Difference between revisions of "Team:SDSZ China/Safety0"

Safety is always the most important issue in every experiment. While we were doing our experiment, we took safety as the first thing we need to consider in our design. We considered safety in several different aspects: safety in the lab, safety during operation, and biosafety throughout the whole process. In order to ensure the safety in every step, we did a lot of investigation on the Internet and made sure that we understand the principles of biosafety and biosecurity.

We did all of our experiments in Watson Click lab, the most advanced biology lab in SDSZ. We made sure that we do not use any toxic chemicals that may harm the environment after leakage to conduct our experiment.

While working on the synthesis of a certain enzyme to transfer chitin into chitosan, we used a few chemicals. While doing electrophoresis, we avoided anything that can be unsafe. Instead, we used Gelstain to dye, which is vey safe. We also used E. coli (BL21/DE3). They are not able to survive outside. Thus, even if a leakage happens, the environment will not be harmed. In addition 4-Nitroacetanilide is another chemical we used that is totally safe.

We are under strict training before being allowed to go into the lab and do experiment. Our instructor, Caifeng Chen, gave every student a thorough instruction video made by herself to help with the operations, including electrophoresis, spectrophotometer, and PCR. Students need to pass a test before entering the lab. When doing experiment that involves dangerous equipment, we are required to put on necessary gloves and goggles. Also, we are not allowed to eat or drink in the lab, which protect a clean and safe environment in the lab.

Potential Risks

We are only exposed to safe organisms, and we handle mostly nonhazardous chemicals like agarose, LB and SOB medium. But We also use the neurotoxic chemical polyacrylamide to run the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In order to prevent any potential risks, we wear gloves and lab coats in lab, and we perform in a bio safety cabinet when handling toxic chemicals.

After developing into a real product, the software, if malfunctioned, can cause threat to the workers since the solution might be over heated and produce hot steam. But the other elements in the machine will not cause security or ethical risks.

How do our PIs supervise us during the experiment? Our two PIs are all doctors in genetic engineering and they will oversee the entire part of the experiment.

The lab teachers and our faculty advisors are responsible for the safety and security issues of biology labs. For the biosafety officers, they evaluate our experiment design and point out any safety issues in our design. If there are any safety issues, they help us modify our design. Before starting our experiment, they gave us instructions and lots of training to help us finish the operation safely. During the experiment, they stay in the office and give us help as soon as we encounter any problems. Since they have lots of experience in genetic experiments, they can deal with problems effectively.