iLCD (Lighting Cell Display) is a device developed by a research team from

Universidad Politecnica de Valencia The Technical University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat Politècnica de València, UPV; , es, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia) is a Spanish university located in Valencia, with a focus on science, technology, and arts. It was founded ...

, a

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

educated bioengineer, undergraduate students of the Universidad Politéctica de Valencia and

Universitat de València The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...

and several members of the faculty and research staff from Universidad de València (Manuel Porcar), UPV (Pedro De Cordoba) and University of Malaga (Emilio Navarro). It is based on

yeast cell Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitu ...

s expressing

aequorin Aequorin is a calcium-activated photoprotein isolated from the hydrozoan ''Aequorea victoria''. Its bioluminescence was studied decades before the protein was isolated from the animal by Osamu Shimomura in 1962. In the animal, the protein occurs ...

protein sensitive to change in intracellular

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

. Upon

electrical stimulation Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a technique that uses low-energy electrical pulses to artificially generate body movements in individuals who have been paralyzed due to injury to the central nervous system. More specifically, FES can ...

, the transient calcium wave emerges inside the yeast cells and translates into a measurable light signal. Assembly of multiple

electrode An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or air). Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials de ...

s over lawn of yeast cells yields Thanks to electronic control and sub-second timescale it is one of the first examples of bioelectronic devices capable of bi-directional communication between a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

and a living system. It is also one of the first examples of design of simple

synthetic biology Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a multidisciplinary area of research that seeks to create new biological parts, devices, and systems, or to redesign systems that are already found in nature. It is a branch of science that encompasses a broad ran ...

circuits operating on orders of magnitude faster timescale than those based on

gene expression Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product that enables it to produce end products, protein or non-coding RNA, and ultimately affect a phenotype, as the final effect. The ...

. Fast response to a stimulus is essential in variety of applications such as

biosensing A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance, that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector. The ''sensitive biological element'', e.g. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell recep ...

medical technology Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of liv ...

, or as stated before -

bioelectronics Bioelectronics is a field of research in the convergence of biology and electronics. Definitions At the first C.E.C. Workshop, in Brussels in November 1991, bioelectronics was defined as 'the use of biological materials and biological architectu ...

. The project has been awarded a third place in 2009 iGEM competition

References

Vilanova C, Hueso A, Palanca C, Marco G, Pitarch M, Otero E, Crespo J, Szablowski J, Rivera S, Domínguez-Escribà L, Navarro E, Montagud A, de Córdoba PF, González A, Ariño J, Moya A, Urchueguía J, Porcar, M. Aequorin-expressing yeast emits light under electric control.J Biotechnol. 2011 Mar 20;152(3):93-5.

External links

Official website
J Biotechnol. 2011 Mar 20;152(3):93-5. Epub 2011 Feb 1. Biotechnology