Team:Wageningen UR/Safety of the Application

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<h1>Safety of the application</h1>
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     <div class="icon"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/6/65/Petri_dish.png" style="margin-top: 15px;"></div>
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    <h1>Improvement Suggestions</h1>
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            <li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Wageningen_UR/Safety_introduction">Safety introduction</a></li>
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            <li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Wageningen_UR/General_safety">General safety</a></li>
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            <li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Wageningen_UR/Fungi-related_safety">Fungi-related safety</a></li>
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            <li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Wageningen_UR/Biosafety_Regulation">Biosafety regulation</a></li>
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            <li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Wageningen_UR/Safety_Improvement_Suggestions">Improvement suggestions</a></li>
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            <li class="active"><span>Safety of the application</span></li>
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     <p>During participation in this year's iGEM competition, we summarized the experiences gotten from lab work and compiled some suggestions to improve biological safety in the iGEM lab.</p>
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     <p>Lovastatin is a compound used in medicines used to decrease LDL cholesterol for patients suffering cardiovascular disease[<a href="#ref1">1</a>]. At this moment it is produced in <i>Aspergillus terreus</i> which produces toxins at the same time. Since it is undesirable to produce toxins at the same time as production of lovastatin, a new production host is preferred. <i>Aspergillus niger</i> as a mass producer of organic acids and heterologous proteins. The products produced by <i>A. niger</i> have a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status, which makes it an ideal candidate for lovastatin production</p>
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     <p>To increase the safety awareness of iGEMers, it’s necessary to give safety lectures to explain general safety issues, even including the first aid course. As teams come from different countries, putting official lectures on iGEM website is the alternatives. During the lecture, we recommend to include the methods of Process Hazards Analysis. This discussion is helpful for understand the hazard of processes and review them from raw materials to product. At each handling or processing step, "what if" questions are formulated and answered, to evaluate the effects of component failures or procedural errors on the process. Attending safety lecture should be treated as a compulsory requirement before iGEMers start lab work.</p>
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     <p>According to OSHA and ANSI, <a href="http://www.alfa.com/content/msds/USA/H52792.pdf" target="_blank">Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)</a> of lovastatin is obtained. Lovastatin as the end-product is non-replicative and contains no genetic material. Nevertheless, anything that is going to be used as medicine compounds will first have to undergo rigorous clinical trials.</p>
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    <p>it’s not only our own desire to work in safe environments, but also the moral responsibility not to endanger other people. It’s also important to submit the following items to lab instructors for approval before working in the lab:<br/>
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    <p>Different secondary metabolites will, of course, have their own safety-issues related to them. Especially when producing novel compounds it is nearly impossible to assess the safety of the compound <i>a priori</i>.</p>
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1) Experimental plans<br/>
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    <p>On the scale of the bioreactor, having a single cell rather than a mycelial phenotype will change the behaviour of the system by reducing viscosity and diffusional limitation. Inputs, such as stirrer power and gas flow rates, have to be checked to prevent flooding. For the lower limit the Froude criterion applies:</p>
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<p>This is lower limit of the stirrer power needed to disperse the required amount of bubbles.
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Using the gas flow rate and given stirrer power, we can find the gas holdup and thereby the gas volume.</p>
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<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/a/a5/Flooding.png" />  
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2) List of credible hazards associated with the experiment and their consequences of hazards<br/>
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3) Emergency strategy and mitigation of hazards<br/>
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    <p id="ref1"><span class="ref">1.</span>Muldoon, M.F., et al., Effects of lovastatin on cognitive function and psychological well-being. The American journal of medicine, 2000. 108(7): p. 538-546.</p>
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4) MSDS sheets of any chemicals used<br/>
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5) Plan for waste disposal<br/>
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6) Safety Checklist<br/>
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<p>The best way to remain safe when dealing with chemicals is to assume that any chemical we handle is dangerous. Put specific and accurate sticker on bottles to clarify the type of chemicals. The information should also include the proper place to work with them, e.g. which is needed to be used in the fume hood.</p>
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<p>To specify a system for identifying the hazards associated with materials, it’s meaningful to include the <a href="https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/ibr/004/nfpa.704.2007.pdf" target="_blank">National Fire Code</a> from the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA).</p>
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Latest revision as of 03:39, 5 October 2013

Safety of the application

Lovastatin is a compound used in medicines used to decrease LDL cholesterol for patients suffering cardiovascular disease[1]. At this moment it is produced in Aspergillus terreus which produces toxins at the same time. Since it is undesirable to produce toxins at the same time as production of lovastatin, a new production host is preferred. Aspergillus niger as a mass producer of organic acids and heterologous proteins. The products produced by A. niger have a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status, which makes it an ideal candidate for lovastatin production

According to OSHA and ANSI, Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) of lovastatin is obtained. Lovastatin as the end-product is non-replicative and contains no genetic material. Nevertheless, anything that is going to be used as medicine compounds will first have to undergo rigorous clinical trials.

Different secondary metabolites will, of course, have their own safety-issues related to them. Especially when producing novel compounds it is nearly impossible to assess the safety of the compound a priori.

On the scale of the bioreactor, having a single cell rather than a mycelial phenotype will change the behaviour of the system by reducing viscosity and diffusional limitation. Inputs, such as stirrer power and gas flow rates, have to be checked to prevent flooding. For the lower limit the Froude criterion applies:

This is lower limit of the stirrer power needed to disperse the required amount of bubbles. Using the gas flow rate and given stirrer power, we can find the gas holdup and thereby the gas volume.

1.Muldoon, M.F., et al., Effects of lovastatin on cognitive function and psychological well-being. The American journal of medicine, 2000. 108(7): p. 538-546.

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