Safety has been an integral part of our project design and implementation. In accordance with standard lab safety protocols, all students were properly trained on lab techniques and safety and were equipped with proper personal protection equipment (gloves, labcoat, safety glasses). All solid, liquid, and biohazard waste was disposed of in the proper manner. This was especially important as much of our research relied on the use of ferricyanide and pyocyanin which would have very negative effects on the environment if disposed of wrong.

While not deemed a particularly hazardous chemical, ferricyanide is recorded to be very harmful to aquatic life and ecosystems. Additionally pyocyanin also poses an environmental and health risk if disposed of improperly as pyocyanin is acutely toxic if swallowed and can cause serious eye irritation.

In addition to the previously mentioned compounds, we used E. Coli in our research to conduct bacterial transformations and protein expression. The E. coli used were DH5α and BL21 DE3 which are both biosafety level 1( BSL1) and less harmful than other strains. However, in order to minimize possible contamination or risks, all work was conducted under the supervision of graduate students who ensured that proper technique and disposal were maintained during experiments.

A major component of our project was pyocyanin. As mentioned earlier, pyocyanin can be very toxic if swallowed and can cause irritation if it gets into the eyes. We used pyocyanin in the form of a powder. In order to limit exposure and avoid inhalation, pyocyanin was emptied or transferred within a biosafety cabinet.

Additionally, safety glasses were worn in order to avoid possible splashes onto the eyes or face. While we used pyocyanin as a biomarker of P.aeruginosa, we did not work directly with the P. aeruginosa bacteria so exposure was very limited and not a major safety concern.