From the beginning of our project, ReGenStitch, our team has been guided by the belief that innovation and sustainability should advance hand in hand. Synthetic biology gives us the power to design and re-engineer life for good — but with that power comes the responsibility to ensure that our work supports not only science, but also society and the environment.
Throughout the design, construction, and testing phases of ReGenStitch, we have followed the principles of green biomanufacturing, waste valorization, and responsible innovation. Our bioactive surgical suture project contributes directly to four of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 13: Climate Action
Each of these goals resonates deeply with our mission — to create a safer, cleaner, and more sustainable model for future medical biotechnology.
Goal: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Our work on ReGenStitch directly supports the improvement of public health and post-surgical recovery. Traditional sutures, whether absorbable or non-absorbable, often lead to inflammation, infection, and the need for painful suture removal. These complications not only affect physical healing but also the emotional well-being of patients, especially those recovering from major surgeries like cesarean sections.
To address this, our team engineered a multifunctional bioactive suture that integrates three synergistic biological systems:
- Bacterial Cellulose (BC) provides mechanical strength and biocompatibility.
- Chitosan/Chitosan Oligosaccharides (COS) deliver antimicrobial and hemostatic effects.
- Curcumin acts as an anti-inflammatory and scar-regulating agent.
This combination enhances healing outcomes, reduces the risk of infection, and minimizes scarring, thereby promoting faster recovery and better patient well-being. Moreover, we conducted all experiments under BSL-1 laboratory safety conditions, ensuring biosafety and compliance with ethical standards.
By using synthetic biology to solve real clinical problems, we advance the SDG 3 goal — not only improving individual health but also demonstrating how engineered biology can enhance global medical equity and quality of care.
Goal: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.
Innovation is the heart of our project. ReGenStitch demonstrates how synthetic biology can replace traditional, resource-intensive manufacturing with sustainable biomanufacturing. Instead of producing surgical materials from petrochemical polymers such as nylon or polypropylene, we designed a biological production system that uses engineered microbes to synthesize and assemble the suture components.
Our use of the clinically validated probiotic strain E. coli Nissle 1917 as the chassis ensures safety, while the surface display biocatalysis system allows continuous enzyme use for chitosan conversion — greatly increasing efficiency and reducing cost. This reflects a DBTL (Design–Build–Test–Learn) engineering mindset, where every cycle leads to measurable improvements in sustainability and performance.
By turning laboratory design into a scalable, modular production concept, our project lays the groundwork for future sustainable biomedical manufacturing infrastructures. It embodies the SDG 9 principles — promoting innovation that is safe, inclusive, and sustainable for industry and healthcare alike.
Goal: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
One of the defining features of ReGenStitch is our commitment to circular resource utilization.
Instead of relying on costly or chemically synthesized raw materials, we designed our system around chitosan extracted from discarded shrimp shells — a common by-product of seafood consumption and processing.
This includes shrimp shells collected from local households and food waste that would otherwise be discarded.
Through microbial bioprocessing involving Bacillus subtilis and Acetobacter sp., we perform biological deproteinization and demineralization, avoiding the use of harsh acids or alkalis typically employed in industrial chitin extraction. This reduces toxic waste effluent, minimizes energy consumption, and transforms waste into high-value biomedical resources.
Furthermore, our final product — a bioactive suture made of biodegradable bacterial cellulose and chitosan — eliminates long-term medical waste accumulation. After fulfilling its surgical role, it naturally degrades, leaving no persistent plastic residues.
Within our laboratory, we also practiced green lab principles: minimizing single-use plastics, reusing glassware, and segregating biological waste responsibly. By applying sustainability not only to what we build, but also to how we work, our team fulfills the SDG 12 vision — advancing a responsible, resource-efficient form of biotechnology.
Goal: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Although ReGenStitch is a medical project, its environmental impact extends beyond the clinic. By replacing energy-intensive, fossil-based chemical synthesis with biological production pathways, our approach directly contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and industrial carbon footprints.
This waste-to-resource strategy demonstrates how biotechnology can support climate action through circular economy design.
Additionally, the biodegradable nature of our product reduces long-term landfill burden and prevents environmental microplastic pollution from medical materials.
Through our outreach and education activities, we have also shared these ideas with younger students, encouraging them to think about biological innovation as a pathway toward climate responsibility.
In this way, ReGenStitch not only heals patients but also contributes to healing the planet — embodying SDG 13 in both practice and philosophy.
The ReGenStitch project integrates sustainability at every level — from the biological systems we design to the environmental values we uphold.
By transforming discarded shrimp shells into medical-grade biomaterials, we embody the idea that scientific progress should reduce, not increase, the burden on our planet.
Our bioactive suture stands as a model for how synthetic biology can advance healthcare while maintaining ecological balance.
Looking ahead, we hope to continue developing and sharing our green biotechnology approaches, inspiring future iGEM teams to uphold the same principles of innovation with responsibility, science with sustainability, and engineering with empathy.
