Safety

All the members of the team received a rigorous training in Biosafety and Biosecurity from the Safety and Security Committee of the Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Kolkata.

1. Lab Environment
   On a normal iGEM Day, our lab looks like this:
   
   Our Workbench typically looks like this:
   
   For microbiological works concerning our chassis organisms, we use the laminar airflow hood:
   
   While dealing with hazardous chemicals, we use chemical fume hood:
   
   Just outside the lab entrance door, two fully functional fire extinguishers are placed all the time as a precautionary step against fire hazards:
   
2. Microbes
   
   • Escherichia coli
     
     Strains used: DH5apha, BL21DE3
     Purpose of use: Protein Expression System, Chassis Organism
     Risk Group: Risk Group 1 (Low Risk)
     Source of safety information: NH Guidelines, iGEM Whitelist, DSMZ Catalogue
   • Lactobacillus spp.
     
     Purpose of use: Protein Expression System, Chassis Organism
     Risk Group: Risk Group 1 (Low Risk)
     Source of safety information: NH Guidelines, iGEM Whitelist, DSMZ Catalogue
     
     Note: Use of Lactobacillus spp. is still a planned step and was not used during this iGEM project duration.
   • Schizosaccharomyces pombe
     
     Purpose of use: Isolation of a wild type gene for cloning/designing part
     Risk Group: Risk Group 1 (Low Risk)
     Source of safety information: NH Guidelines, iGEM Whitelist, DSMZ Catalogue
     
     Note: Total RNA pool from the S. pombe was isolated to construct cDNA and then PCR amplify and clone the desired gene (HMT1).
3. Chemical use
   
   • Arsenate and arsenite salts were handled with proper precaution such as use of gloves, mask and fume hood. Student members were allowed to use arsenic containing chemicals only under the direct supervision of the team’s Lab Instructor.
   • Arsenic containing discard was segregated and disposed separately as biohazardous waste.
   • Phenol and Chloroform were used for routine nucleic acid isolation in the lab. Appropriate precautions such as use of gloves, masks and fume hood was ensured by the lab instructor while handling these chemicals. Waste containing these chemicals was segregated and disposed off separately as chemical waste.
4. Rules and Regulations
   Biosafety and Biosecurity at Research Laboratories in India is governed by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India. The document found on this following link details all these rules and regulations.

Team IISER Kolkata has abided by all the safety and security rules mentioned therein.