Why our device is Safe
Our device is made of purified proteins. Therefore, we can avoid using genetically modified living organisms in a practical situation. This is why our protein-based device is obviously superior to other bacteria-based conventional methods in terms of safety. A component of our device, Encapsulin, is a relatively stable protein that it is thermotolerant at 70℃. However, it is still much more labile than plastic in the environment. In a realistic situation, we expect that those proteins will be degraded in a much shorter time. As purified proteins sometimes behave as an allergen, it should be noted that careful assessment will be necessary before the full application of our product into a practical situation.
Laboratory Safety
In our project, we used Escherichia coli Dh5alpha and E.coli BL21(DE3),which are not harmful to humans. We have always taken extreme care to inactive organisms by sterilization and autoclaving before deposing them in order not to release the engineered organisms to the environment.We engineered E.coli to express several parts of a protein-based device that sticks to plastics or synthetic fibers. The parts were obtained from the registry or synthesized by a provider. Such devices are assembled for testing in vitro. These experiments are normal molecular biology experiments and do not include special dangerous steps. Also, we properly used equipments such as autoclave and centrifuge, following the guideline. All the team members signed relevant safety documents and attended lab safety training prior to entering the BSL-1 lab at Kyoto University. The university and the department specialists provided lab safety training. Our project does not include gene drives, nor have we conducted any research with animals.
