"
Biosafety
From 2009.igem.org
Safety Answers to Questions
1. Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of : • researcher safety, • public safety, or • environmental safety?
- Actually, it may raise partially safety issues since our project, Wound Dressing, actually raise safety issues about cancer and microbial infection. However, when we deeply search about the cancer and its relation with our project, we find out that cancer doesn’t depend on EGF amount. It depends on the EGF receptor amount . Since we are just increasing the EGF amount, as our most society knows the opposite, there is no cancer risk. In addition to this, for microbial infection risk, we have taken many precautions. Our embedded switch mechanism, granulysin protein and the polyurethane layers provide enough safety and these precautions are approved by authorities of university. The other two project ideas, bacteriaflow and bactoplus also don’t raise any safety issue since they are both require working only with bacteria.
2. Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution?
- Actually, since the meetings of our biosafety groups do not meet in very short term periods, our project ideas are not discussed at a meeting. However, we have planned meetings with all the academic personal who may be responsible from safety in his/her field. We have arranged meetings with most of these personnel and they applied that our ideas and works apply the safety rules.
3. What does your local biosafety group think about your project?
- Every single member of biosafety member has approached suspicious to this issue;since, we interfere with the actual healing mechanism. However, when we explain the procedures and the precautions, they apply what we have done so far.
4.Do any of the new BioBrick parts that you made this year raise any safety issues? If yes, did you document these issues in the Registry?
- The BBa_K258010 of our biobrick part has raised suspicion because it is known to induce cancer in most society. However, when we talked about this part with academic staff who is making research about cancer, they have guaranteed that in most cancer cases, the problem is about the receptors; not the EGF protein . Therefore, because we mention in this page, we do not need to mention about this issue about the part’s page since it may be counted as unnecessary information. The other parts of us do not raise any safety issue.
OUR SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
1. The on/off switch mechanism of our bacteria(via Quaroum Sensing): Since we do not want to produce excess amount of proteins and these proteins being accumulated in the second layer (thin polyurethane, we added a switch mechanism to our product. When not used our bacteria will not synthesize EGF proteins. The mechanism is opened with the activation of EGF synthesizing E. Coli with oxygen presence and lysis of both type of bacteria with the quorum sensing mechanism of KGF synthesizing bacteria.
2. Lyophilized bacteria: Owing to the fact that metabolism of bacteria needs to be stopped, we lyophilized our bacteria. Therefore, when not used, our bacteria will not release any protein to outside until it is used.
3. Granulysin embedded gelatin sponge: The granulysin protein is an antimicrobial protein affecting both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Therefore, by using this protein in the last layer, we provided both the invasion of our bacteria to the wound and sterilize the wounded area.
4. Thin polyurethane layer: This layer will function as a filter which inhibits the transport of bacteria to gelatin layer. By this layer, invasion of bacteria to the wound will also be prevented.
5. Thick Polyurethane layer: This layer will only allow the small molecules such as gases to enter the wound dressing. Since we don’t want any contamination of the the area which bacteria have been cultivated, we added this layer. Moreover, this layer has many advantegous properties. One of them is its protective character. This layer will protect the wounded area from shocks and other interference. The other property is elastic properties. Since wounds have flexible environment, if something which is not flexible is placed, they will not stay at the place which it was placed. Therefore, its plasticity help us to establish wound dressing on wounds.
6. Parafilm covering: For our mechanism to function properly, oxygen should not enter the wound dressing until utilization. This layer will help us to prevent gas entrance to our wound dressing.
