Parts

An overview of the parts used in our engineering process

Basic Parts Information

Basic parts used across our constructs. Click another tab to view composites or devices.

Binding Units

Binding units encode short peptides that adhere to plastic surfaces via interactions such as π-stacking and hydrophobic contacts. When displayed on a cell surface, they promote adhesion to PET or PS microplastics for capture.

Binding peptides (PET and PS)
Part # Name Type Title Source Length (bp) License
BBa_250ZQQXZ PET Binding Peptide B Coding Polyethylene Terephthalate Binding Peptide Dhoriyani et. al, PNAS 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae572 36 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25BXPW4W PSBP A Coding Polystyrene Binding Peptide A Alsheri et. al, Digital Discovery 2025, doi:10.1039/D4DD00219A 36 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_254S02FL PSBP B Coding Polystyrene Binding Peptide B Alsheri et. al, Digital Discovery 2025, doi:10.1039/D4DD00219A 36 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_2595L78Z PSBP C Coding Polystyrene Binding Peptide C Alsheri et. al, Digital Discovery 2025, doi:10.1039/D4DD00219A 36 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25UCSI3M PSBP D Coding Polystyrene Binding Peptide D Dhoriyani et. al, PNAS 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae572 36 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25HEIU8Z PSBP E Coding Polystyrene Binding Peptide Dhoriyani et. al, PNAS 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae572 36 CC-BY-SA 4.0

5’ UTR

5’ untranslated regions (5’ UTRs) control translation efficiency via ribosome binding sites and spacing. We use a truncated g10‑L RBS variant to enhance translation while remaining synthesis-friendly.

Translation elements
Part # Name Type Title Source Length (bp) License
BBa_2563ZJ4S 5’UTR 5’ UTR Truncated Translation enhancing 5-UTR containing g10-L RBS https://parts.igem.org/Part:BBa_K1758100, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja405967h 42 CC-BY-SA 4.0

Tags

Fusion tags can improve solubility and expression and may be proteolytically removed post‑purification when needed.

Expression tags
Part # Name Type Title Source Length (bp) License
BBa_25USM2Y8 bdSUMO CDS bdSUMO Tag — 295 CC-BY-SA 4.0

Promoters

Strong phage-derived promoters such as T7Max drive high transcription rates in T7-based expression systems.

Promoter elements
Part # Name Type Title Source Length (bp) License
BBa_K4207000 Find T7 Max T7/Promoter T7Max https://jbioleng.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13036-023-00323-1#Abs1 26 CC-BY-SA 4.0

Composite Parts Information

Composite sequences assembled from basic parts.

Promoter Module

Composite promoter elements are adapted for specific contexts or combined with flanking sequences for cloning convenience.

Promoter module
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_252JX551 T7Max NonCDS Coding T7_Non_CDS_V2 140 CC-BY-SA 4.0

PET Binding Unit

Composite PET binding units include linkers or leaders as needed for expression and display.

PET binding unit
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_25MRI99K PET Binding Unit B Coding PET Binding Unit B 69 CC-BY-SA 4.0

PS Binding Units

Composite PS binding units are designed computationally and validated in silico, typically combining a display context with a high-affinity PS-binding peptide.

PS binding units
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_25OGTX4L PS Binding Unit A Coding PS Binding Unit A 69 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25G2X4SD PS Binding Unit B Coding PS Binding Unit B 69 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25OUAT12 PS Binding Unit C Coding PS Binding Unit C 69 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_259WMV9Q PS Binding Unit D Coding PS Binding Unit D 69 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25A4JLUO PS Binding Unit E Coding PS Binding Unit E 69 CC-BY-SA 4.0

PS Binding Unit (without Linker)

Encodes a fusion protein including an N-terminus 6x histidine tag and a polystyrene binding peptide at the C-terminus. The binding peptide has a high affinity for polystyrene surfaces. This part can be used to purify the binding peptide.

PS Binding Unit (without Linker)
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_256BX3HN PS Binding Unit F Coding PS Binding Unit F 54 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25AO4Q8S PS Binding Unit G Coding PS Binding Unit G 54 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25XQA0OH PS Binding Unit H Coding PS Binding Unit H 54 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_2524CGR9 PS Binding Unit I Coding PS Binding Unit I 54 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_254IF9TX PS Binding Unit J Coding PS Binding Unit J 54 CC-BY-SA 4.0

PS Binding Unit with Sumo

Encodes a fusion protein including an N-terminus 12x histidine tag, a bdSUMO tag, a flexible glycine serine linker, a polystyrene binding peptide, and a superfolding GFP reporter sequence at the C-terminus. This fusion protein is meant to enable expression of the small polystyrene binding peptide linker by pairing it with the sumo tag. The bdSUMO tag and his-tag can be cleaved off to enable further use of the sfGFP and binding peptide.

