| Jiangnan-China - iGEM 2023

OVERVIEW

We highly value the perspectives of all stakeholders, and their feedback has played a significant role in shaping our project to be more socially responsible and beneficial. In the early stage of the project, we interviewed plastic surgery doctors and patients and published questionnaires to understand more people's thoughts. We also visited pharmaceutical companies to gain inspiration for project design. During the experimental stage, we communicated with different professors and previous iGEMers, and their opinions allowed us to solve the deficiencies in the experiment. In the later stage of the project, we consulted with scientific researchers from biotechnology companies to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the overall solution.

Our project attached great importance to social, environmental, scientific, and economic interests from design to implementation. We used "reliable" as a keyword to remind us to consider these values at every stage. We chose to produce lipolysis drugs because we found in our survey that many people are worried about the widely used liposuction surgery method. We have also learned that the current chemical methods for synthesizing target products not only have low conversion rates, cumbersome steps, and low economic benefits but also have a great impact on the environment. Therefore, we are committed to developing drugs that are more reliable to society and the environment through our project.

Project First Phase

Consultation with doctors and patients

Conduct of
a survey

Visit to
Wuxi Biologics.

I. Consultation with doctors and patients

Why did we approach them?

To know the commonly used clinical methods to treat double chin and the patients' wishes, we conducted interviews with Dr. Zhang, a plastic surgeon at Jiangnan University Affiliated Hospital.

What did we learn?

Dr. Zhang informed us that liposuction is a common clinical procedure to address issues such as double chins. However, many patients expressed concerns about the potential trauma and scarring associated with surgery. With Dr. Zhang's guidance, we further inquired with patients, who generally expressed a strong desire for safe and effective fat-dissolving injections. They are more inclined to choose low-risk and highly efficient cosmetic solutions.

II. Conduct of a survey

Why did we do this?

To find out how people around us feel about injection therapy, we designed a complete set of questionnaires.

What did we learn?

Our primary target demographic comprises individuals aged 18-25, as they constitute the predominant consumer group among the younger generation and exhibit a higher inclination to explore medical aesthetics compared to other age brackets. Additionally, over one-third of this demographic reports concerns related to double chins. Among those troubled by double chin issues, a significant portion opts for fat-dissolving injections in their pursuit of minimally invasive beauty enhancements, indicating a substantial market potential.

III. Visit to Wuxi Biologics

Why did we approach them?

In the early stages of our project, to understand the considerations of drug development, we visited WuXi Biologics, a leading global provider of drug development and manufacturing solutions based in Wuxi, China.

What did we learn?

This visit provided us with a valuable opportunity to gain insights into drug production and research. The company's headquarters in Wuxi serves as a one-stop solution provider for pharmaceutical research and development, highlighting the significance of cost control, drug safety, and quality assurance. The company's advanced production processes left a lasting impression on us, underscoring the role of modern engineering technology in pharmaceutical manufacturing. In summary, this visit equipped us with valuable experiences and insights that will enable us to strike a balance between cost, safety, quality, and efficiency in our project, always prioritizing safety.

Project Second Phase

To improve the conversion rate of the substrate, during the experimental stage, we consulted professors and previous iGEMers from different research directions, and their feedback played an important role in the optimization of our experiments.

Consult with
Zhao Xinrui

Talk with Professor
Lv Cheng

Consult with former
iGEMer Fang Jiahua

Project Final Phase

Consultation with
researchers of Bloomage Biotech

Why did we approach them?

In the final stage of our project, to confirm the overall safety and feasibility, we consulted with Zhang Weiping, a researcher from Bloomage Biotech Company.

What did we learn?

Bloomage Biotech is a synthetic biology-driven company primarily focused on developing and industrial applications of bioactive compounds that contribute to life and health, such as functional sugars, proteins, peptides, amino acids, nucleotides, and natural bioactive compounds. We provided them with an overview of the project, including its background, objectives, and specific measures. They affirmed the overall safety and feasibility of the project, and expressed their expectations for subsequent functional verification and application.