Revision as of 19:21, 22 August 2011

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Laboratory Safety

Would materials used in your project and/or your final product pose:

Risks to the safety and health of team members or others in the lab?

E. coli bacterial strains used in our project are non-pathogenic laboratory strains and have little or no capacity to cause pathological harm to team members or other persons who enter our teams' laboratory. These strains are classified as biosafety level 1 biologic materials. Regardless of any organisms' supposed capability to inflict injury or harm, our team handles all specimens with the assumption that there exists some risk of harm. As such, aseptic technique is always used and all waste is disposed of in accordance with standard best practices.

Genes and gene constructs used in our project include:

pUCBB-eGFP
pUCBB-pBad-eGFP
pUCBB-pTet-eGFP
Silicatein-α from Suberites domuncula
phycocyanobilin ferredoxin oxidoreductase (pcyA) isolated from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
heme oxygenase (ho1) isolated from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Cph1/EnvZ fusion protein (cph8) acquired from the iGEM part distribution plates
OmpR promoter isolated from the iGEM part distribution plates

None of these genes are known to have the capacity to confer pathogenic or toxic character onto E. coli transformants or other organisms present in our laboratory. All gene constructs, including linear or circular DNA constructs, are handled with care so as to minimize their contact with organisms and laboratory surfaces other than those for which they are intended.

Our team uses many reagents which are commonly utilized in microbiology research laboratories. The following reagents have been identified which are potentially harmful to the health of persons present in our laboratory:

Ethidium bromide: ethidium bromide is a DNA intercalating agent with probable carcinogenic properties. Ethidium bromide is stored in a sealed container in a cool, dry, well ventilated location. Latex or nitrile gloves and other appropriate personal protective equipment are worn when handling ethidium bromide. Ethidium bromide is diluted to less than 0.1% weight by volume and disposed of in the laboratory drain if the material is liquid or in the regular refuse container if the material is contained within a gel.
Tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS): TMOS is used in a non-enzymatic activity assay for the silicatein gene product. TMOS is a highly flammable, volatile liquid with health risks for brief exposures to high concentrations or for chronic exposure to low concentrations. TMOS can cause liver, kidney, and lung injury if an experimenter is chronically exposed to the substance. Latex or nitrile gloves, a chemical apron, and a NIOSH/MSHA approved respirator must be used if a high risk of exposure exists. TMOS should always be used in a fume hood which complies with OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Standards subpart Z. Waste TMOS is rendered inert by hydrolysis to form SiO2.
Other materials: All team members have been educated in the accession and comprehension of MSDS information for all materials that are used in our laboratory. Team members take any necessary precautions regarding all materials prior to and after use of any materials.

Risks to the safety and health of the general public if released by design or accident?

Our biological systems do not contain parts which pose a significant threat to the health of the public should they be released accidentally. As previously stated, our team is working with non-pathogenic laboratory strains of E. coli. Recombinant proteins introduced into bacteria by our team produce products which are not known to be harmful.

Plasmids used in our research contain antibiotic selective markers which have been designated for use in research. As such, use of these antibiotics does not pose a epidemiological threat.

Risks to environmental quality if released by design or accident?

The E. coli and the recombinant genes that our team has introduced into them are not likely to pose an environmental threat if accidentally released.

Risks to security through malicious misuse by individuals, groups, or states?

The biological systems our team are working with do not possess the capacity to be used maliciously my an individual, group, or state.