PS binding unit with Sumo
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_25X9JV6Y PS Binding Unit K Coding PS Binding Unit K 1099 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25UR4P3L PS Binding Unit L Coding PS Binding Unit L 1096 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25R9PXSD PS Binding Unit M Coding PS Binding Unit M 1099 CC-BY-SA 4.0

Biological Devices Information

Devices comprising multiple functional elements configured for expression and binding.

PET Binding Device

Generator for a fusion protein including an N-terminus 6x histidine tag, a flexible glycine serine linker, and a polyethylene terephthalate binding peptide at the C-terminus. This part can be used to generate fusion proteins for purifying the binding peptide.

PET binding device
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_2560T8IX PET Binding Unit Generator B Device Polyethylene Terephthalate Binding Unit Generator B 187 CC-BY-SA 4.0

PS Binding Generators (long form)

Generator for a fusion protein including an N-terminus 6x histidine tag, a flexible glycine serine linker, and a polystyrene binding peptide at the C-terminus. This part can be used to generate fusion proteins for purifying the binding peptide.

PS binding Unit Generators (long form)
Part # Name Type Title Sequence License
BBa_25KYOWNP PS Binding Unit A Device Polystyrene Binding Unit A 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_251O8I64 PS Binding Unit Generator B Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator B 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25ULT20X PS Binding Unit Generator C Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator C 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25RM02KN PS Binding Unit Generator D Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator D 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25FRIJUO PS Binding Unit E Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator E 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0

PS Binding Unit Generator (short form)

Encodes a fusion protein including an N-terminus 6x histidine tag and a polystyrene binding peptide at the C-terminus. The binding peptide has a high affinity for polystyrene surfaces. This part can be used to purify the binding peptide.

PS binding Unit Generator (short form)
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_258S4IWD PS Binding Unit Generator F Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator F 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_258UZQPF PS Binding Unit Generator G Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator G 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25OU6DHO PS Binding Unit Generator H Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator H 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_259YNISW PS Binding Unit Generator I Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator I 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25IHAVOH PS Binding Unit J Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator J 315 CC-BY-SA 4.0

PS Binding Unit Generator (SUMO & sfGFP)

Encodes a fusion protein including an N-terminus 12x histidine tag, a bdSUMO tag, a flexible glycine serine linker, a polystyrene binding peptide, and a superfolding GFP reporter sequence at the C-terminus. This fusion protein is meant to enable expression of the small polystyrene binding peptide linker by pairing it with the sumo tag. The bdSUMO tag and his-tag can be cleaved off to enable further use of the sfGFP and binding peptide.

PS Binding Unit Generator (SUMO & sfGFP)
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_258S4IWD PS Binding Unit Generator K Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator K 1345 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_253CDW6L PS Binding Unit Generator L Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator L 1345 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25VFG8PR PS Binding Unit Generator M Device Polystyrene Binding Unit Generator M 1345 CC-BY-SA 4.0

Plasmids Information

pTwist Kan Med Copy Backbone

Standard medium copy plasmid backbone for molecular cloning and expression.

pTwist Kan Med Copy Backbone
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_25D1KRKB pTwist Kan Med Copy Backbone Plasmid pTwist Kan Med Copy Backbone 2104 CC-BY-SA 4.0

Inserted PET Binding Unit

Generative variant configured for PET capture by combining expression control with a PET-binding peptide.

PET binding unit
Part # Name Type Inserted Device Length (bp) License
BBa_25BD5FF2 pFSUIGEM25-2 Plasmid PET Binding Unit Generator B 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0

Inserted PS binding device In Plasmid Backbone

Generative variants configured for PS capture by combining expression control with a PS-binding peptide.

Inserted PS binding device In Plasmid Backbone
Part # Name Type Title Length (bp) License
BBa_258USD40 pFSUIGEM25-1 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator A 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25T6Q45B pFSUIGEM25-12 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator B 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_256K538X pFSUIGEM25-3 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator C 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25VFKXER pFSUIGEM25-4 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator D 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25EUECJU pFSUIGEM25-5 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator E 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_251QKY3O pFSUIGEM25-6 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator F 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_255E8SV5 pFSUIGEM25-7 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator G 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25G2YUWY pFSUIGEM25-8 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator H 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25X14N35 pFSUIGEM25-9 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator I 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25SOT9YS pFSUIGEM25-10 Plasmid PS Binding Unit Generator J 2420 CC-BY-SA 4.0

Expression Control Inserts

Inserts for controlling gene expression, including negative control and T7Max expression elements.

Expression control Inserts
Part # Name Type Inserted Device Length (bp) License
BBa_256PTMKG pFSUIGEM25-14 Plasmid Negative Control Insert 3039 CC-BY-SA 4.0
BBa_25RHQZ48 pFSUIGEM25-15 Plasmid T7Max Expression Insert 3065 CC-BY-SA 4.0