Our search is for an effective anti-viral. A few carbohydrate binding proteins (lectins) are powerful antivirals. We designed a synthetic gene. The goal of our first experiment is to place this into an e-coli expression plasmid vector, transform it into competent cells, grow it on agar and induce, then purify it. Will we be able to come up with the active substance for a microbicide? This initial experiment will lead us closer to finding an answer to that question.