Team:HKU-Hong Kong/Safety

Biosafety

Biological materials are essential to our experiments involving work with microbes (natural or recombinant). While we have enjoyed our time in the labs doing experiments, the Biosafety committee at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) closely monitored all of our research activities and took great care to ensure that all procedures carried out in the lab were conducted in such a way as was not hazardous to the health of the students, the community or the environment. Our project mainly involved plasmid construction and simple genetic modifications. These activities on the molecular level were carried out with great care within the laboratory and they are only related to the regulation of protein expression and speed control in the E.coli systems. We made sure not to release reagents that could pose a biosafety hazard to the environment or individuals in the project. All of our procedures followed the biosafety policy and regulations that were distributed by the biosafety committee when we received safety talks and lab training before gaining access to the labs. Regarding the safety of our biobricks, they only code for non-hazardous molecules such as streptavidin, specific translational repressors and devices for motility control. These constructed plasmids and transformed bacteria are limited to laboratory and they are not released to the environment or near the presence of people. Throughout the preparation period we have observed the Biosafety regulations issued by the Department of Biochemistry, University of Hong Kong. No harm has been inflicted on either our researchers or the general public. Below is a link to the Biological Safety Policy and Guidance Document which we have followed while performing experiments.

[http://www.hku.hk/safety/pdf/HKUBSP.pdf Biosafety regulations]