Team:Penn/Safety

Biological Safety

Our work throughout iGEM has been split between using both three different E. coli strains (DH5 alpha, W3110, and MG 1655) and Magnetospirillum Magneticum AMB-1. All four of these strains pose minimal risk inside the lab. We use strict biosafety laboratory techniques when handling these organisms and any piece of labware that comes in contact with them.

E.coli

All three strains of E. coli are highly conserved and pose minor risks when handeled carefully in the lab. All three strains of E. coli are rod shaped, gram negative bacteria. While E. coli resides in the intestinal tract of many organisms, all three straisn used in the lab are safe to work with as they lack the adaptability and capability to cause infection. ATCC has assigned all strains a biosafety level of 1.

Magnetospirillum Magneticum AMB-1

Magnetospirillum Magneticum AMB-1 is a strain of magnetic bacteria that poses minimal health risk to humans in a lab environment. This strain of bacteria is too sensitive to environmental conditions to cause infections to humans. At the same time all procedures used to handle E. coli are used with Magnetospirillum Magneticum AMB-1 as well. This includes bleaching old cultures and disposing old tubes according to biohazard protocols.

Public Safety

Since some of our bacteria may have antibiotic resistance and could theoretically pose a health risk, we use biohazard protocols to prevent any release of our bacteria from the lab. This includes bleaching cultures before disposing of them and disposing of any old tubes in biohazard containers. This eliminates the risk of any bacteria escaping our lab or making their way into any adjacent labs.

Handling and disposal of Cadmium and other Inorganic Toxic Substances

We took cautinous measures when handling cadmium and other toxic substances. Lab coats, masks, gloves, and goggles are worn all time. The handling is done in a fume hood to prevent inhalation of toxic substances.

We followed protocols established by Environmental Health & Radiation Safety at the University of Pennsylvania to dispose any toxic substances. We disposed the waste in designated containers and trained specialists will pick up the containers from lab and dispose of the waste properly.

Penn iGEM © 2014