APPLICATIONS
We believe that our research is important because it can bring a cheap and easy-to use biosensor to people throughout the world. One of the best ways to deal with a disease is to identify it as early as possible and to know exactly what kind of disease you are dealing with. Our system can help identify the root of the problem, preventing its further development. Examples of such applications in the real-world are detection of contaminants in water (heavy metals, pathogens, antibiotics), fungal and bacterial pathogens in agriculture, soil pollutants and even point-of-care diagnostics.
THREE TIER APPLICATION
Since the inception of the project, we wanted to create an "Universal" biosensor... A biosensor capable of detecting multiple targets, detecting multiple targets at once, processing multiple and complex biological signals and displaying different results all thanks to its modular nature. Obviously, the choice of a universal biosensor had its own drawbacks when we had to conduct Human Practices or Lab works given too many possibilities. Therefore we came up with a three-tier system: BIOPLATFORM - FAMILY/CATEGORIES OF BIOSENSORS - SPECIFIC BIOSENSORS (Case study).
1st TIER: TRUE END-USERs
The aim of our project was never producing a biosensor but a reliable "biosensor platform" or "biosensor template" ready to be used by biologist around the world
We had a vision of DIY-biologists, citizen scientist, biotech companies and the iGEM community making cheap and robust biosensors with our bioplatform. Therefore if you are a biologist you could be our next end-user!
During Human Practices we engaged with many communities of biologist to understand their needs, so far we believe that our system is a good starting point for making thousands of biosensors
2nd TIER CATEGORIES
Further uses of our biosensor could be identified per
INDUSTRIES
The team members already did exploratory interviews with experts from different industries ( Agriculture, Healthcare, Food-processing, Environmental protection, Data monitoring etc.). We had more 11 one-on-one interviews lasting on average more than 40 minutes with representatives, opinion leaders and experts of the industries previously mentioned.
At the first stages of the project the interviews were mostly exploratory and the main goal was identifying critical needs to address with the development of a single biosensor as a proof of concept of our biosensor platform.
We found out may pressing needs and concerns in various industries but ultimately we decided to follow the path of Environmental protection and detect contaminants in water since water is one of the most precious resources on the planet and is linked to many issues like food security, wars, poverty, biodiversity, well-being, etc.
During the later stages of the project, we focused our Human Practices on drinking water and wastewater systems. ,br>
We collected so many insights but we didn't have time to fully transcribe all the interviews, we will try to publish the extract of the interviews on JOGL
CASE STUDY
Water quality assessment: Arsenic and Mercury Biosensor
Statistically analyzed by the WHO, until 2017, about 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe and accessible domestic water, and around 4.5 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation (2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water at home, more than twice as many lack safe sanitation, 2020). According to NITI Aayog, 70% of the water in India is polluted and by 2030 more than 100 million people will be directly affected and 40 % of the population will have no access to drinking water (India's metro cities will run out of groundwater in next 10 years, claims NITI Ayog report; 40% populace will have no access to drinking water by 2030 - India News, Firstpost, 2020). Bangladesh suffers from frequent floods and because of its geology, more than half of the water resources contain excessive arsenic, more than 80% of its southern areas are seriously polluted with arsenic (Raessler, 2018), and some other areas contain excessive iron, manganese, boron, barium and uranium. Since 2000, billions of people have gained access to basic services of drinking water and sanitation, but these services do not promise safety. Many families, health care facilities and schools still lack soap and water for handwashing. This puts everyone, especially young children, at risk of diseases such as diarrhoea, which kills 361,000 children under the age of five every year (Pollution kills more than 1.7 million children a year, WHO reports, 2020). Poor sanitation and contaminated drinking water have also been linked to the spread of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid fever. In developing countries, the cumulative impact of water-related diseases is not only increasing economic growth, but also straining already overburdened health systems. After the devastating tsunami, flooding has polluted water systems, leaving people with no choice but to use dirty surface water. Under these circumstances, it is difficult for people to protect themselves from cholera, dysentery and other deadly diseases. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop a convenient, rapid and affordable way to conduct water quality testing in the relatively rural areas.
Our biosensor platform can be applied as the point of care for instance in community clinics or hospital wards and for water monitoring performed in under-resourced areas. It is also intended for educational use that friendly to beginners. When there is limited access to laboratory facilities and equipment, such as no time or skills to do laboratory preparations, it can provide hands-on lab experiences for students on home instruction or in alternative education settings. Meanwhile, people can design their own experiments that meet specific curriculum requirements. Over-the-counter home tests for people with no medical background may be possible as well.
References
-
Who.int. 2020. 2.1 Billion People Lack Safe Drinking Water At Home, More Than Twice As Many Lack Safe Sanitation. [online] Available at: [Accessed 26 October 2020].
- Firstpost. 2020. India's Metro Cities Will Run Out Of Groundwater In Next 10 Yrs, Claims NITI Ayog Report; 40% Populace Will Have No Access To Drinking Water By 2030 - India News , Firstpost. [online] Available at: [Accessed 26 October 2020].
- Raessler, M., 2018. The Arsenic Contamination of Drinking and Groundwaters in Bangladesh: Featuring Biogeochemical Aspects and Implications on Public Health. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 75(1), pp.1-7.
-
Cbsnews.com. 2020. Pollution Kills More Than 1.7 Million Children A Year, WHO Reports. [online] Available at: [Accessed 26 October 2020].
Humanitarian Responses
(Outbreaks, Disasters and Catastrophes)
We know that our biosensor could be used in humanitarian responses as an item that could be considered first aid
Differently from environmental monitoring Humanitarian Responses could easily justify the need of developing a biosensor platform like ours.
We already did some preliminary by looking protocols, procedures and standards in case of first response of Outbreaks, and natural or man-made disasters
