The iGEM Grand Jamboree in Paris is a premier global event where teams from around the world showcase innovative projects in synthetic biology. Bringing together students, researchers, and industry leaders, the Jamboree features presentations, workshops, and competitions, highlighting cutting-edge advancements and fostering collaboration in the field. It's a celebration of creativity, science, and the future of biotechnology.

As in previous years, a team from Freiburg will participate in this year's iGEM competition.
On Wednesday, October 23, 16:45–16:55 CEST, the Freiburg team will present their project, titled CAPTURE: Integrating Ethics and Innovation in Combating P. aeruginosa  in their live-stage talk.

Project description
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of antibiotic-resistant hospital-acquired infections, including ventilator-associated pneumonia and sepsis. This pathogen exacerbates the condition of already compromised patients and poses a significant challenge in healthcare settings. Our project, CAPTURE, tackles this challenge by proposing a novel approach using specialized transport vesicles, such as lipid-based nanocarriers and outer membrane vesicles, to deliver plasmids encoding potent antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) directly into bacterial cells. By delivering our plasmid, we aim to create a targeted therapeutic system for eradicating P. aeruginosa infections. Focusing on lung infections, we plan to administer the carriers using an aerosol delivery system. This innovative strategy combines synthetic biology and drug delivery techniques to enhance AMP efficacy. Our research has the potential to develop a novel therapeutic approach that could reduce the mortality rates associated with P. aeruginosa in hospitals.

CIBSS, together with BIOSS and others, is sponsoring and supporting the 2024 Freiburg iGEM team and their participation in the competition.

Find out more on the 2024 Freiburg iGEM Team and their ideas in the project wiki.