Difference between revisions of "Team:Shanghai United/Entrepreneurship"

Business Plan

Background

Today, as the economy develops, people are caring more and more about their health. Arsenic, one of the most common non-metallic elements found in nature, has also come into the picture. Arsenic alone is non-toxic, but certain arsenic compounds can cause cancer, inflammation, ulcers in the respiratory mucosa, and infertility if it is ingested. As for pregnant women, it can also lead to fetal malformations. The toxicity of arsenic can be seen in its effects on the elderly, refinery workers, pregnant women and other groups. Nowadays, the number of cases of endemic arsenic poisoning is gradually increasing due to the pollution caused by arsenic. According to Table 1 in the Survey on the Distribution of Endemic Arsenic Poisoning in China (General Report).

 

It is easy to see that the number of people with high arsenic exposure is now approaching 600,000. Therefore, the impact of arsenic on people's lives can be very significant.

 

But there are two sides to everything. Arsenic is not only an essential trace element for the human body, but it is also used in the production of pesticides, medical drugs, semiconductors, and many other products. It is therefore essential to find areas that are rich in arsenic.

 

Examples:

Although sophisticated arsenic testing equipment is now available on the market, it is generally large and expensive. For example, the first instrument which can be used to detect As is ICP-MS. ICP-MS is a sophisticated instrument, but it is hard to use. 

1. The sample should not contain any organic compound, particulate matter, and hydrofluoric acid. 

2. Pour pure water into the No.1 washing bottle, pour HNO3, which has a concentration of 4% into No.2 washing bottle as the acidic cleaner.

3. Open the "ICP MS Top" software, choose the window "instrument control", then choose the menu "Maintainace",open the "sample introduction",click "open Ar gas valve", choose "Make up" in the "gas select" part, click "Enable temp control" and set temperature as 2℃, set Neblizer Pump as 0.1 rps. Then, we need to purge the loop. Choose the "Instrument Control" window, "Reaction Gas" menu, open the "Reaction Gas" dialog box, click "open bypass valve", set the rate of flow of He as 5ml/min. According to how long the instrument has shut down, purge the He loop for 0.5 to 2 hours

4. Install the injection tube, drain pipe and the internal standard solution injection tube on the peristaltic pump on the main body of the ICP-MS. Next, install the injection tube of ISIS and the automatic needle washing solution pipeline

5. Start the fire. Choose the ALS menu and go to the No.1 washing bottle, choose "Manual Control" on the ISIS menu, set Pumpl to 0.5 rps, and click "send" so that the ISIS pump will start to work. Second, call the atune.u file. Third, choose the "plasma" menu, click "plasma on". At this time, you can see pink flame through the watching window on the upper-left of the instrument. Next, choose the "Instrument Control", then go to the "meters" menu and click "S/C temperature". Now, you should be able to see the temperature of the semiconductor refrigeration atomizer. When the temperature reaches 2℃, it's ready to go.

 

As you can see, it's too complicated. Plus, there isn't much ICP-MS instrument in the world. It's necessary to develop an instrument that is easy to use. And this is exactly why we have made our product. To use our product, the only thing you need to do is to put the sample into the instrument. Then, to look at the result, you only need to beam the E-coil with blue light and compare the intensity of green fluorescence with the Colorimetric card.

 

The second way is to atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry. It’s easier to use than ICP-MS, but it also requires a laboratory environment.

1. Pour 0.1ml liquid sample into a flask with a volume of 150ml, add 3~10ml HNO3 solution, shake the mixture and put the mixture on the electric heating plate until the solution becomes clear. Repeat 2 to 3 times, be careful and don’t let the mixture carbonize and become black.

2. Transfer arsenic standard solution which has the concentration of 1.0mg/L 0.0ml、0.5ml、1.0ml、2.0ml、3.0ml、4.0ml separately in to 6 Volumetric flasks(50ml), then add 2.5ml HCl solution and 5.0ml thiourea ascorbic acid mixed solution and fill each flask with water. The standard concentration of each solution is 0、10、20、40、60、80μg/L.Leave each bottle for 15min.

