General Safety
In our lab, safety is a top priority. All team members are required to wear gloves, lab coats, and safety goggles at all times. The lab is equipped with essential safety equipment, including emergency showers, eye wash stations, ventilators, fire blankets, and first aid kits. Any potentially hazardous experiments will be conducted under proper supervision. Our lab operates under Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1). We strictly adhere to the safety protocols established by iGEM to ensure a safe working environment for all members.
Project Specific Safety
Our project focuses on modifying red blood cells in vitro, with the eventual goal of introducing them into the human body. However, during this project, we do not plan to perform any blood transfusions. Despite this, we have carefully assessed the potential risks involved in the future application of our product and have ensured the safety of the modified red blood cells throughout our research process.
E. coli strains
The pET-28a(+) plasmid is considered safe because it is used in Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1) environments, which means it involves non-pathogenic E. coli strains and poses minimal risk to human health. The plasmid carries a kanamycin resistance gene, but as long as proper lab safety protocols, like handling bacterial cultures with care, are followed, it does not present any significant danger.
