Shao is doing demonstration of pipeting Safety is the most paramount area of concern in our labs, not only in ensuring that the solutions and plasmids used throughout the experiments are not contaminated, but also handled with precaution. The bacterial strains we worked with are in the risk group 1, meaning that the specific strains do not cause disease in humans. Nevertheless, we still handled everything with caution in an open bench and/or biosafety cabinet environment. In order to keep a safe laboratory setting we made sure to clean the tabletops with 70% ethanol before each lab experiment and after each experiment. Along with this, we always made sure to wear gloves when handling any chemicals, organisms or while transporting tubes throughout the lab. To ensure our own safety we made sure to always come to lab wearing long sleeves, pants and close-toed shoes.

Before we began doing lab work, all members of our iGEM team went through a safety training course through the University. We took part in a four week laboratory course that first taught us proper sterile techniques as well as things around our laboratory to help keep our space safe, such as sharps containers, cabinets to house chemicals and the use of sterile gloves. We also learned the appropriate clothing we should be wearing (long sleeves, pants and close-toed shoes). After learning proper sterile techniques we practiced protocols we would be using during our iGEM research under the close supervision of our mentors. When practicing protocols, the mentors gave us advice on ways to better perform the tasks, such as changing gloves frequently and keeping the tabletop clear of any liquids. The four week course gave us a great start in understanding how to safely use laboratory equipment and properly approach work in the lab.

Bio-hazardous waste-bin Although we found no immediate risks related to the use of working with both B. subtilis (168) and E. coli (MG1655), we did find out through collaboration that our biosensor is non-specific and could sense chemicals other than 3HP. Through our collaboration with Edinburgh, we found that our biosensor could detect propionic acid.

To read more about how we stayed safe in the lab, refer to our safety form

Team:UIOWA/Safety

Safety