Illumination system

Our project, NanoBlade, is a bacteria-based, light-inducible tumor diagnostic and therapy system. NanoBlade consists of modified Escherichia coli, which selectively attach to tumor tissues, and, when illuminated with blue light, release toxins to their environment, killing cancer cells locally.

To test our light-inducible expression system, we needed an illumination device that meets the following requirements:

1. The illumination must be provided by blue LED (~450 nm wavelength).
2. The brightness of the illuminating LED shall be controllable (dimmer function).
3. It must be safe. It should have no problems with touch protection, plus be waterproof if possible.
4. The illumination should be programmable in time, in space (at least per row/column), and in the intensity of brightness.
5. Preferably, no unique expertise, such as knowledge of microcontrollers, is required to create the lighting program.
6. The device should preferably not require special skills and tools to set up and repair (e.g., replacement of surface-mounted chips).
7. Be buildable and repairable within a reasonable budget.
8. It must be coolable.

Since we could not find any product that could fulfill these requirements or fit our budget, we decided to build our own irradiation system, and as a result, we developed our LED panel! (To learn more about it, go to our Hardware page).

When we held in our hands the final product, RaccOpto, we got to thinking…

If we could not find a device that matched our financial situation or programming skills, or we lacked the infrastructure to assemble it, then others may have similar problems. And we might have created a niche product!

We have done market research and compared products from the market and examples from the literature with our solution.

Competitor analysis

We found 3 similar products, which satisfy the first 3 requirements: they are all safe to use, the illumination is provided by blue LED, and the brightness of the LED is controllable.

They differ in the following criteria:

• Price
• How easy it is to repair them
• Programmable without unique expertise
• Programmable in space (at least per column)
• Cooling method

Our illumination device is the most affordable, very simple, and quick to assemble and repair. Everything is modular, and all elements are replaceable. It is easy to configure, and the lighting program is quick to create and requires no expertise. It has a graphical interface, which makes it particularly user-friendly. The factory software is free and available for several operating systems. Every column of the 96-well plate is independently controllable.

SWOT analysis

Strengths

• Affordable
• Simple and quick to assemble and repair
• Easy to configure, requires no expertise
• Easy to expand

Weaknesses

• LEDs emit light with different intensities

Opportunities

• Growing optogenetic market
• Few affordable alternatives

Threats

• Can not be patented yet

Market analysis

In our opinion, RaccOpto fits for R&D purposes mainly, making it more accessible to work with light-related techniques. Our main targets are institutes and companies that are working on projects involving optogenetics. Optogenetics is a rapidly evolving field backed by a fast-growing market,and we did a brief market analysis to gain more insight.

The global optogenetics market reached a value of US$ 31.5 Billion in 2021 and is expected to reach a value of US$ 85.4 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.3% during this period.

One of the key factors currently driving the optogenetics market growth is the increasing prevalence of neurological disorders. Other factors, including increasing healthcare expenditure, extensive research, and development (R&D) activities in the field of neurosciences, and the increasing need for novel drugs for treating neurological diseases, are creating a positive outlook for the market. [4]

With growing interest in the field of optogenetic research, there will be rising demand for affordable, highly configurable illumination devices for in vitro applications. Our solution can provide an inexpensive, easily reparable, and programmable alternative to already existing, pricier products.

To test light-inducible protein expression in targeted bacteria therapy is not the only way to use a LED plate. We have explored the possible fields that could show demand for our product:

• Optogenetics
• Photodynamic therapy
• Light Therapy

Product policy

Although our product has many beneficial features, it cannot be patented because it would fail novelty research. We used widely available stage equipment and programs for our product. Therefore, we aim to continue product development and complement our product with novel features while keeping its core values intact.

• We would like to develop an application with an interactive graphical surface that depicts the 96-well layout, making it easy to program our device.
• LEDs are slightly different due to their production, they are not perfectly uniform and therefore emit light of different intensities. Therefore, to overcome this issue, we would like to insert a brightness sensor system above the LED plate to calibrate our device before measurements.

We have created and tested a prototype of RaccOpto, and the next step would be to involve other research groups in the testing of the prototype to incorporate their experiences and needs into the development of the final product.

First, we would release our product to a smaller market to see if there is sufficient demand for it. After evaluating the result, if the demand proves sufficient, we would release our product to a broad range of customers.

To conclude our evaluation:

• RaccOpto holds the promise to enter the market, but it would need further development to back up our intellectual properties with patents.
• If we built a company upon our irradiation system, our main goal would be to make it more accessible to work with optogenetics. In the name of this, we would make our system available free of charge for academic users, providing a detailed description of how to assemble our device and would guarantee accession to our software.

Light-inducible targeted therapy

Treating colorectal cancer places a significant economic burden on the healthcare systems and populations. Traditional cancer treatment methods, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, are expensive, and their costs vary substantially between countries. According to a systematic review [5], which covered countries from Europe, Asia, and the United States, the average cost per patient was:

• Surgery: $1149 to $34,606
• Chemotherapy: $1883 to $18,021
• Radiotherapy: $2037 to $5347

In contrast, our light-inducible therapy, NanoBlade would be significantly more affordable, because after the bacterial expression system is prepared, it only requires LB media and maintenance, which would cost under $150.

Our NanoBlade therapy represents less than 10% of the cost of traditional treatment methods, making the treatment more accessible.

[1] Bugaj, L. J.; Lim, W. A. High-Throughput Multicolor Optogenetics in Microwell Plates. Nat Protoc 2019, 14, 2205–2228. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-019-0178-y.

[2] Lumos. Axion Biosystems. Available at: https://www.axionbiosystems.com/products/peripherals/lumos Accessed October 3, 2022.

[3] LED Arrays for optogenetics and photochemistry in well plates. Amuza. Available at: https://www.amuzainc.com/in-vitro-optogenetics/# Accessed October 3, 2022.

[4] Optogenetics Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027. Research and Markets Accessed October 3, 2022.

[5] Bhimani, N.; Wong, G. Y.; Molloy, C.; Dieng, M.; Hugh, T. J. Cost of Colorectal Cancer by Treatment Type from Different Health Economic Perspectives: A Systematic Review. Eur. J. Surg. Oncol. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejso.2022.06.023.