Biological Converter Switches Using Toggle Circuits for Signal Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current biological circuits lack the versatility and flexibility to effectively convert analog signals to digital signals and vice versa, limiting their utility in complex biological applications, particularly due to reliance on expensive and toxic inducer molecules and inflexible constitutive promoters.
Innovation Solution
Development of novel biological converter switches that utilize modular components, including inducible promoters, repressor sequences, and toggle switches, to convert analog inputs to digital outputs and digital inputs to analog outputs in biological systems, enabling flexible and adaptable signal processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If inducer molecules are used to control transcriptional activity, then transcriptional activity can be tuned, but the system becomes expensive and toxic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the function of inducer molecule control and implements it through a purely genetic toggle switch mechanism using promoter-repressor interactions, eliminating the need for external inducer molecules and their associated toxicity
Solution Approach 2:
The toggle switch system is self-regulating through mutual repression between two genetic modules, allowing the system to control its own transcriptional activity without external intervention or toxic inducers
2Stability of the object's composition
If constitutive promoters are used, then transcriptional activity is stable, but the system lacks flexibility to adapt to different conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces static constitutive promoters with dynamic toggle switches that can transition between two stable states, allowing the system to adapt transcriptional activity to different conditions while maintaining stability within each state
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of transcriptional activity from fixed (constitutive) to bistable (toggle switch), enabling discrete adaptation between high and low states in response to different environmental conditions
3Adaptability or versatility
If biological circuits are designed to convert analog to digital signals, then signal processing capability is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the signal conversion function into modular toggle switch units that can be independently designed and combined, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining signal processing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The toggle switch module serves multiple functions including signal conversion, memory storage, and logic operations, reducing the need for separate dedicated components and simplifying the overall circuit design
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are novel biological converter switches that utilize modular components, such as genetic toggle switches and single invertase memory modules (SIMMs), for converting analog inputs to digital outputs, and digital inputs to analog outputs, in cells and cellular systems. Flexibility in these biological converter switches is provided by combining individual modular components, i.e., SIMMs and genetic toggle switches, together. These biological converter switches can be combined in a variety of network topologies to create circuits that act, for example, as switchboards, and regulate the production of an output product(s) based on the combination and nature of input signals received.