Team:VCU/Safety

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Revision as of 20:05, 2 September 2011

Safety

1. Safety issues raised by the project
No safety issues for the researcher or the public were presented in our project outside what is typically found in a BSL-1 lab and when working with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). We used standard non-pathogenic model organisms (Escherichia. coli and Synechococcus elongatus) in our research. The chemical compound of interest, nerolidol, is classified as an irritant to skin and eyes. As a result, BSL-1 containment is adequate to ensure individual and public safety involving both biological and chemical hazards in our project. It has been proposed that nerolidol may be toxic to aquatic organisms at heightened concentrations. To prevent environmental exposure, the MSDS directs researchers to avoid putting nerolidol down drains. We dispose of nerolidol in a chemical waste bottle that is collected and processed by our institution’s chemical waste management. Biomachines capable of producing nerolidol are autoclaved before leaving the lab to ensure that no nerolidol-producing organisms are exposed to the environment. Due to the fact that E. coli dh5α growth is greatly inhibited at temperatures below its incubation range, it would be unlikely that they would produce significant ecological damage in the event that they were released into the environment. Their decreased reproduction would prevent horizontal gene transfer, and their reduced metabolism would prevent nerolidol production. This effectively prevents the typically suspected issues with GMOs and the environment.
2. Safety issues raised by our new BioBrick parts
Our project only worked with Biobrick parts that involved promoters and reporters analogous to existent parts in the registery. As a result, no new safety issues were raised by our constructs, that were not already present from current Biobrick parts.
3. Safety review board at our institution
VCU employs an Institutional Biosafety oversight committee, which requires the Vice President of Research to review all research projects, proposed or in progress, involving the use of hazardous chemicals, carcinogens, or recombinant DNA. Upon review of our project, the committee has found no outstanding safety concerns, and endorses our project as a safe and legitimate research project.
4. Future suggestions for safety
The use of reporter genes to test expression is one of the best tools available for safety when working with a biomachine designed to produce a compound that has any adverse environmental effects. We utilized reporter genes such as GFP extensively during our promoter analysis, before linking any of them to nerolidol. This reduced the amount of nerolidol waste and environmental burden generated in by our lab.