We recognize the paramount importance of ensuring both project safety and personal safety throughout our experiments. As always, our guiding principle has been "Safety First." Under the guidance and mentorship of experienced PhD students and faculty members at IIT Roorkee, we maintained a safe working environment for ourselves and ensured the protection of the surrounding ecosystem.

Our project employs a phage display system using M13 bacteriophage, which significantly reduces the risk associated with working with live, pathogenic organisms. The phagemid system is inherently safe, as it utilizes a non-infectious viral vector, mitigating concerns about potential environmental release. Furthermore, all protocols we e carefully designed to limit exposure to any hazardous materials. We followed strict laboratory protocols and ensured adherence to both iGEM Safety Guidelines and Institute Biosafety Guidelines, following thorough consultations with our PI and doctoral mentors.

Although we worked with phages for protein-DNA binding detection, we ensured that no work involved hazardous or pathogenic organisms, and the entire project required only Biosafety Level 1 (BSL1) facilities. The M13 bacteriophage poses n threat to humans or the environment, and the proteins we expressed and detected are non-toxic and non-pathogenic. All DNA used was synthetically synthesized and harmless fragments, and no live pathogenic samples were utilized.

Our team underwent comprehensive lab safety training prior to starting any experiments. This training, provided by se ior lab staff, covered essential safety practices such as proper handling of biological materials, operation of equipment, emergency protocols, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Team members consistently adhered to these protocols by wearing gloves, lab coats, and protective eyewear and performed all work inside a biosafety cabinet.

In addition, all materials used during the experiments, including microcentrifuge tubes and pipette tips, were autoclaved beforehand to maintain a sterile environment. Surfaces were wiped down with ethanol before and after each experiment to ensure cleanliness and high-precision qPCR-grade pipettes were used to minimize contamination risk. We strictly followed all best practices to ensure the safety of both the researchers and the environment during the course of our project.