iGEM's Rule and Policies
iGEM's safety policy provides good guidance for our risk management. Here's how we comply with relevant safety policies and regulations: In our project, we did not conduct any experiments on animals or humans, and no genetically modified organisms were taken out of the laboratory. Therefore, we did not perform any of the prohibited experimental operations in iGEM. Although we used human-derived cancer cell line MOC-1 in our experiments, it has been tested and certified to be free of any known pathogens and is allowed to be used on the white list. Our project does not require us to use genetically modified organisms outside the laboratory or test our project on animals, thus preventing gene drive or the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes. In Human Practices, we conducted surveys in hospitals around the world to obtain the information needed for our project. Our team can confirm that our research complies with relevant laws and regulations.
About Our Lab Safety
Our experiments were mainly carried out on the new experimental building of the Health Science Center, Lanzhou University. The working places encompassed a microbiology laboratory (with a protection level of BSL-1), a cell culture room, and a public laboratory.
All laboratory members had undergone relevant safety training prior to conducting the experiments.
Future Risks
In our concept, Synbio missile will serve as a biological agent that participates in tumor treatment by breaking down the extracellular barrier of tumor cells and activating anti-tumor immune responses. Since hyaluronic acid, the substrate of Hy, exists in the extracellular matrix, the error distribution of synthetic biology may cause tissue damage; at the same time, Toll-like receptors, which mediate anti-tumor immune responses, may also induce inflammatory responses, thereby bringing potential health risks. More tests should be conducted before the system is tested on animals to ensure its safety. In addition, the new cancer treatment scheme may lead to unequal distribution of medical resources, which requires further investigation.
Managing Safety
All wet lab members learned about lab access and rules (such as appropriate clothing and diet), responsible parties (such as lab or departmental experts or institutional biosafety officials), differences in biosafety levels, biosafety equipment (such as biosafety cabinets), good microbiological techniques, disinfection and sterilization, emergency procedures, rules for transporting samples between labs or within an institution, physical biosafety (such as tracking materials and access control), personnel biosafety (such as observing unusual behavior), data biosafety/cyber biosafety (such as managing database access), military-civilian dual-use research and/or experiments that require attention, chemical safety, fire safety, and electrical safety. We consulted relevant experts, negotiated with relevant personnel, and developed, modified relevant plans and measures.