Difference between revisions of "Team:Ecuador"

In this project a new biomaterial based on the cross-linking of bacterial cellulose (bacterial celluose, BC) and elastin-like polypeptides (Elastin like polypeptides, ELP) will be developed, for use in biomedical applications. The cross-linking of both materials will be carried out with synthetic biology techniques using the Escherichia coli bacterium as the expression system of the new biomaterial, and as a mediator of the cross-linking to two protein modules of the carbohydrate binding domain (carbohydrate binding domain, CBD) specific for cellulose and one module of bone morphogenic protein 2 (BMP-2).

Bacterial cellulose will be used as a bandage matrix, due its biocompatibility in vivo with the body, moreover its ability to provide an optimal three-dimensional substrate for cell attachment and a microfibrillar structure that provides flexibility, and its high retention capacity of water and gas exchange, which allow it to obtain rapid rates of epithelization and tissue regeneration. CBDs are modules of proteins found in carbohydrate enzymes whose function is to bind to cellulose carbohydrate, allowing the ELP protein to give greater flexibility to the bandage, while the BMP2 protein, which is an inducer of cell differentiation in osteoblasts, will be responsible for reducing the recovery time of the bones.

To achieve the objective, the expression of the cellulose and the fusion protein in two bacteria will be carried out separately. For the synthesis of bacterial cellulose, an E. coli expression system will be used; introducing two plasmids: psb1C3 responsible for cellulose synthesis and psb1A3 responsible for the synthesis of the export system and overproduction. For the production of the fusion protein, plasmid psb1C3 will be used, which will contain the genes for the proteins CBD, ELP and BMP2