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 <h1>Laboratory Safety</h1>
-Silicateins are enzymes that originate from sea sponges of the phylum Porifera, where they regulate the formation of biosilica polymers that make up the sponge’s skeleton. Silica is the main component of sand, and is used frequency in the manufacturing industry due to its hardness and chemical inertness. Silica is also edible, and is present in many foodstuffs. There are no associated toxicity issues associated with the silica polymers that we intend to create, and they could eventually reduce the use of non-environmentally friendly plastics.
+Would materials used in your project and/or your final product pose:
+* Risks to the safety and health of team members or others in the lab?
+::''E. coli'' bacterial strains used in our project are non-pathogenic laboratory strains and have little or no capacity to cause pathological harm to team members or other persons who enter our teams' laboratory. These strains are classified as biosafety level 1 biologic materials. Regardless of any organisms' supposed capability to inflict injury or harm, our team handles all specimens with the assumption that there exists some risk of harm. As such, aseptic technique is always used and all waste is disposed of in accordance with standard best practices.
+::Genes and gene constructs used in our project include:
-For our project, we have worked with non-pathogenic laboratory strains of E. coli (Biosafety level 1). We had the silicatein gene synthesized from ''Suberites domuncula'', isolated the phycocyanobilin ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PcyA) gene from a laboratory strain of ''Synechocystis sp.'' PCC 6803, and obtained the heme oxigenase (ho1) and the Cph1/EnvZ fusion protein (cph8) genes from plasmid libraries. Execution of our idea involves working with non-pathogenic laboratory or industrial bacterial strains, under standard operating conditions. Therefore, we do not expect that our work will have an adverse effect on the safety of researchers or the public.  The silica nanostructures are intended to be used in a laboratory or in an industrial setting, and would not pose an environmental threat. We hope that the use of natural materials such as silica could reduce the use of plastics to make the same types of structures.
+:::*pUCBB-eGFP
+:::*pUCBB-pBad-eGFP
+:::*pUCBB-pTet-eGFP
+:::*Silicatein-α from Suberites domuncula
+:::*phycocyanobilin ferredoxin oxidoreductase (pcyA) isolated from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
+:::*heme oxygenase (ho1) isolated from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
+:::*Cph1/EnvZ fusion protein (cph8) acquired from the iGEM part distribution plates
+:::*OmpR promoter isolated from the iGEM part distribution plates
+::None of these genes are known to have the capacity to confer pathogenic or toxic character onto E. coli transformants or other organisms present in our laboratory. All gene constructs, including linear or circular DNA constructs, are handled with care so as to minimize their contact with organisms and laboratory surfaces other than those for which they are intended.
-The 2011 University of Minnesota iGEM team will confer the University of Minnesota Institutional Biosafety Committee and comply with all recommendations made by the same.
+::Our team uses many reagents which are commonly utilized in microbiology research laboratories. The following reagents have been identified which are potentially harmful to the health of persons present in our laboratory:
+:::*'''Ethidium bromide:''' ethidium bromide is a DNA intercalating agent with probable carcinogenic properties. Ethidium bromide is stored in a sealed container in a cool, dry, well ventilated location. Latex or nitrile gloves and other appropriate personal protective equipment are worn when handling ethidium bromide. Ethidium bromide is diluted to less than 0.1% weight by volume and disposed of in the laboratory drain if the material is liquid or in the regular refuse container if the material is contained within a gel.
+:::*'''Tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS):''' TMOS is used in a non-enzymatic activity assay for the silicatein gene product. TMOS is a highly flammable, volatile liquid with health risks for brief exposures to high concentrations or for chronic exposure to low concentrations. TMOS can cause liver, kidney, and lung injury if an experimenter is chronically exposed to the substance. Latex or nitrile gloves, a chemical apron, and a NIOSH/MSHA approved respirator must be used if a high risk of exposure exists. TMOS should always be used in a fume hood which complies with OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Standards subpart Z. Waste TMOS is rendered inert by hydrolysis to form SiO2.
+:::*'''Other materials:''' All team members have been educated in the accession and comprehension of MSDS information for all materials that are used in our laboratory. Team members take any necessary precautions regarding all materials prior to and after use of any materials.
-To raise awareness of problems that could arise from synthetic biology projects, we suggest a web series of short talks given by Bioethics experts active in the field right now.
+* Risks to the safety and health of the general public if released by design or accident?
+::Our biological systems do not contain parts which pose a significant threat to the health of the public should they be released accidentally. As previously stated, our team is working with non-pathogenic laboratory strains of E. coli. Recombinant proteins introduced into bacteria by our team produce products which are not known to be harmful.
+::Plasmids used in our research contain antibiotic selective markers which have been designated for use in research. As such, use of these antibiotics does not pose a epidemiological threat.
+* Risks to environmental quality if released by design or accident?
+::The E. coli and the recombinant genes that our team has introduced into them are not likely to pose an environmental threat if accidentally released.
+* Risks to security through malicious misuse by individuals, groups, or states?
+::The biological systems our team are working with do not possess the capacity to be used maliciously my an individual, group, or state.

Team:Minnesota/Safety

From 2011.igem.org

Revision as of 19:21, 22 August 2011

Laboratory Safety