3. Preheat the atomic fluorescence photometer for 30 min, connect the gas source and adjust the export pressure, use 5%HCl solution as current-carrying, adjust the instrument according to the instrument parameters and determine the As standard working curve. The correlation coefficient of the determined standard working curve should be greater than 0.9990.

4. Now, first determine the blank sample and then determine each sample(by Arsenic high-intensity hollow cathode lamp and atomic fluorescence photometer).

5. Calculate the concentration by

C As: the concentration of the sample(μg/L)

C: The fluorescence intensity of the sample to be measured is subtracted from the fluorescence intensity of the sample blank to obtain the corresponding concentration from the working curve. The corresponding sample concentration

V:Final volume of the sample to be measured after treatment, dilution and volume fixation

V0:Volume of sample taken to be measured

 

So, we can see that although it’s easier to use the second method, it also requires a lot of things and the steps must be proceeded carefully. It’s necessary to develop an instrument which common people can easily use. therefore, it is necessary to develop a convenient arsenic testing instrument. We plan to use genetically edited E. coli for this purpose. This E. coli will fluoresce green when it is placed in an environment containing arsenic salts and exposed to blue light. Based on the fluorescence intensity and a colorimetric card, the customers can determine the amount of arsenic in the environment. If more detailed data is required, we can ask the user to send the used strain back to the laboratory to assist the analysis.

 

Research method

In this survey, we used three methods: expert research, online questionnaires, and offline interviews to understand people's knowledge of arsenic and its compounds and their attitudes towards products that detect arsenic.

 

expert research

The first method was expert research. At the beginning of the project, although we had some knowledge of the toxicity of some compounds of arsenic, we did not have a good understanding of the impact of arsenic on our society. At the same time, we wanted to understand the future of our products better so that we could change the design direction in time. We also wanted to know if our products were competitive in the marketplace. For this reason, we interviewed three experts: an environmentalist, a biologist, and a marketing expert. In the course of our interview with the environmental expert, who has used arsenic testing equipment and has studied arsenic, we asked him questions about the impact of arsenic on people, the distribution of arsenic, and the current testing methods. We learned that arsenic compounds could cause disease and be used to treat cancer or to make pesticides. This provided us with a good background to establish our future target groups and product development directions. We then interviewed experts in biology and learned about the advantages of biosensors and the best applications, where our products were not well thought out, how they could be improved, and where they could be developed in the future. This time we had a clearer idea of the product design, a sketch of the product, and an estimate of the cost of the product. The target audience was better defined. Finally, we approached a marketing expert and asked how to write a business plan. Before the research, we designed a brief plan and presented our ideas. The expert found the flaws in our ideas and helped us to point them out. The expert told us to think about the big aspects to the small ones and to do enough prep. Do a good analysis, analyze your competitors, analyze national policies and analyze the disaster situation. This can be followed by designing different products from both the consumer and producer sides. In this way, through this expert interview, we have a detailed understanding of arsenic, product design, and market prospects.

 

Questionnaires

We also released an online questionnaire to collect people's views from worldwide via the internet. As our survey was aimed at the general public, we did not cover too much expertise in our questionnaire. At the same time, our questions were set from more general to more specific answers, with each question going one level deeper than the previous one. Our survey aimed to determine how much the public knew about arsenic and its compounds and their thoughts on our products. Our survey results found that most people felt that they did not know much about arsenic. Our questions categorized people's knowledge of arsenic into ten levels and asked people to fill them in according to their circumstances. We also found that 63% of the respondents to the question "How well do you know about the toxicity of arsenic" chose not to know, 35% chose somewhat well, but only 2% chose very well.

This shows that many people in the community do not know much about arsenic, and it is important to educate them about it. For those who know a lot about arsenic and those who know some, 52% learned about the dangers of arsenic on the internet, 10% through offline publicity, 13% through friends and family, and 25% through professional knowledge.

It can be seen that the internet has brought plenty of benefits to the dissemination of information. However, we can also see that offline publicity is insufficient, so we should pay attention to it in our subsequent presentations and offline research. We also noted that 54.7% of people did not know if someone close to them had been sickened by arsenic, and only 1.33% knew for sure that someone close to them had been sickened by arsenic. This is further evidence that the general public is unaware of arsenic and does not take it seriously enough. Finally, concerning arsenic monitoring equipment, 98% of people had not used a monitoring device to detect arsenic, and only 2% of people had used one.

