Team:NAU-CHINA/Safety
SAFETY
Prologue
NAU-CHINA always prioritizes the safety of experiments. When planning and experimenting, we will definitely conduct strict risk assessments for all steps. It is vital that scientific research is being carried out safely to protect those who work in the lab as well as wider communities.
Just like our predecessors, before starting our wet lab work, all members of NAU-CHINA wet team members have received laboratory safety training from our experimental director. This year our project were carried out mainly in the laboratory classified as biosafety level 2. The equipments used in the laboratory, work space, reagent management are all in accordance with the relevant rules of iGEM Safety.
Overview
Advances in the biological life sciences and biotechnology hold great promise for our future, but these same technologies can also possess the capacity to be used in ways that harm us. It is vital that scientific research is being carried out safely to protect those who work in the lab as well as wider communities.
Laboratory Safety
Before Starting Our Wet Lab Work
We received general laboratory safety and safety training: showing us the location of safe showers, eyewashes, spills and hydrants, and emergency evacuation routes. Besides, we have received guidance on appropriate waste sorting, autoclaving and hazardous chemical waste programs.
When Working in the Laboratory
Before we enter the laboratory, we must first put on the lab clothes, gloves, and masks. We are not allowed to eat or drink in the laboratory, and we are not allowed to wear slippers. UV-resistant laboratory goggles must be worn when experimenting with harmful UV rays. In addition, we also have strict regulations on the treatment of experimental waste. All contaminated waste must be disinfected before it can be disposed of. For waste drugs, they are managed by the college.
Staff Requirements
The entire wet lab members previously worked in a lab with a biosafety level of 1 or 2. Every member entering the laboratory must pass the biosafety and biosecurity exams. Persons who do not comply with laboratory rules will lose their eligibility for experimentation immediately. Most importantly, adequate sleep should be maintained before the experiment.
Hardware requirements
Air conditioning, professional equipment, and other equipment are regularly inspected, repaired and replaced. We must fill in the registration form before and after using the instrument.
Professional guidance
When dealing with new instruments or equipment, the laboratory safety officer (responsible person) demonstrates the correct use and provides supervision to ensure safe and proper execution. In addition, our PIs and instructors will check regularly to correct our mistakes in time.
Germ Information
The strain we selected is Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) from Vazyme Corporation. This is a non-pathogenic engineering strain of Escherichia coli that is close to "WT-wild-type" with less modification. BL21 is Suitable for high-efficiency prokaryotic expression of genes cloned in expression vectors containing phage T7 promoters (such as pET series) and capable to express non-toxic proteins.
During Experiment
Our goal is to use selenite in environmental pollution to produce multifunctional SeNPs. Everyone had learned about the toxicity of selenite and the appropriate method of operation at first. The source of selenite materials was another laboratory in the college which is warranted to possess selenite. During the whole experiment phase, we had also paid attention not to release the engineered bacteria directly into the environment, but collect selenite and then produce it through concentrated fermentation in the laboratory. Also, specimens were not released into the environment untreatedly.
In terms of safety, our ssuE gene makes Escherichia coli enhance its metabolism and transformation ability to the toxic substance selenite. If it flows into the natural environment, the genetic drift phenomenon of complications may make some bacteria have a high tolerance to selenite, thus may damage the structure of the environmental flora. Actually, every time after production of SeNPs, we will crush the cells to extract SeNPs, so our engineered strains will be destroyed after fermentation, so that they will not flow into the environment and cause gene pollution.
Animal Test
Although SeNPs have a wide range of applications, SeNPs produced will not be conducted on animals and human beings in our project. So this does not involve any animal ethics issues at all.