A lecture about lab safety was given to all wet lab members by teachers before entering the laboratory. Members were informed about operation of various equipment, methods to handle hazards as well as ways to protect ourselves from being injured. For example, culture medium and corrosive or poisonous chemicals were handled with care to prevent pollution or injury, and members were expected to wear gloves and lab coat during experiment. In addition, detailed plan for the experiment was made, and works were arranged reasonably to minimize the risk during actual lab work
After the lecture, members had visited the lab under strict supervision of tutor to familiarize ourselves with laboratory environment. The locations of safety facilities, like eye wash station, emergency exits, and fire extinguishers were shown, and members receive training about experimental apparatus that we were going to use. All members were also reminded that before using any equipment, a teacher must consult
1. Follow the instructions of the instructor or lab supervisor or a procedure in a book
2. Always wear laboratory suit and latex gloves before entering the laboratory
3. When exposing to toxic chemicals in lab, wear an addition pair of disposable plastic gloves outside of the latex gloves
4. Be careful when using and preserving highly flammable and explosive chemicals
5. Cup your hand above the container and waft toward your face when smelling toxic gas in laboratory
6. Be sure to read all fire alarm and safety signs and follow the instructions in the event of an accident or emergency
7. Make sure you are aware of where the fire extinguishers, eye wash stations, safety showers, first aids, lab's exits and fire alarms are located
8. Dispose the lab wastes properly and clean up all the mess
9. Drinking and eating in lab is strictly forbidden
10. Never leave an ongoing experiment unattended
In our experiments, three organisms were included: Escherichia coli DH5a, Agrobocterium rhizogenes strain A4, carrot (Daucus carota ssp. Sativus). All three organisms were on the whitelist and had no need for check-in. First, target gene was transformed into E. coli DH5a. Then the construction was transformed into A. rhizogenes strain A4. Lastly, hairy root was induced from carrot leaves explants. The carrot leaves were made to produce hairy roots which will be transgenic and produce anthocyanins. Thus, the use of the whole organism was permitted and would not have infection risks. The hair-root tips of carrots with good growth condition were selected and inoculated in MS medium. This procedure was performed in a sterile manner, ensuring that everyone wore gloves and that the experimental tweezers had been sterilized with an alcohol lamp.
Chemicals such as liquid nitrogen was also used in extracting and purifying anthocyanin. All chemicals are used under safe operation and fuming with the guidance of our PI
In our experiment, carrot cells were used as our chassis cell instead of tobacco cell since there was alkaloid present, which made anthocyanin produced from tabasco cell non-edible. By using carrot cell to produce Anthocyanin, it could be made sure that our product was fully edible without having any health hazards. All our operations were in vitro, meaning there is low risk of pollution. By using the electroporation method, risk of contamination was largely reduced because it took only one step for seconds for electroporation method to transfer constructed plasmid into the A. rhizogenes, therefore there was less chance of contacting with the external environment
The likelihood of the disease spreading was decreased since vaccinations protect both people who have received them and those around who are at risk for COVID-19, therefore all members of our project had received the COVID-19 vaccine
Using a medical face mask would lower your chance of spreading an infection. When working the lab, members should wear a medical face mask the whole time to prevent the spread of the virus
It was necessary to use a disposable tissue or your elbow to cough and sneeze into. If tissue was used, members needed to make sure to properly dispose of it after usage and then washed your hands
A member must stay at home if he / she felt unwell. If any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 was developed, he / she must ask healthcare provider for advice immediately and postpone entering the lab
In any situation, it was advised to often wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or to completely clean your hands with products containing alcohols
According to the regulations from the lab, all members needed to take 2 PCR tests of COVID-19 in 3 days and make sure every PCR test was negative. In addition, if members returned to Shanghai from other places, members are only permitted to enter the lab 3 days after returning until both of the 2 PCR test the results during these 3 days were negative