From the public's point of view, 91.73% of people think that the disadvantage of arsenic detectors on the market today is that they are not often used, 18.13% think that the biggest disadvantage is that they are expensive, 13.07% think that the main disadvantage is that they are inconvenient to use. Still, only 5.87% think that the disadvantage is that they are inefficient. Therefore, we can see that people are more rational and can analyze which problem brings the greatest impact. So in response to the current situation, it can be seen that there is a need to research an easy-to-use and inexpensive monitoring instrument. Furthermore, 52.53% of people are likely to buy our products in the future, 34.13% explicitly say they will, and only 13.33% explicitly say they will not. This again confirms the need for our products. In summary, many people are unaware of the toxicity of elemental arsenic, and they know exactly what they need. So we had to meet their needs and develop products that would meet their expectations.

 

Offline Interviews

We also took an offline interview approach. We asked around 20 random people in shopping centers about their knowledge of elemental arsenic and their opinion of our products. Of all the people we interviewed, 90% of the young people had some knowledge of arsenic and its compounds. We also learned that most of these young people had learned about arsenic and its compounds through in-class studies. Similarly, 89% of the young people were willing to buy our products. So young people are likely to be our main target group. For middle-aged and older people, 61% of middle-aged people are willing to buy our products, but at the same time, only 25% of older people are willing to spend money on our products. This is mainly because older people do not know as much about arsenic as younger people, and some do not see arsenic as relevant to their lives. Therefore, making the public aware of the importance of arsenic is an important step in selling our products.

 

Product analysis

Demand.

According to market research, the scarcity of arsenic makes the public pay less attention to its dangers. Therefore, the main demand for our products is likely to come from companies involved in environmental issues and individuals involved in potential arsenic injuries. In turn, we design different forms of our products to meet their needs: for companies, we provide professional biosensor tests in our laboratories; individuals receive colorimetric card indicators that are simple to operate. Specifically, individuals can be divided into two categories: those who prioritize daily safety and those who live around arsenic-contaminated areas. For the former, they are generally educated about heavy metal toxins. They are concerned about arsenic flooding their water, food, meditation, and cosmetics. For the latter, many areas are endangered by arsenic, especially mountainous and mining areas where residents are vulnerable to arsenic poisoning. However, most of these residents are not familiar with arsenic because there is not enough guidance. Therefore, we resolved to contact local governments or environmental testing authorities to lobby them to purchase arsenic indicators for their residents as a basic human right.

Rationale.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) naturally responds to arsenic in the environment. Using this mechanism, genetically modified E. coli in the test solution produce a green fluorescent protein when exposed to arsenic. Furthermore, this protein produces green fluorescence upon exposure to blue light. Thus, the presence of arsenic in the sample can be detected by testing whether the test tube produces green fluorescence after distinguishing the sample.

Product Material.

Inner tube diameter: 7.5 mm

Outer tube diameter: 15 mm

Inner tube length: 27 mm

Outer tube length: 30 mm

Inner and outer tube radius difference: 2.5 mm

Volume of test fluid: 6 µl

Maximum sample volume: 6 µl

Disinfectant volume: 2 ml

- The cover body is designed with a liquid seal.

Outer tube is made of soft plastic, 1 mm thick.

Inner tube uses rigid glass/acrylic, 1 mm thick.

Advantages.

1. Compared with other chemical methods of the arsenic sensor (such as the plasma method), our biosensor will show the detection result in a shorter time, which means our product is more effective. Therefore, our products will be preferred if necessary.

2. Compared with the normal arsenic detection indicator, our product is more convenient for users.

The above chart shows the normal arsenic detection indicator. Unfortunately, the method requires complex operation and 30 minutes of waiting. In addition, the normal indicator contains mercury bromide with toxins, so the wrong operation can harm the user. In sharp contrast, our home kit is completely safe in just one step.

3. In our project, we will promote the product in different places, schools, communities, environmental protection departments, etc. This increases the possibility of establishing cooperation with these places and processing industries and widely educating people about arsenic.

