The OMBTox project: Development of a prototype affordable 3D-printed device to utilise novel biosensors and their data to detect harmful environmental toxicity

该项目旨在研究和原型化一种高度负担得起的3D打印设备，用于使用OMB新型分子生物传感器在现场检测毒性。生物传感器技术最近从研究基地出现，因为OMB是牛津大学的一个分支，因此市场尚未建立，需要创新的方法才能进入并获得购买。在这个项目中，我们将开发一个原型设备，能够量化我们尖端的微生物生物传感器的光输出。这些新型的生物传感器是基于设计的细菌，并可用于检测各种重要的目标，如毒性，遗传毒性，特定的重金属和类金属，如镉和砷，以及抗生素。在这些目标存在的情况下，生物传感器释放能够被检测和定量的光，以给出关于样品中的相对量的信息。这些目标可能会对环境和废水处理厂和养鱼场等行业造成有害影响，因此OMB生物传感器可以帮助用户了解浓度并提供早期预警系统。我们的目标市场包括废水处理厂、水产养殖场和布朗菲尔德场地-因为传感器可以在30分钟内检测到毒性，并通知用户是否需要进一步测试，或者工厂是否正常工作。特别是，该项目侧重于生物传感器数据的价值，旨在生成一个动态数据库，能够为客户提供额外的，非常有用的数据。由于该项目中提出的设备价格非常便宜，因此更有可能在最需要的发展中国家采用，为此，我们不仅将在英国进行测试，还将在孟加拉国和埃塞俄比亚进行测试。

This project aims to research and prototype a highly affordable, 3D-printed device for detecting toxicity in the field using OMBs novel molecular biosensors. The biosensor technology has recently emerged from the research base as OMB is a University of Oxford spinout, and as such the market is unestablished, requiring an innovative approach to enter and get purchase. In this project we will develop a prototype device able to quantify the light-output from our cutting-edge microbial biosensors. These novel biosensors are based on designed bacteria, and can be used to detect various important targets such as toxicity, genotoxicity, specific heavy metals and metalloids such as cadmium and arsenic, and also antibiotics. In the presence of these targets, the biosensors release light, which is able to be detected and quantified, to give information on the relative quantity in the sample. These targets can cause detrimental effects in the environment and in industries such as wastewater treatment plants and fish farms, and so OMBs biosensors can help inform the user on concentrations and provide an early warning system. Our target markets include waste-water treatment plants, aquaculture farms and brownfield sites - as the sensors can detect toxicity in under 30 minutes and inform the user if further testing is required, or if the plant is working correctly. In particular, this project focuses on value of the biosensor data, and aims to generate a dynamic database able to provide additional, highly useful data for the customer. As the device proposed in this project will be highly affordable, it will be more likely to be adopted in developing countries where it is most needed, and to this end we will not only be testing it in the UK, but also in Bangladesh and Ethiopia.