Safe materials

Biosafety means "the containment, principles, technologies and practices that are implemented to prevent unintentional exposure to pathogens and toxins, or their accidental release". In our experiments, we chose E. coli as the chassis for molecular cloning. The two strains in use are well known and non-pathogenic. Our bio-parts are constructed by collecting segments from safe plasmids so that we can avoid using unknown segments. Those parts which have potential to cause environment problems, animal and plant diseases, and ecosystem changes are strictly prohibited.

Safe lab work

Lab safety focuses on a certain "code of conduct" of which lab workers need to comply with. They should be followed seriously, as it is the first step towards overall safety. Before this lab journey, therefore, we were obliged to participate in laboratory training, including working with chemicals, cleaning waste, ethics, lab journal, labeling, safety equipment and 'in case of emergency' instructions.

As the iGEM safety policy requires, we didn't do any dangerous experiments in daily bench work or faced any unusual safety issues. The bench work followed some basic regulations as below:

1. Duplicating a key to the laboratory without permission was strictly prohibited.

2. All involved participants needed to understand the experiment completely before commencing work.

3. All experimenters had to wear rubber gloves.

4. Any steps involving potential release of living microorganisms were performed in a bio-safety cabinet.

5. Appliances such as Bunsen burners, electric heaters and microwave ovens were not left unattended while in use.

6. All liquid and solid waste potentially containing living organism was sterilized.

7. The entire lab was sterilized using UV-light every week.

8. The last person to leave the lab always made sure that water, electricity, gas, and the air conditioner were shut down, and doors and windows have been locked before leaving.

Safe materials
Safe lab work

Team:Peking/Safety