General Safety
Following the Japanese Science Safety Protocols, we legally conducted labs by experimenting in a
safe environment. Our laboratory, where all experiments were conducted, is classified as
Biosafety Level 1 (standard microbiological lab). This means our laboratory settings with
personnel work and low-risk microbes will pose little to no threat of infection in healthy
adults as we did not use living organisms this year. Moreover, our experiments did not pose a
risk of infecting humans as we did not use any toxic reagents or other hazardous chemicals. We
made sure to work at an open bench to prevent the mixing of chemicals and misplacements.
Additionally, we used a biosafety cabinet to work with materials safely by reducing the risk of
contamination. Furthermore, lab conductors received safety training by mastering appropriate
techniques and utilizing equipment properly. In specificity to heat, as several of our protocols
involved the heating of aptamers, we were careful to follow appropriate safety protocols and
wear gloves and goggles when handling aptamers.
