<p>Since over-accumulated ammonia is one of the pathogenic factors of HE (see our Description page to learn more), we decided to design an ammonia-sensing module first. We envisioned our sensing module to specifically respond to the level of ammonia and could activate the downstream metabolic module to eliminate ammonia. </p>
<p>After literature research, we learned that most bio-sensors are based on transcriptional factor-inducible promoter systems [1]. However, we failed to find such an inducible promoter that can be activated by NH3 with high specificity. Therefore, we had to switch our design to sensing another risk factor of cirrhosis progression that may lead to HE.</p>
<h4>Redesign & Build</h4>
<h4>Test</h4>
<h4>Learn</h4>
<h3>Cycle 2: Construction of the Sensing Module</h3>
