Safety

Overview

In our laboratory environment, experimental safety is regarded as the foundation and core of all scientific research activities, and its importance cannot be overstated. We are fully aware that both fundamental scientific research and technological innovation endeavors must proceed under the premise of ensuring personnel safety, equipment integrity, and environmental harmlessness. Therefore, we have formulated and implemented a series of comprehensive and meticulous safety practices, aiming to foster a zero-accident, high-efficiency research environment.

Safety Training

First of all, we have established a sound safety management system, including a clear safety responsibility system, detailed safety operation procedures, and an emergency response mechanism. Everyone who enters the laboratory, whether they are scientific researchers, students, or visitors, must undergo rigorous safety education and training to ensure that they fully understand the laboratory's safety regulations, potential risks, and corresponding measures. Before the initiation of experimental projects, we strictly implement the risk assessment process to comprehensively identify, analyze, and evaluate the hazardous factors that may be involved in the experimental process, and formulate targeted preventive measures accordingly. These include, but are not limited to, the proper storage and disposal of chemicals, the determination of biosafety levels, the regular inspection and maintenance of electrical equipment, as well as safety operation specifications under special conditions such as radiation, high temperature, and high pressure. We emphasize the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) and require laboratory personnel to properly wear corresponding protective gear, such as laboratory coats, safety glasses, masks, and gloves, when conducting any experiments that may involve risks. Meanwhile, we regularly inspect and update these equipment to ensure that their protective performance meets standards.

Laboratory Facilities

We have several different lab spaces with different biosafety levels:

1. Level 1 - Standard Microbiological Lab: Used for standard microbiological experiments, handling Risk Group 1 microorganisms such as E. coli K-12 and Pichia pastoris.

2. Level 2 - Moderate Containment: Used for experiments involving C57BL/6 mice and for procedures requiring higher containment performed in a biosafety cabinet.

We are using these work areas to handle biological materials:

1. Open bench

2. Biosafety cabinet (Note: there are important differences between biosafety cabinets and laminar flow hoods / clean benches. iGEM encourages the use of biosafety cabinets but discourages the use of laminar flow hoods or clean benches. This Factsheet from the University of Michigan helps explain the differences.)

3. Specialist animal house

4. Chemical fume hood (Note: this is designed to manage risks from hazardous chemicals. It is different from a biological safety cabinet designed to manage risks from hazardous biological agents and a clean bench or laminar flow hood designed to prevent contamination.)

Organism Description

Our project aims to design a novel near-infrared II (NIR-II) biomimetic fluorescent protein probe. We will engineer proteins using genetic methods to interact with synthetically produced dye molecules. Specifically, we will incubate the designed proteins with the dye molecules, allowing the proteins to encapsulate the dyes, thus forming high-performance biofluorescent probes. These probes will be used for biological imaging in scientific research and pathological sample detection in clinical settings. We will express the proteins using E. coli and Pichia pastoris and conduct in vivo imaging experiments in mouse models to verify the probes' efficacy and safety.

Our bacteria: Our bacteria will be used to study the synthesis and function of near-infrared II (NIR-II) biomimetic fluorescent protein probes. We will express the target proteins in Escherichia coli (DH5-alpha) and further produce and purify the proteins in Pichia pastoris.

Our mouse model: We will conduct in vivo imaging experiments in C57BL/6 mice to validate the efficacy and safety of the probes.

Ethical Approval of Animal Experiments

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