News
Success in iGEM student competition for synthetic biology
The IPF supported a team of students from the TU Dresden Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), Faculty of Computer Science and the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden in the worldwide synthetic biology competition iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine).
With their project “WunderBand” the students developed a bioresponsive hydrogel wound dressing for the treatment of chronic wounds. The dressing can release bacteriophages upon stimulation of the gel by proteases produced by the infected wound to eliminate the bacteria. In addition, the team utilized yeast cells as efficient biofactories to produce human growth factors. Using the same principles as in the bioresponsive phage-hydrogel, the yeast-secreted growth factors can be released into the wound, helping chronic wounds to overcome inflammation and aid in healing.
The project was greatly assisted by the Institute of Biofunctional Polymer Materials at the IPF Dresden. The TU Dresden iGEM team became one of the 4 best iGEM teams competing in the Therapeutics track, overtaking another 51 teams from around the world. Furthermore, they were awarded a gold medal for their project and were nominated in the categories “Best new composite part” and “Best part collection”.
More details about the “WunderBand” project can be found here.
07.11.2022