Prototype

GE Mosquitoes

To demonstrate our pathogen blood testing system on a real adult mosquito, we collaborated with NCHU_Taichung iGEM Team 2018 from Taiwan and conducted an experiment of DNA microinjection into adult female mosquito, Aedes aegypti.

In addition to this experiment, we also visited the Mosquito Lab of Prof. Wu-Chun Tu in National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan. We presented our idea and got the valuable feedback from him. Moreover, we learned the physiology and behavior of mosquitoes when sucking and attracted by human blood from Dr. Hau-you Tzeng. The knowledge we learned was turned into our prototype design.

EXPERIMENT at MostNCHU

Make microinjection needles by pulling glass capillary tubes
Anesthetize the adult mosquitoes on ice
Fill the needle with the DNAs in Cellfectin II reagent with E. coli or not
Inject the DNA by inserting into the thorax of the mosquito.
Recover the mosquito for 2 days

RESULT

The mosquito injected with DNA plus E. coli showed fluorescence signal in Gel Imaging System and Blue LED Box after 2 days of DNA microinjection. This result further proved our concept into a reality.

Product Design

To make GE mosquito GFP reporter system come to the world, some may be considered: product packaging, result reading device and protocol, safety, as well as product marketing.

We developed two products as one set for our reporter and reading system:
KISSING BOXTM: the GE mosquito kept in the box for sucking blood
BLUE LED BOX: a scanner box equipped with blue led for observing the green fluorescence signal.

We made a matchbox-size KISSING BOXTM with a clear acrylic sheet on the top and fine metal mesh in the bottom. The box can carry as many as 20 mosquitoes which can suck blood through the mesh.

BLUE LED SCANNER BOX

The SCANNER can load a KISSING BOXTM inside.

The SCANNER equipped with blue led which can excite the green fluorescence of GFP as shown here with fluorescein in a PCR tube.

The SCANNER BOX with KISSING BOXTM is light and portable which can be hold with one hand. The operation is simple and easy-to-use without any profession instructions. Our product is suitable for point-of-care use including poor-educated and limited-resource countries.

User Guide

Product Features

Product Features

Compared to other current methods, the KISSING BOXTM provides a novel way solving difficulties of accuracy, windows period of virus infection, measuring time and place. The KISSING BOXTM is developed for point-of-care use and affordable to the public.

Product Safety

Safety is more than everything. The product will bring to you with wingless GE mosquitoes either with wings cut manually or genetically modified by knocking out a wing development gene, vestigial.

Product DM