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From 2013.igem.org

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Preliminary Description:

     Safety remains a serious issue in synthetic biology, especially for applications involving the administration of live bacteria into humans. Minicells provide a safe, reliable and versatile alternative to live bacteria, while still retaining many of the features that make the latter such a useful chassis, especially for medicine.

     Minicells are the result of aberrant cell division that leaves one of the daughter cells significantly smaller (typically ~400 nm) and without chromosomal DNA. This feature strips minicells of the ability to replicate, but they retain the parent cell’s physical characteristics, including proton gradients and other membrane proteins, as well as any plasmid DNA from the parent cell. This renders minicells ideal for highly-specific receptor targeting, drug delivery, and other applications.

     We aim to create a standardized BioBrick device for the creation of E. coli minicells through IPTG induction of FtsZ, a gene found to cause aberrant cell division when overexpressed. The appropriate level of IPTG induction for FtsZ as a factor of minicell creation is also a key focus of our modeling efforts.

     In an effort to ensure that minicells could be used safely in a living organism, additional measures are being taken to prevent any kind of septic shock. These measures include the addition of the Ail protein to avoid deposition in human serum and efforts to express polysialic acid on the minicell to avoid activation of the complement system. This would be especially useful for the young, elderly and immunocompromised in delivering any kind of treatment that our cells can be loaded with.