quorum sensing to coordinate the bacteria and trigger calcium carbonate precipitation and filament formation once they have reached a sufficient density inside a microcrack by developing a [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system| subtilin-based cell-signalling system]], building on the subtilin sensing system previously designed by [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system#2008Brick| Newcastle 2008’s iGEM team]]. | + | We will use quorum sensing to coordinate the bacteria and trigger calcium carbonate precipitation and filament formation once they have reached a sufficient density inside a microcrack by developing a [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system| subtilin-based cell-signalling system]], building on the subtilin sensing system previously designed by [[Team:Newcastle/End_of_crack_%26_signalling_system#2008Brick| Newcastle 2008’s iGEM team]]. |
To protect the environment our project will also include a design for a [[Team:Newcastle/Non-target-environment_kill_switch| kill switch]]. | To protect the environment our project will also include a design for a [[Team:Newcastle/Non-target-environment_kill_switch| kill switch]]. | ||
Revision as of 15:26, 2 August 2010
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Project description
Microcracks in concrete undermine structural integrity and are inaccessible to conventional repair methods. Bacteria of the Bacillus genus could be the ideal candidates for concrete repair since they are able to precipitate CaCO3 (Use of bacteria to repair cracks in concrete, Tittelboom et al, cement and concrete research (2009)).
Our project aims to fill cracks in concrete with a mixture of:
- CaCO3 , which has the same expansion coefficient as concrete,
- Glue, which is required to gel together the CaCO3 crystals and
- Filamentous Bacillus subtilis cells, which will act as reinforcements like the steel fibres found in concrete.
We will use quorum sensing to coordinate the bacteria and trigger calcium carbonate precipitation and filament formation once they have reached a sufficient density inside a microcrack by developing a subtilin-based cell-signalling system, building on the subtilin sensing system previously designed by Newcastle 2008’s iGEM team.
To protect the environment our project will also include a design for a kill switch.
   
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