Title

Oligram: a Cleaner and Safer World

Authors

Joshua Mu '25, Illinois Mathematics and Science AcademyFollow

Files

Competition

3rd Place : IMSA / Fermi STEM Pitch Competition

Description

OliGram, the rapid and affordable biofilm test kit, exploits the presence of cellulose in the extracellular matrix of a biofilm. Only produced by plants and bacteria, cellulose is a suitable biomarker for detecting biofilms as plants can likely be ruled out in most contexts. To indicate the presence of cellulose, OliGram utilizes oligothiophene h-FTAA, a chemical marker which binds to cellulose molecules to create fluorescent complexes. Under a particular wavelength of light, this complex emits light of a corresponding wavelength; on the other hand, if none of the complex was formed, then no light is emitted. Thus, with this rapid chemical reaction, OliGram can alert users to the presence of biofilms.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Publication Date

4-29-2023

Disciplines

Business | Technology and Innovation

Recommended Citation

Mu, Joshua '25, "Oligram: a Cleaner and Safer World" (2023). IMSA / Fermi STEM Pitch. 1.
https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/imsa_fermi_pitch/1