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Team:TU Delft-Leiden/Safety
From 2014.igem.org
Safety
The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) represents some risks and concenrns for society. Therefore, their use and handling are strictly regulated. The TU Delft – Leiden iGEM team has worked on the developement of a Plug-and-Play biosensor based on electrical current, and the specific case studied has been on land mine detection. Hence, our team has been dealing with chemical components that represent a big risk for human health and for the environment. As a consequence, full awareness of the potential risks of the chemicals used for our experiments was taken, and a detailed protocol was developed to handle safely the aforementioned chemicals.
Hazardous chemicals used
Land mines are mostly based on the explosive compound 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (2,4,6-TNT). However, these mines many times contain impurities of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) and 1,3-dinitrobenzene (1,3-DNB) which, due to their volatility, can leak out of the mine. Therefore, 2,4-DNT and 1,3-DNB are quite convenient compounds for the construction of a land mine-biosensor. These chemicals, nevertheless, require special attention to ensure a safe working environment.
Safety measures undertaken
