Team:TU Delft/Safety/in-the-lab

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Safety concerning iGEM BioBricks

Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of:

researcher safety

For the characterization of our alkane degrading biobricks, alkanes are necessary. These are flammable and are dangerous if not handled properly in a safety cabinet.

public safety

Our working organism, E. coli K12, (TOP10?) cannot survive outside of the laboratory and therefore does not pose a threat to the public.

environmental safety

Our working organism, E. coli K12, (TOP10?) cannot survive outside of the laboratory and therefore does not pose a threat to the environment.


Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues?

We do not infringe the rules with our new made BioBrick parts and our BioBricks do not raise any safety issues.


Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution?

In our Department of Biotechnology there are two Biological Safety Officers (BSO) who are responsible for the safety in the labs. In general in the Netherlands there is a very strict regulation about biosafety and working with genetically modified organisms.

Our work was done in an ML1 lab. Each lab within the department has a person responsible for checking whether or not the rules are followed. The entire team was instructed on biosafety by the BSO, did a hand-wash test and attended an obligatory session about safety issues.

To be allowed to use the lab, a list with all the microorganisms, plasmids and genes we intend to use had to be given to the BSO. This list was checked by the BSO and as long as we keep to the list, the lab may be used.


Do you have any other ideas how to deal with safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions? How could parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering?

Biosafety in the Lab

In our Department at the TU Delft, the Department of Biotechnology, there is a Biological Safety Officer (BSO) who is responsible for the safety in the labs. In the Netherlands there is a very strict regulation about biosafety and working with genetically modified organisms. Our BSO, Lesley Robertson, always knows what biological material is being used, where and by whom. So, no better person to interview to get to know everything about biosafety!

Interview with our Biological Safety Officer