Safety

MSDS + safety questions

4. Do the biological materials used in your lab work pose any of the following risks? Please describe.

a. Risks to the safety and health of team members or others working in the lab? In the project, we used Escherichia. coli K-12 MG1655 that falls under Risk Group 1. Before using the strain, the team has researched risks relating to usage of this strain. E. coli K-12 MG 1655 has a commensal (hyperlink to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Commensal+bacteria) lifestyle, i.e. it consumes carbon compounds from food in host gut without harming the host. Risk assessments of E. coli K-12 strains indicate that they are poor colonisers of human and animal gut, due to lack of three cell wall components, glycocalyx, liposaccharide core and capsular antigens, that are responsible for recognition and adhesion of gut cells (1). Experiments have shown that E. coli K-12 strains cannot colonise human intestinal tracts, where wild type E. coli resides, unless normal gut flora are substantially reduced (3) (4). Meanwhile, E. coli MG1655 strain is unable to produce significant amount of toxin to cause diseases (2). Most of the enzymes produced by the engineered E. coli MG1655 are unable to interact with human proteins. Although proteinase K has can potentially degrade human protein beta amyloid plaques (5), this protein is only abundant in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and neither the bacteria or proteinase K is likely to pass the blood-brain-barrier. In order to prevent contamination and infection, Imperial College London has established health and safety rules. For example no eating or drinking in labs, wearing gloves when handling the lab apparatus, wearing lab coats at all times, disposal of contaminated and non-contaminated equipment into appropriate bins, and keeping the lab area organised and clean. We have gone through safety training before starting the wet lab work, and we are aware of the locations of first aid facilities. We have also separated areas and entrances for wet and dry lab work, and the benches are cleaned before and after experiments. In addition, we always keep transformed bacteria in appropriate fridge or freezer, and dispose bacterial contaminated material into the autoclave bag.

Risks to the safety and health of the general public, if released by design or by accident? </div>