Difference between revisions of "Team:Lambert GA/Applied Design"

Transformations are routinely conducted by scientists across the world for numerous purposes, with an increased prevalence in synthetic biology. While chemical means are often used for transformations, electroporation has emerged as a significant technological advance yielding higher transformation efficiencies and faster protocols. Significant barriers to its incorporation in research persist due to the expense of electroporators, their need for access to electricity, and portability of the equipment. The ElectroPen (USPTO No. 62/743,276), a portable 20-cent electroporator, is able to produce similar transformation efficiencies to a standard commercial electroporator without requiring electricity at a fraction of the weight. Using the principles of piezoelectricity and parts from a butane lighter, Lambert iGEM developed a new revolutionary device that is easily accessible and globally affordable, experimentally demonstrated through a collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia. The ElectroPen offers a new advance in frugal science.