Team:TecMonterrey GDL/Safety

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Introduction

Every project must follow standard protocols for safety. Biology is an area that requires extensive cautions when it comes to the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Consequently, we focused widely on the safety part of our project.

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Project Safety

During the whole project, we worked with Escherichia coli as our host organism for every experimental procedure. Particularly, we used Escherichia coli DH5α: a strain modified to maximize transformation efficiency. Several researches have demonstrated that this strain is non-pathogenic for humans and the environment.

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Laboratory Safety

Every experiment was carried out in the laboratories of our university, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Guadalajara. Before any experimental procedure, each member received proper training about safe laboratory practices.

All of the reagents used in our experiments are classified as safe according to the official Mexican standard NOM-018-STPS-2015, related to the identification of hazardous chemicals.

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Safety and Chemicals

Aside from microorganisms, we used several chemical reagents, one being ethidium bromide (EtBr). During our experimental procedures, we worked with this reagent to visualize DNA during electrophoresis, and it is believed to be a mutagen and probable carcinogen.

As an alternative, we employed GelRed, an alternative marker for DNA electrophoresis. GelRed is marked as less toxic and more sensitive than ethidium bromide (EtBr), becoming a priority during these procedures.

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