Team:SMS Shenzhen
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Gum Over
Abstract
As one of the most popular groceries, chewing gum is stuck on the table, bench, and street because of irresponsible disposal. Primarily made up of ethyl-vinyl acetate, polyisobutylene and polyisoprene, they are not water-soluble or easily degraded. Removal is generally achieved by steam jet and scraper, but the process is slow and labour-intensive. Other environmental and health problems could also be caused by discarded gum. This year, SMS_Shenzhen aims at fighting against chewing gum. We focus on LCP and laccase in wet lab, expressing them and improving them by directed evolution and rational design. In dry lab, our modelling project optimizes laccase's enzyme activity and verifies the improvement quantitatively. Outside the lab, we conduct stakeholder interviews to collect suggestions for our hardware design. We also organize all-aged education, including lectures and an art exhibition, to raise the public's awareness of protecting the environment and introduce the audience to synthetic biology.
