S1 Lab - Where do you do DIY Bio?

[swish]

Hi,

playing with DNA as DIY Bio is nice, but if you also want do some
synthetic Biology you have to genetically change an organismen. For
these GMO you legally need a Biosafety level 1 lab. And this is
expensive. But where is the point in DIY Bio, when you are not allowed
to even write a simple SynBio Hello World like glowing e.coli? A
community level 1 lab is nice, but how much would it cost to fund one?
Has Biocurious a Biosafety level 1? Do you just do it in a legally
gray area?

I am from Frankfurt, so legal restrictions might be a bit different
than in the US.

greets
Sebastian

[Marc Juul]

Hi Sebastian.

Yes the legal restrictions are very different in the U.S.
Basically the regulations are implemented at the level of the research
institutes and funding agencies instead of at the level of government,
which means that citizen scientists operating out of DIY labs are able
to work without any official certification.

Cathal Garvey in Ireland has a DIYbio lab and has acquired the
necessary BSL-1 certification, so you may want to speak to him if
you're interested in setting up a EU DIYbio lab. Be warned that the
EU-level directives have varying implementations in different
countries, so any advice Cathal gives you should be supplemented by
reading your local laws and guidelines.

--
Marc

[Patrik]

Actually, BSL-1 is cheap. That is the lowest level, and is what you
need to work with E.coli, for example.

And yes, BioCurious is a BSL-1 lab. We're planning to work ourselves
up to BSL-2, so we can do simple things like culturing environmental
isolates etc. You can only work with known lab strains under BSL-1.

[Avery louie]

How cheap is BL1 exactly?  I am curious.  All I hear is that it is "expensive".

--Avery

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[Patrik]

I should have been a bit more precise, rather than just saying "BSL-1
is cheap"

Obviously, setting up a biolab is not necessarily cheap, depending on
how you source your equipment (but see the thread on the $500 lab on
that issue!)

However, once you have all the equipment you need, making sure the lab
conforms to Biosafety Level 1 criteria is relatively straightforward.
For the US, the main official document to look at is the CDC's
"Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories", currently
in its 5th Edition:

http://www.cdc.gov/biosafety/publications/bmbl5/BMBL.pdf

Biosafety Level 1 is described in Section IV, starting page 12. Do
read the full document if you really want your lab to conform to the
BSL-1 requirements. Here's my synopsis:

A. Standard Microbiological Practices: Wash hands, no food in the lab,
proper waste disposal, decontamination, etc. These are mostly
behavioral issues. Proper waste disposal and decontamination can get
expensive, so an autoclave may be a good investment (DIY version:
pressure cooker).

B. Special Practices: None required.

C. Safety Equipment (Primary Barriers and Personal Protective
Equipment): The usual coats/gloves/eyewear. Biosafety cabinets are
*not* required at BSL-1.

D. Laboratory Facilities (Secondary Barriers): Doors for access
control, sink for hand washing, all surfaces easily cleanable, etc.

If you already have all the lab equipment you need, the main hassle in
setting up a BSL-1 lab seems to lie in allocating a dedicated space to
it, with its own sink. The rest is mostly behavioral, although some of
those behaviors (like proper waste disposal) may have their own costs
associated with it.

[Avery louie]

Ah, I thought there would be some sort of inspection or papers that need to be filed.  I guess not!  Good thing too.

--Avery

[swish]

I have read some plans for schools to build a S1 lab. It costs easily
above 60 000 Euros

You need Windows, a door that opens to the outside, a technical Air
supply system, a special floor...

But I did not read the primary sources yet.

Are you in the US even allowed to work with viral DNA when you are
"outside" the rules?

[Patrik]

On Dec 10, 1:13 am, swish <reg...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> I have read some plans for schools to build a S1 lab. It costs easily
> above 60 000 Euros
>
> You need Windows, a door that opens to the outside, a technical Air
> supply system, a special floor...

I suspect that some of these things have nothing to do with the actual
BSL-1 requirements. That may simply be the standard package that
professional biolab contractors offer. The stuff about windows, door
to the outside, and technical air supply, etc. may be related to
having gas lines for Bunsen burners. So plan not to have any Bunsen
burners - if you really need an open flame, you can use a little
alcohol lamp.

You can save a lot of money by cutting some corners, as long as you're
not cutting corners on safety.

[Cathal Garvey]

I set mine up for less than 3k, and doing it again I'm confident I could
do it for less than 1.5k. Also, bunsens are easy: www.brouwland.com
sells gas-cartridge powered bunsens, mine works great!

Although, if you want to avoid bunsens entirely, an alcohol burner in a
HEPA filtered airflow hood (DIY'd with a perspex box and a good air
purifier, for i.e.) can be used to heat loops to sterilise them.

I used a zippo with acetone and isopropanol (separately) and found that
while the former gave a great flame (albiet dangerously invisible), it
evaporated out of the zippo even when closed too quickly to be useful. A
zippo with a little bit of isopropanol works as a portable alcohol
burner. Warning; alcohol burns invisibly and might flash-burn and kill
you. Use with care etc.

--
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