Difference between revisions of "Team:Cambridge-JIC/Safety"
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A microscope such as the one we have developed has very few safety concerns. Microscopy is a well-established field, dating back hundreds of years, and techniques for it are common practice and ensure safety. The two potential safety hazards are damage to eyes and skin from the illumination, and risk of electric shock.</p> | A microscope such as the one we have developed has very few safety concerns. Microscopy is a well-established field, dating back hundreds of years, and techniques for it are common practice and ensure safety. The two potential safety hazards are damage to eyes and skin from the illumination, and risk of electric shock.</p> | ||
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− | <h4>Lighting safety</h4> | + | <h4><b>Lighting safety</b></h4> |
<p style="font-size: 120%"> | <p style="font-size: 120%"> | ||
Some fluorescent compounds require UV light in order to excite them to emit radiation. UV light is potentially harmful to the eyes and skin if not used with caution, and should be handled carefully. However, the wavelength of UV light used (395 nm) is well above the wavelength considered most harmful to humans, around 260-270nm [1], and the power of the LEDs used is fairly low. Any UV radiation a user would normally be exposed to while using our microscope would be significantly less intense than that of sunlight, so this was not considered a serious safety issue. | Some fluorescent compounds require UV light in order to excite them to emit radiation. UV light is potentially harmful to the eyes and skin if not used with caution, and should be handled carefully. However, the wavelength of UV light used (395 nm) is well above the wavelength considered most harmful to humans, around 260-270nm [1], and the power of the LEDs used is fairly low. Any UV radiation a user would normally be exposed to while using our microscope would be significantly less intense than that of sunlight, so this was not considered a serious safety issue. | ||
All the lights in the final design of OpenScope are contained within the epi-cube, so no direct light from them will reach the user.</p> | All the lights in the final design of OpenScope are contained within the epi-cube, so no direct light from them will reach the user.</p> | ||
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− | <h4>Electrical safety</h4> | + | <h4><b>Electrical safety</b></h4> |
<p style="font-size: 120%"> | <p style="font-size: 120%"> | ||
OpenScope uses electric light and it is computer-controlled, which involves the use of electricity in our microscope. All electricity used to run OpenScope was 12V DC or lower, which is a safe voltage. Anyone who builds one will need to do some wiring, but all instructions are clear and designed to minimise risk. | OpenScope uses electric light and it is computer-controlled, which involves the use of electricity in our microscope. All electricity used to run OpenScope was 12V DC or lower, which is a safe voltage. Anyone who builds one will need to do some wiring, but all instructions are clear and designed to minimise risk. | ||
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− | <h4>Biosafety</h4> | + | <h4><b>Biosafety</b></h4> |
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− | The biological side of the project involved | + | The biological side of the project involved standard, routine transformations with fluorescent proteins in order to test our equipment. <i>Marchantia</i>, the transformed plant we imaged, is a common weed which poses no threat to humans. However, we were kindly supplied with pre-transformed GFP-expressing <i>Marchantia</i>, and were not required to carry out any of our own transformations using <i>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</i>. As part of our collaborations, we performed transformations of <i>E. coli</i> provided by the William and Mary iGEM team. This was done following the same protocol they used and with standard safety procedures. For more information see our <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Team:Cambridge-JIC/Collaborations" class="blue">Collaborations Page</a>. |
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Revision as of 16:24, 12 September 2015