Elements and Performance Criteria

RANGE STATEMENT
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Codes of practice
Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, it is expected the latest version will be used
Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements
Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements may include:
Australian and international standards, such as:
AS 1678 Emergency procedure guide -Transport
AS 2252 Biological safety cabinets
AS ISO 17025-2005 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
AS/NZS 2243 Set:2006 Safety in laboratories set
AS/NZS 2982.1:1997 Laboratory design and construction - General requirements
AS/NZS 4187:2003 Cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing reusable medical and surgical instruments and equipment, and maintenance of associated environments in health care facilities
AS/NZS ISO 14000 Set:2005 Environmental management standards set
AS/NZS ISO 9000 Set:2008 Quality management systems set
HB 9-1994 Occupational personal protection
Australian code of good manufacturing practice for medicinal products (GMP)
Australian Dangerous Goods Code
client and product specifications
enterprise procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and quality assurance procedures
gene technology regulations
Guide to physical containment levels and facility types
manufacturer's instructions or verbal direction from laboratory manager, supervisor or senior technician
material safety data sheets (MSDS)
National Code of Practice for the labelling of workplace substances [NOHSC:2012 (1994)]
occupational health and safety (OHS) national standards and codes of practice
operation and maintenance manuals for automated media preparation equipment
principles of good laboratory practice (GLP)
production schedules and instructions
Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1009
verified test methods
Applications of plant tissue/cell culture
Applications of plant tissue/cell culture may include:
mass propagation of commercial species
production of disease free plants by meristem tip culture
conservation of rare plants
haploid plant production by anther/pollen culture
'sports' produced by somaclonal variation
development of resistant plants by directed cell selection
protoplast fusion to produce novel plant hybrids
Applications of animal tissue/cell culture
Applications of animal tissue/cell culture may include:
establishment and maintenance of animal cell lines, such as liver, epidermal and fibroblastic
maintenance of continuous cell lines
preparation of cell cultures for commercial sale
growth and enumeration of viruses
extraction of DNA
extraction of antigens for use in diagnostic tests
research of cell structure and function, cancer and tumour biology
immunofluorescent techniques
testing of media efficacy
production of monoclonal antibodies
production of genetically modified cell cultures
secondary metabolite production
Hazards
Hazards may include:
biohazards, such as infectious agents and oncogenic DNA
chemical and radiation hazards
allergenic factors
cryogenic liquids, such as nitrogen
heat from burners and molten agar
ultraviolet (UV) light
sharps, broken glassware
contaminated clothing
Hazard control measures and safety procedures
Hazard control measures and safety procedures may include:
ensuring access to service shut-off points
recognising and observing hazard warnings and safety signs
labelling of samples, reagents, aliquoted samples and hazardous materials
handling and storage of hazardous materials and equipment in accordance with labelling, MSDS and manufacturer's instructions
identifying and reporting operating problems or equipment malfunctions
cleaning and decontaminating equipment and work areas regularly using enterprise procedures
using personal protective clothing and equipment, such as gloves, safety glasses, coveralls and gowns
using containment facilities (PCII, PCIII and PCIV physical containment laboratories), containment equipment (biohazard containers, laminar flow cabinets, Class I, II and III biohazard cabinets) and containment procedures
following established manual handling procedures
reporting abnormal emissions, discharges and airborne contaminants, such as noise, light, solids, liquids, water/waste water, gases, smoke, vapour, fumes, odour and particulates to appropriate personnel
Tissue culture equipment and facilities
Tissue culture equipment and facilities may include:
growth cabinets
culture vessels, growth chambers, sterile containers, culture plates, flasks and bottles
autoclaves
positive filtration apparatus
auto pipettes and pipette pumps
cell counting chambers and haemocytometer
incubators, including specialised atmosphere carbon dioxide
light and binocular inverted microscopes
centrifuges
Pre-use checks
Pre-use checks include:
performing routine maintenance
checks on raw materials and consumables, including use by date, possible contamination and storage conditions
Sterilisation and disposal of biohazardous wastes
Sterilisation and disposal of biohazardous wastes may include:
steam and high pressure air or steam
boiling, microwaving and autoclaving
filtration
gas, chemical and radiation
Plant tissues and cells
Plant tissues and cells may include:
plant tissue, such as petioles, leaves, stems and petals
meristem tissue
special tissue, such as fern stolon, seed embryos and somatic embryoids
tissue for callus development to initiate cell suspension cultures
Animal tissues and cells
Animal tissues and cells may include:
primary cells from animal tissue, such as heart, liver, kidney and epidermal
secondary cells, such as epithelial, endothelial and fibroblast
continuous cell lines, such as tumour lines, hybidomers and transformed lines (Epstein-Barr virus)
Preparing a primary culture
Preparing a primary culture may involve:
thawing of cryopreserved cells and monitoring of cell recovery
enzymatic disaggregation from tissue
mechanical disaggregation from tissue
primary explant technique
pre-treatment
disinfestation of explants using hypochlorite and water
Suitable culture conditions
Suitable culture conditions may include:
specified temperature and light intensity
appropriate atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide
shaking of cell suspensions or roller bottles
conditions for establishment, multiplication or planting out
special conditions for protoplast culture
Monitoring growth of tissue and cell lines
Monitoring growth of tissue and cell lines may include:
identification of normal and abnormal cells viewed by an inverted stereo microscope
recognition of contamination, such as bacteria (e.g. Mycoplasma), fungi and other plant or animal tissue in the media
checking growth rates
performing viable cell counts
Subculture
Subculture may include:
treatment of callus to multiply or regenerate shoots
treatment to encourage adventitious bud
treatment to encourage rooting
subculture of embryoids
cell suspensions
preparation of protoplasts
Occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental management requirements
OHS and environmental management requirements:
all operations must comply with enterprise OHS and environmental management requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation - these requirements must not be compromised at any time
all operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied
where relevant, users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and State and Territory Departments of Health

