Tianjin

In this project, we try to construct a biological device to imitate the function of the diode, one of the most significant parts in the electric integrate circuit. The flow of molecular signal AHL is considered as the current of electric circuit. The generator, amplifiers, blocks and detector cells are constructed with the parts provided by MIT and then are equipped in series in order to establish the cellular and molecular biological diode. Our device, which is a combination of technologies from the field of computer science, molecular biology and chemical engineering, is a breakthrough for the application of mature techniques of chemical engineering to the field of synthetic biology.

Combining the “Latch and Enable Control" conception of "Flip-flop" and synthetic biology, we designed the Genetical RS FLIP-FLOP whose output signal (Green Fluorescence) is regulated by additional input signal (the addition of IPTG). The GFP is only ignited when the input signal switches from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0. Thus, the immediate response to emergency (input changes) enables our design to detect signal variation in a short time, which is beneficial to the control of biological systems.