Team:Edinburgh UG/Safety

Safety

Safety of our Project

We feel that our project can be classified as safe in general. Every part used was on the parts “white list” and was approved by the iGEM safety team. Furthermore, we were in full compliance with rigorous University and EU regulations that determined which GMOs and which genes/parts we were permitted to work with in the lab.

Safety with Collaboration

When collaborating with Bulgaria, it was necessary for us to ship parts internationally. We made the choice to ship diluted DNA in an aqueous solution. This is because shipping the DNA in this manner is non-infectious and poses no safety risks to individuals or the environment. We also made sure to include a covering letter within the DNA providing assurances of the safe nature of our package’s contents as well as contact information. By doing this, we feel we were able to work with international collaborators in a safe and successful manner.

Safety in the Laboratory

In the laboratory, we made sure to always use PPE and follow all University regulations that support safety in all biological labs in the school. Furthermore, we always worked under the watchful eye of at least one supervisor, which ensured that, despite our relative inexperience working in biotechnology, all equipment and instruments were used with the utmost safety and care.