IGEM:IMPERIAL/2006/project/Oscillator/project browser/Full System
From OpenWetWare
| Super Parts | Not Applicable | |
|---|---|---|
| Actual Part | Full System Logo | |
| Sub Parts | Prey Molecule Generator | Predator Molecule Generator |
Motivations
- Oscillators are a fundamental building block in traditional engineering applications (i.e. computers, radio, clocks) , as well as a recurrent motif in many biological systems (i.e.circadian rhythm, menstrual cycle).
- We intend to build a generic and modular synthetic biological oscillator that can become a fundamental building block in future synthetic biological applications.
- Previous oscillators have been attempted (such as the Repressilator by Elowitz and Leibler in 2000) but they often share the following problems:
- Noisy and Unstable (due to stochastic molecular events at the single cell level, cell-cell variability, cell division)
- Damping (i.e.with cell-cell asynchrony)
- Inflexible (i.e. lack of control over amplitude and frequency)
- No easy connectivity (hard to integrate into larger systems)
- Based on these past limitations, we have defined the specifications for our oscillator.
System Specifications
| Properties | Comments |
|---|---|
| Expected output |  |
| Stability | Oscillations should be stable for greater then 10 cycles. Stable in amplitude, frequency and output profile. |
| Variability | Output signal should have a high signal to noise ratio. |
| Flexibility | Amplitude and frequency should be controllable. |
| Amplitude Range | Large enough to have an easy detection. |
| Frequency Range | From a period of the order of the hour to several hours. |
| Connectivity | The oscillator should be easily integrated into other more complicated systems. Modular and generic output. |
Part interface
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Open issues
- In electronic, the stability of the oscillations is a key factor, but the profile of the ouput signal is also an important property of an oscillator. There is an important variety of output profiles used in electronic (harmonic, square-wave, triangle-wave). Sometimes, for a given application a given profile is required. read more>>
- Due to biological variability, getting a stable behavior might be challenging.
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