A Genetically Engineered Solution for Dental Plaque

This was a project for a Synthetic Biology Project Design course that I took during my undergraduate studies. We were tasked with designing a research project that utilized synthetic biology to solve a key problem; while we were not to carry out any of the laboratory work, I was able to take a concept from ideation to a fully fleshed out project proposal with minimal assistance.

The final product took the form of chewing gum containing Lactobacillus fermentum that have been genetically engineered to express the dextranase enzyme. The dextranase enzyme would be inactive until it comes in contact with water, during the chewing process.

A copy of the poster presentation can be found below, and the associated project proposal can be found here.