Safety Regulations

All personnel receives a tour and are informed of the rules upon entering the lab, the main rules include:

1. No running, sudden moves within the lab.
2. No eating within the premises of the lab.
3. All experiment waste must be thrown in a special bin then put through a machine for sterilization.
4. All pipettes must be sanitized after use.
5. All equipment use must follow the using manual.
6. Performing experiments with a pipette while wearing a lab coat and gloves.
7. To enter the laboratory, all personnel must wash hand, as well as wear full lab suits and shoes.

Photos of the LAB:

The BIOLAB of Mingdao High School.

Eating and Drinking are not Allowed in the Lab.

The Laminar Flow Clean Bench in the BIOLAB, MDHS.

Warning Signs are Posted in the LAB.

The Emergency Eyewash and Autoclave in the BIOLAB, MDHS.

Our Goal

High concentration of carbon dioxide in enclosed space make people feel sleepy and even dizzy. While driving, drivers may fell asleep, causing accidents to happen. To solve this problem, we plan to use the high photosynthesis efficiency of cyanobacteria to reduce the concentration of CO2. But the solubility of CO2 in water is not high, so we modified Bacillus spp. to produce carbonic anhydrase (CA) for human, which can increase the solubility of CO2 in water. Furthermore, to extend the application, we produce CYP2E1 for rabbits, which is used in xenobiotic metabolism, to eliminate benzene and chloroform. In sum, we built up an efficient microalgae purification system to improve indoor air quality using natural enzymes such as carbonic anhydrase and xenobiotic metabolic enzymes.

Possible Risks

Organisms Used

E. coli DH5alpha, Bacillus subtilis (Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) Bacillus subtilis 168) 168; organisms: Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, Spirulina spp.

Risks of Selected Organisms

We use two kinds of algae: Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (non-toxic lab strain, recognized as a safe organism and exists in nature) and Spirulina spp (edible food supplement), and they will not pose a threat even if it escapes from the lab.

Organisms Used As Chasses

• Escherichia coli: E.coli DH5 alpha
• Bacillus subtilis

Risks of Chassis

Bacillus subtilis (Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) Bacillus subtilis 168) 168. The cell lines and E.coli strain are recognized as Biosafety Level 1 by US. public Health Service Guidelines and pose less risk to humans, which consistently cause disease in immunocompetent adult humans and present minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment.

Experiment Design

We prepare the culture media with baking soda, liquid fertilizer, leaf fertilizer to adjust the ratio and change the illuminance, temperature to find out the appropriate environment for the algae.

Risks of the Experiment

Our experiment only compares the growth of algae under different conditions and the solubility of carbon dioxide, so it will not pose any danger.

Project Usage

• In a consumer product that ordinary people buy
• In a small enclosed device

Risks of Usage

The device we design only contains two organisms: algae and CA.Even if the device is unfortunately broken,the former won't pose a threat to the environment. While the latter will deteriorate naturally and die.Since the organisms we use won't have any negative effect, safety.security or ethical risks wouldn't be involved.

Risks Management

Biosafety Level 1

Expert Assistance

Dr.Pei-Hong Chen will oversee us when we are doing the experiments. He had a PhD degree in Molecular Biology and is familiar with synthetic biology experiments. Also,he have instructed our school's iGEM teams for years.

Guidnace of Risk Management

https://biosafety.sinica.edu.tw/2e.html

Topics Learned

• Lab access and rules (including appropriate clothing, eating and drinking, etc.
• Responsible individuals (such as lab or departmental specialist or institutional biosafety officer)
• Differences between biosafety levels
• Biosafety equipment (such as biosafety cabinets)
• Good microbial technique (such as lab practices)
• Disinfection and sterilization
• Emergency procedures
• Transport rules
• Physical biosecurity
• Personnel biosecurity
• Dual-use and experiments of concern
• Data biosecurity
• Chemicals, fire and electrical safety

Work Areas

• Open bench
• Biosafety cabinet

Risk Management Tools

• Accident reporting (measures to record any accidents)
• Personal Protective Equipment (including lab coats, gloves, eye protection, etc)