Project
Description Engineering Contribution
Lab
Overview General protocols LCC PETase MHETase TPA transporter TPADO DCDDH Modeling
Team
The Team Attributions
Human Practices
Overview Proposed Implementation Collaborations Education & Communication Inclusivity Sustainable development
Safety
Parts
safety.svg

Safety
  1. Overview
  2. Safety in project design
  3. Safety in lab work
  4. References

General safety

Synthetic biology is a powerful tool with the potential to address and tackle significant challenges in modern society. It is, however, also a double-edged sword in the sense that an ill-considered and mismanaged synthetic biology project or knowledge can do tremendous harm instead of good (whether unintentionally or nefariously). Therefore, any synthetic biology research or undertaking must be guided by considerations of its biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics. Throughout our project, we considered safety in each aspect of the project as best we could.

In the words of Benjamin Franklin “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. At the very beginning of the project design process, we attempted to minimize any potential risk of accidents and harm by choosing safer chemical reagents and working material wherever we could. We chose the well known and safe Escherichia coli K12 laboratory strains (more specifically the DH5α and BL21 DE3 strains) as the chassis for our plastic degradation pathway. Furthermore, all of our individual gene fragments encoded for enzymes or transporter proteins which have not been known to cause any harm to animals or humans. Our plasmids possessed various different antibiotic selection markers (most notably kanamycin, but also ampicillin, chloramphenicol).

Before any work in the wet-lab began, we had extensive lab safety lectures and exercises for our team-members from various experts at the University of Uppsala. Introduction to our laboratories was kindly provided by Peter Lillhager, biomedical analyst from the institution of biological education at Uppsala University. During that, we also had an introduction to how we should respond to fires or chemical spills in the laboratory. A lecture in proper pipetting technique and contamination prevention was given to us by Henrik Gradstedt, biosafety coordinator the unit for environment and physical work environment at Uppsala University. This was followed up with an actual exercise in pipetting and contamination avoidance using UV liquids to visualize potential contamination.

Saftey UV exercise

Part of the team during the pipetting and contamination avoidance exercise with UV liquids.

Last but not least, we received a thorough guided tour of our building and lecture in proper waste handling by Mikael Olsson, an environmental chemist at the Biomedical centrum of Uppsala University. This included the not only the handling and disposal of chemical and biological waste, but also proper recycling and disposal of non-contaminated waste such as plastic and paper packaging (a topic very dear to our hearts). Since we also performed part of our work at the Testa Center upscaling facility in Uppsala, we received additional introduction to laboratory safety and waste disposal there, given by specialists Lousie Fitkin and Dmitra (find last name). This safety introduction built upon what we had learned from previous safety lessons, with many added elements related to the work and machinery that we were introduced to such as bioreactors and larger-scale protein purification machinery.

In addition to our more formal safety lectures and exercises, our instructors and PIs provided supplementary instruction of general safety in the lab and in our day-to-day operations. Wherever possible, we also informed and reminded each other of safety considerations during our experimental work in the wet lab.

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