Before starting we all got a (bio)safety training and we follow the lab (bio)safety rules and standard operating procedures. All plasticware (tips etc.) are disposed as biohazard waste. Liquid cultures are sterilized using bleach and an autoclave, petri dishes are also sterilized using an autoclave. The laminar flow cabinets (biosafety cabinet level 2) work with a laminar vertical flow, as these are safer. Other general measures are lab coats and gloves.
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<h3 id="collector">Measures for the water collector</h3>
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For our project, we are attaching modified <i>E. coli</i> Top10 cells to our water collector. As the water gets collected, there will be a small risk that the attachted bacteria will also find their way into the collected water. Our used bacteria is however a risk group 1 organism, with little to no risk for causing disease in humans. For our prototype, no further safety measures are therefor taken.
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For future development, there are several paths that can be taken to make the collected water even more safe for drinking. The first could be to add a killing switch to the bacteria, or make the <i>E. coli</i> auxotrophic. Ideally, we could transplant the whole engineered system into a GRAS bacteria already used for feed application and probiotica such as <i>Lactobacillus</i> sp., and <i>Bifidobacterium</i> sp.