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Assessors should ensure that candidates can:
work safely and satisfy all legal and regulatory requirements, including the use and care of biohazard cabinets
prepare, dilute and sterilise reagents and culture media that are fit for purpose
grow cell lines and tissue to specifications without contaminating the original sample and the environment
identify expected cell types and recognise normal and abnormal cells using an inverted microscope
count cells (total and viable)
monitor cell growth and recognises problems, such as contamination
maintain chain of custody, traceable to the worker, of all cell lines, tissues, logs of work completed and procedures/methods used.

Context of and specific resources for assessment
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment.
This unit of competency may be assessed with:
MSL933001A Maintain the laboratory/field workplace fit for purpose
MSL973003A Prepare culture media
MSL973007A Perform microscopic examination.
Resources may include:
laboratory equipped with appropriate equipment, samples, cell lines and reagents
enterprise procedures and standard methods.

Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
examination of tissue and cell cultures prepared by the candidate
observation of the candidate preparing a range of tissue and cell cultures
review of work records and results obtained by candidate
feedback from supervisors and peers on adherence to enterprise/technical procedures
questioning to assess underpinning knowledge.
In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.
Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.
Access must be provided to appropriate learning and/or assessment support when required.
The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work like environment.

This competency in practice
Industry representatives have provided the case studies below to illustrate the practical application of this unit of competency and to show its relevance in a workplace setting.
Biotechnology
A laboratory assistant maintains a leucocyte cell line which is used to routinely produce monoclonal antibodies which have been ordered by researchers. The assistant's job is to ensure that the cell line's growth is optimised to ensure a regular supply of high quality product. Every day, she/he checks for growth and contamination by aseptically removing a sample for microscopic examination. She/he also checks the colour of the pH indicator in the media and records cell line characteristics, such as its appearance, number of cells and any evidence of contamination in her/his laboratory notebook. She/he also checks the incubator temperature and atmosphere together with the labelling and possible leakage of flasks.
Education
A laboratory assistant at a regional university is instructed to prepare 95 flasks of Vero (African green monkey kidney) cells for a practical class in three weeks time. She/he routinely passages the cells once per week and usually splits the flasks into six. She/he has three flasks routinely subcultured from last week and calculates that these can be subcultured to produce the required number of flasks while holding back some flasks from each subculture as a back up in case of contamination and for routine passaging after the practical class. She/he prepares the 95 flasks in the third week and checks them for obvious bacterial or fungal contamination and for Mycoplasma contamination. She/he labels all the flasks with the required information, records all the steps in the laboratory cell culture log and puts the flasks out in the teaching laboratory just prior to the class.