Six HKBU students from four specialties formed a team called The Rising Power which recently delivered their project presentation at Harvard University in the US and won the Silver Project Award at the 2013 International Bio-molecular Design Competition (BIOMOD 2013). Sun Xizhen (Computer Science, Year 3 - 1st photo, 2
nd from the left) was one of the team members and the team was the only winning team from Hong Kong among 26 competing teams from nine countries.
Sun Xizhen said: "I was glad to contribute what I learnt from my specialty in Information Systems to biological engineering in this project. I believe that this cross-disciplinary experience would benefit my future career."
The team designed a self-assembled DNA origami biological marker which was conjugated with quantum dots. The whole complex was successfully aligned to self-assembled fibrils of beta-amyloid (one of the key proteins in the development of Alzheimer’s disease). The fibril pattern could then be clearly monitored under a fluorescent microscope and atomic force microscope. The design successfully applied self-assembled DNA origami in biomedical detection, showing results in a stable, fast, and accurate manner, which could assist in clinical diagnosis and contains significant research value in drug delivery and inhibiting the fibrillization of beta-amyloid.
Details on the HKBU team’s project can be found at:
http://openwetware.org/wiki/Biomod/2013/HKBU