Contribution

Overview

In line with iGEM's spirit of open science and collaboration, our team has made several contributions to the synthetic biology community through APOPTO-SENSE 2.0. These include an educational toolkit for mammalian synthetic receptor design, protocols for drug sensitivity testing, and collaborative resources shared with other teams. Our contributions aim to lower barriers for future researchers working on cell-based biosensors and personalized medicine, building on existing iGEM tools like synNotch receptors.

All contributions are documented here with links to relevant wiki pages and the Registry for easy access and replication.

Mammalian Synthetic Receptor Design Toolkit

As a key contribution, we developed an open-source toolkit to help future iGEM teams and researchers design and implement synthetic receptors in mammalian cells. This resource lowers the entry barrier for projects involving cell engineering and biosensing.

  • Components: Tutorials on synNotch modularity, literature reviews of extracellular domains (e.g., Annexin V for apoptosis), cross-comparisons of transcription factors (e.g., Gal4 vs. TetR), and standardized SOPs for drug sensitivity assays.
  • Validation: Beta-tested with 2 iGEM teams; incorporated feedback for user-friendliness (e.g., beginner modules with code examples).
  • Impact: Over 150 views during iGEM; promotes reusability in therapeutics and diagnostics tracks.

Protocols and Educational Resources

We contributed detailed, reproducible protocols from our experiments, shared as open resources for the community.

  • Drug Sensitivity Testing SOP: Step-by-step guide for co-culture assays and fluorescence quantification, optimized through DBTL cycles.
  • Educational Materials: Infographics and videos on apoptosis detection, used in workshops reaching 500+ participants (see Education page).
  • Collaborations: Shared modeling scripts (e.g., COPASI files for kinetic simulations) with partnering teams for joint dry lab analyses.

These resources are available on our Experiments and Dry Lab wiki pages, promoting standardization in synthetic biology research.

Community Impact and Future Use

Our contributions extend beyond parts to foster a collaborative ecosystem. By open-sourcing tools and protocols, we enable future teams to build on APOPTO-SENSE 2.0 for applications like multiplexed cell death detection or immunotherapy monitoring. Feedback from iGEM collaborations confirmed their utility, and we encourage adaptations with proper attribution.