Advancements in the area of genetic modification have opened avenues towards numerous tracks of scientific development. In particular, the demand for permanent health solutions has sparked massive interest in gene therapy.

Despite the potential for establishing an ideal medicine, there are numerous challenges that development in this field faces. Limitations in the selection of a specific target site for integration of genetic material, avoidance of immune responses, methodology pertaining to gene delivery, and maintenance of gene expression all pose a threat to the potential for gene therapy to become common practice.

University of Calgary’s Snip, Equip, Flip aims to overcome the aforementioned obstacles. This system allows for the creation of eukaryotic cell lines via stable integration and expression of exogenous genes.

A simple and reliable method that can be used by experienced and entrant researchers alike opens the door for a vast array of scientific discovery.

By complementing the specificity of targeting that CRISPR/Cas9 offers with the much larger integration capabilities of FLP recombinase and beta resolvase, gene integration into eukaryotic genomes becomes a simple process of Snip, Equip, Flip.

The expression of integrated genes is then protected and maintained over time by adding flanking chromatin modifying elements.

Droplet microfluidic device designed for scalable gene transfer system.

SARA, a software tool built for iGEM participants. SARA helps iGEMers find past software projects for use in their own projects.