Our comprehensive approach to safety and security in synthetic biology research
Compliance with iGEM's safety policy is a core requirement for all iGEM teams, focusing on minimizing potential risks of synthetic biology projects, including biological hazards, environmental impacts, and ethical concerns. For our project, we have a solid foundation in safety compliance—the CHO cell line strain and other experimental materials we use are all listed on iGEM's White List, which serves as a crucial prerequisite for the project's alignment with safety policies.
Specifically, the project design aligns with iGEM's safety guidelines in several aspects:
Biological materials and reagents on the iGEM White List have undergone rigorous evaluation, with clear safety records and controllability. The CHO cell line we selected, as a probiotic, naturally exists in the human gut. Being listed on the White List means its genetic background is clear and potential risks are fully verified, reducing biosafety hazards from the source—this is highly consistent with iGEM's requirement of "using certified low-risk materials."
For genetic edits to CHO cell line, we always take the safety characteristics of the White List strain as the benchmark and evaluate the impact of modifications on its colonization ability and safety through experiments. This process strictly follows iGEM's requirements for risk assessment of genetically modified organisms, ensuring that the edited strain does not introduce new risks beyond the scope of the White List.
Targeting cancer treatment and developing innovative therapies based on White List materials, our project fully aligns with iGEM's core mission of "synthetic biology for the benefit of humanity." It avoids any directions involving malicious intent or excessive risks, maintaining consistency with safety policies at the ethical level.
In summary, our project not only strictly adheres to iGEM's White List standards in material selection but also fully meets its safety policy requirements through risk assessment processes and a focus on beneficial applications, providing a reliable practice for safe innovation in synthetic biology.
Before every student enters the lab, lab instructors conduct 2-hour safety training and teach every student about safety rules and cautions when operating equipment in the lab. After the training, every student did a safety rules test. Students cannot enter the lab until they pass the test.
Lab personnel with long hair must tie their hair into a bun or a low ponytail. They should select the appropriate mask type, or use face shields, respirators, etc., based on the specific type of experiment. To prevent hand injuries in the laboratory, it is necessary to wear gloves that match the size of one's hands. Staff are not allowed to wear sandals, slippers, or high heels; instead, they should wear flat, protective shoes. In the laboratory work environment, personnel handling toxic, corrosive, or volatile experimental reagents must wear safety goggles. They must not wear clothing that exposes the skin, such as shorts or skirts, and should instead wear trousers that are easy to move in and have protective effects.
Also, loud talking, drinking water, eating food, or littering is not allowed in the laboratory. Food and water must not be brought into the laboratory. Remove gloves when leaving the laboratory and wash hands frequently. Laboratory items must not be taken out of the laboratory.
The waste in the lab is divided into two categories. One is solid waste, the other is ordinary waste.
The biohazards that may be contaminated by microorganism samples or other chemicals need to go to solid waste box. For example, disposable rubber gloves, pipette tips, and centrifuge tubes. There will be solid waste bins on ultra-clean tables and experiment tables. These solid waste will ultimately be processed. The leak of biohazard and chemicals needs to be prevented.
Ordinary wastes are those that are not chemically contaminated, including disposable masks and tissues. These wastes will be processed just like regular household garbage.