4. Compared with other testing methods on the market, our products are cheaper and more convenient. The average product on the market is up to 70w per test device, while our products are sold at about 50-100

5. Our detection method is simpler and faster. In our research, the public is more inclined to accept the simple method to detect arsenic

Weaknesses.

1. Due to the limited carrying capacity of the engineered bacteria, ultra-high concentrations of arsenic will not be tested.

2. We lack the solution to eliminate arsenic. There is a general lack of resource options for people living in arsenic-contaminated areas. More specifically, arsenic is usually abundant in mountainous areas where food and water are scarce. For economic reasons, people in mountainous areas may not be concerned about arsenic and its hazards and spend money on equipment to test for it.

 

Marketing analysis

Product & Place:

Our product is mainly a kind of machine like a tube and a kind of colorimetric card, which is used to detect the concentration of arsenic so that people can avoid excessive intake of arsenic elements. Our product does not have a specific audience, we target anyone who knows the danger of arsenic and wants to protect their health, so our market is extensive. And because of the specificity and simplicity of our products, we intend to divide the arsenic test strips into two kinds of tests, one simple and suitable for home use and one very accurate but somewhat complicated. Therefore, we intend to sell the test strips in the community and other household areas on the one hand and in factories and the other regions where arsenic needs to be measured accurately. A questionnaire was published to the public, and the results were analyzed.

 

Market size & Recent changes:

We have done several research before, from the study, we found that most people do not know much about arsenic and the instruments to detect it. Combined with the market research done by 38 randomly selected passers-by, we found that most of those who know about arsenic belong to young people. Most of them consider buying the products, while most of those who do not consider buying the products belong to the old retired class, and most of them do not know much about arsenic and its hazards. So we conclude that most people who know arsenic will consider buying the product, as shown in the figure. 

 

Price:

According to statistics, most people would consider products that are not expensive and suitable in our random sample. According to our summary and statistics, the price is set at less than one hundred.

 

Promotion:

After setting the price for the promotion, we have our design and uniqueness. Compared to other testing methods on the market, our testing methods are more accessible and more suitable for everyday use. 

1: So we will sell more in the community and other household places and intend to promote the machine, and colorimetric card bundle sales, who want to buy the colorimetric must be purchased together with the colorimetric card. Colorimetric card can be purchased separately.

2: In the machine and colorimetric card on our team logo and exclusive packaging, because according to statistics, most of the people who know something about arsenic will consider buying the product. 

3: So we will also vigorously promote science and publicity of arsenic and arsenic and the dangers of arsenic compounds. We post the latest research news and popularize arsenic on WeChat and Bilibili (a Chinese social media platform) daily.

4: Because of the special nature of our products, we decided to design interesting outer packaging, such as a crocodile mouth lid, so that you can put the test object through the crocodile mouth. And the disposable product shell can be reused.

5: When customers buy the products, we introduced the family to buy three sets of products to send a set of services and optional shell packaging to increase the interest of the purchase. And for the factory, we propose to buy 500 sets of full 20% discount service.

 

Future expectation:

We will continue to research and develop its derivative functions, such as further integration with transgenic and transmitter technologies, and make it more convenient and accurate. In addition, we will continue to research and develop its derivatives, such as further integration with genetic modification and transducer technology, and make it more convenient and precise. 

 

Cost

We have categorized costs into several aspects. Here is the cost list

1. 1. Fees for product itself

(1) packing cost

(2) sodium hypochlorite bleach: 0.14penny

(3) bacteria fluid: 2.1penny

(4) acrylic container: 0.14penny

(5) outer container: 1.4penny

(6) decoration

 

2. Experimental equipment cost

(1) colorimetric card

(2) blue ray flashlight

 

3. Site use fee

(1) sites of sale

 

4. Maintenance cost

 

5. Publicity expenses

(1) posters/flyers

(2) cultural products

(3)transportation fees

 

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, we believe that with the implement of our technology, it will be more efficient and convenient to detect arsenic in public. Environment is significantly important to mankind. We are delighted that we can do something to make our community a better place.  

 

CONTACT INFO Please scan the following QR codes to find more about us on Weibo、Bilibili、Wechat !