Team:Linkoping Sweden/Safety
General Safety
One of the crucial factors during scientific research is safety. Thus, it was a priority during the design, execution, and implementation of our project. Recommendations from the Swedish Health Agency regarding the COVID-19 pandemic were the first safety measures taken into account while preparing for the project. Until summer – that is when our lab work started – our meetings were held online. During the summer we were divided into two groups working in the lab on alternate weeks. This way, we minimized the risk of spreading infection within our team. To further ensure a safe work environment, all team members were tested for COVID-19 at the beginning of each week and we kept a document tracking which team members had interacted with each other. A learning period including, among other things, and a safety walkthrough was implemented before our lab work. This was to ensure that everyone was familiar with the safe and responsible handling of the equipment, reagents, and performing experiments.
Safe Project Design
The organisms we were using during our project are within biosafety level 1. Namely, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Escherichia coli (BL21 DE3, XL1, TOP10, DH5-alpha) and Vibrio natriegens (Vmax) strains. Biosafety level 1 organisms are non-pathogenic and low-risk organisms which means they do not cause diseases or harm to humans and have a low environmental impact. The standard safety procedures were applied while working with them. Waste liquid cultures and plates with microorganisms were autoclaved before disposal.
Safe Laboratory Work
Before we started our lab work we identified our safety level as biosafety level 1. We took into consideration safe materials disposal (decontamination by autoclave), protective equipment such as safety glasses, lab coats, gloves, as well as a prohibition of food and drinks in the working areas.
Risk Assessment
Everyone has taken part in a safety walkthrough in the labs before we started our lab work. We thoroughly read through all the safety regulations that apply in our labs and for our chemicals and organisms. The safety form for the chemistry laboratory that we worked in was read and signed by each member before starting the work to ensure we are aware of the regulations applying to this specific lab, appropriate behaviour in the lab, and first aid.
Furthermore, everyone in our team has previous experience with lab work as part of our education on the same safety level. Hence, everyone was familiar with the safety measures and equipment.
Additional Safety
Some of our methods required the use of substances/equipment considered harmful. Therefore, additional precautions were introduced during these steps. For instance, while preparing BG-11, all chemicals were weighed while wearing face masks, gloves and coats. Once liquid, all BG-11 preparation took place in fume hoods.
Ethidium bromide – toxic and carcinogenic substance. All work with ethidium bromide was performed in the ventilated hood designed for the work only with ethidium bromide. Also, special protective gloves were used. The disposal was done according to the safety regulations.
Bradford dye and Coomassie R250 – mutagenic protein dyes. Personal protective equipment and special care while handling the compounds were applied.
UV light - eye-damaging light with a short wavelength. Safety shields and safety goggles were kept on while observing samples under UV light.