Occupational Safety in Chemosensitivity Tests: A Method to Minimize the Risk of Contamination While Maximizing the Safety for the Examiner

Abstract

In vitro chemosensitivity tests are a widely used and established method in research. In laboratory environments, work safety is particularly important when working with carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic (CMR) substances. When working with cell cultures, minimizing the risk of contamination with CMR substances and protecting the experimenter must be in the foreground of the experimental setup since risk minimization and occupational safety when handling CMR substances are mandatory. To minimize any personnel risk, studies with solid CMR substances should be carried out in a closed system. However, publications on occupational health and safety in laboratory environments in which CMR substances are tested in cell cultures are rare. Therefore, this article presents an easily applicable and safe method for improving work safety for in vitro chemosensitivity tests when working with CMR substances while also taking cell culture hygiene into account. For this purpose, a risk assessment of the test design was carried out, and the steps that were decisive for safety were highlighted. Some user-friendly and easily reproducible elements are presented, which increase the occupational safety of in vitro chemosensitivity assays, especially by reducing the risk of personnel contamination.