Team:Alma/Proof Of Concept

Proof of Concept
How can we test its effectiveness?
The estrogen receptor’s ability to recognize the presence of DDT in solution needed to be tested. This was the biggest source of concern in terms of proof of concept that the Alma iGEM team faced. DDT is enormously hydrophobic, with an oil-water coefficient of 6.8. DDT is not however something that the Alma iGEM team had a strong desire to work closely with, as it is toxic to invertebrates. As such an analog was found in Sudan Black dye, which the Alma iGEM team found was more hydrophobic than DDT with an oil-water coefficient of 7. This served as a good stand in for DDT to be worked with in testing the processes that could be used to quantify the amount of DDT present in solution