"Remember the trojan horse? Employing this trick, Greeks snuck into Troy. Inspired by this story, we engineered Troygenics, molecular trojan horses that enter and transform eukaryotic cells. This approach simplifies difficult and often time consuming protocols commonly used for the transformation of eukaryotic cells. Our Troygenics are based on the M13 bacteriophage modified in a way that disables it from infecting its natural host E. coli, but enables it to enter target cells specifically, via endocytosis by fusing a target-specific ligand to the major coat protein pVIII. Additionally, we implemented a gene of interest in the Application Plasmid that is packed up into the Troygenics during assembly. For a possible application in fighting eukaryotic pathogens, we developed a Cell Death Inducing System (CeDIS) based on Cas13a that specifically attacks the targeted organism, but is harmless to any other cell nearby." Please find additional details in the CeBiTec-Bielefeld 2019 team's wiki.

"With our project Li+onSwitch, we aim to develop a testing system that will enable patients with bipolar undergoing lithium therapy to independently monitor their lithium levels.The measurement of lithium holds significant importance for individuals with Bipolar, lithium administration is a therapeutic approach for this condition. Monitoring lithium levels in the blood is crucial, as therapeutic and cytotoxic lithium concentrations are closely intertwined, making accurate and reliable measurement challenging. Currently, regular blood tests conducted by doctors are the only means of monitoring lithium levels. We present a novel measurement method for lithium, utilizing a lithium-sensing riboswitch. Riboswitches are mRNA elements capable of sensing small molecules and regulating gene expression accordingly. We aims to exploit the unique properties of the nhaA riboswitches described by White et al. (2022) to enable the specific and sensitive measurement of lithium ions. The synthesis of the riboswitch is planned to be carried out in a cell-free system, ensuring precise control over the experimental conditions and simplifying the production process. To quantify lithium, the reporters LacZ/beta-Galactosidase, superfolder GFP, NanoLuc and mScarletI-3 are evaluated in conjunction with the riboswitches."Please find additional details in the TU Braunschweig 2023 team's wiki.