The main components in ArMOLDgeddon are: chitinases, glucanases, lysozyme, and geraniol.

Our initial research on biological fungicides has led us to the components above, with sufficient literature indicating the specificity of chitinase and glucanase to mold cell wall components and the non-enzymatic mechanisms of lysozyme and terpenes that disrupt mold cell integrity. [1-13] Further research has also shown that the components listed above are of no serious harm to humans, with the lysozymes used being derived from the human genome and geraniol being a safe chemical used in commercial fragrance [10, 14-17].

The DNA sequences used for expression are obtained directly from the literature that they were reported in, and were synthesized by gene synthesis companies. The targeted sequences are then assembled into suitable vectors and transformed into selected chassis for expression under standard laboratory regulations.

To ensure our direct personal safety, the following lab rules must be complied for the entire duration when a member is in lab: 1.personal protective equipment (e.g. Gloves, goggles when handling dangerous chemicals, labcoat) must be worn in the lab at all times; 2. long hair must be tied back.

The lab area is separated from the living area, and food and drinks are strictly prohibited in the lab, preventing accidental ingestion of chemicals/organisms. Within the lab, there are also designated “gel contamination” areas where carcinogenic chemicals for gel electrophoresis can be used, ensuring that all those toxic chemicals are contained within that area. Lab rules dictate that Gloves and equipment that have come into contact with materials in that region must be discarded to avoid contamination of other areas.

The removal of personal protective equipment before leaving the lab and not taking any organisms out of the lab prevent the leakage of engineered organisms and the contamination of living areas, avoiding unwanted harm caused by these organisms.

Training provided by our PIs and advisors will ensure that all organisms are handled responsibly and with care (e.g. all engineered organisms are stored in their designated place) to avoid leakage and common lab hazards. We were also instructed on how to use all accessible apparatus correctly to prevent breakage of the apparatus and any unwanted harm that might be caused by incorrect handling. Moreover, there are multiple protocol booklets in the lab where we could refer to during experiments to ensure that our experimental procedures are correct.

Constant supervision by our PIs and advisors ensures that we comply with the area division regulations mentioned above strictly.

Strict regulations are also employed and supervised to ensure that all waste (especially biological waste) produced in the labs will be disinfected and sterilized (using disinfectants, heat and high pressure) before disposal, and biological waste must be discarded into designated biohazard waste bins to avoid leakage.

The safety of anyone involved in our Human Practices work is of utmost importance for GreatBay-SCIE 2025, where we full respect the privacy of our participants and wholeheartedly hope to make them comfortable. To achieve this, we strictly adhere to privacy and ethics protocols to avoid any unwanted harm, and ensure that we approach our participants respectfully.

Before conducting interviews, an interview outline considering both the relevance and the interviewee’s comfort would be formulated and be sent to the interviewees in advance. The interview then would only be conducted with the interviewee’s explicit consent on the theme of the interview. We would also send out a privacy agreement along with the interview outline to inform our participants of our intended use of information to ensure transparency (fig.2).

The privacy preferences of the interviewee would determine whether their personal information (only limited to name and profession) would be published on our wiki page or not.

Approaching Human Practices with care according to the procedures above is helpful in that it both protects our participants and enhances the validity of our research.

Lab sessions were also set up for educational purposes of families with the aim of raising awareness of synbio technologies by having participants experience it in person. This also develops safety awareness for laboratory practices for those who intend to work in a lab setting in the future. Thorough risk assessments were conducted before each lab session and precautions to avoid possible hazards were detailed in the experiment protocol for the particular sessions. After the experiment protocol has been approved by other team members and our PIs review, the protocol is distrubuted to the participants. Moreover, the entire duration of the experiment would be under full supervision of responsible team members, further ensuring lab safety during educational lab sessions.

As our project revolves around combatting spore-producing pathogenic household mold (e.g. Aspergillus spp., Penicillin spp.), using living mold to test our enzymes as a proof of concept might be too risky for both our members and whom ever will be in contact with mold cultures. Therefore, our team has been in close contact with the iGEM Safety Committee to discuss possible, safer alternatives.

Below are evidence of discussion with the iGEM safety committee, showing our awareness of hazards and risks in our project

Furthermore, in order to approach activities for entrepreneurship and education that might pose potential risks safely and responsibly, we ensured that we checked in with the committee first for approval and further guidance. These endeavors show that our team has worked hard to be a both privately and socially responsible member of the iGEM community.