Biological Safety Cabinets

Purposes of Biohazard Safety Cabinets

A biosafety cabinet has three basic uses: personnel, product, and environmental. Personnel protection is when the operator is secured from any hazardous accidents while unsafe pathogens are released from within the BSC. When the operator works with a biological safety hood, they are protected by unidirectional air downflow and the work opening's air curtain.

Product protection occurs when the processes, techniques, or experiments carried out within the laboratory are prevented from hazardous toxins and impurities. Environmental protection is the most significant purpose of a biosafety cabinet because it involves the protection of the entire workplace in which the person operates. Cleaning up the workplace environment is a prerequisite to performing the other two protection functions.

Classification and Certification Process

When choosing a biological safety cabinet, classification is an important factor to consider. The standards of each type of cabinet are different depending on the purpose that each one has. BSCs are classified into three types.

Uncertified or expired biosafety cabinets are strictly prohibited for use in labs because of the infectious microorganisms that might be emitted through their operation.

Types of Biohazard Cabinets

There are three main classes of biosafety cabinets. They differ regarding their applications and the type of biosafety that they are capable of providing. A biosafety cabinet's protection level increases from Class I to III. Class I is not suitable for samples but protects users and the environment around them. The second class provides protection for samples, environments, and users but is divided into subtypes (the difference is between exhaust systems). The last, Class III (or so-called glove boxes), is famous for giving maximum protection. Our company provides all three classes, and they have industry-wide usage in both the public and private sectors.

Our biosafety cabinets are designed to provide the best possible risk protection in the medical, education, and healthcare industries. Customers from a wide range of industries buy our biosafety cabinets because of the standards that we have maintained.

Recommendations for Usage

Being a supplier, it is our responsibility to guide you through the methods of operating our cabinets:

Safety cabinets must be operated in an environment with less traffic and without any drafts. This will help avoid the spread of infections and diseases.

UV lights must be turned off while fluorescent lights must be turned on.

Turn on the air blower at the beginning.

Before using a biological safety cabinet for the first time, qualify its protection efficiency. Remember, cabinet qualification is required each time after its relocation.

The operator must be extremely cautious while carrying out all processes.

When in a biosafety cabinet, the operator should wear a lab coat and long gloves.

All contaminated things must be separated from clean materials in the lab so that they are not mixed up.

Locate all the tools and materials as far from the work opening as possible, but make sure the rear air grille is not closed

Procedures that disrupt the operation of safety cabinets, such as constant movement of the operator's hands and excessive moving of materials, must be avoided entirely.

Regular disinfection of a biosafety cabinet is essential because sterilization provides greater safety for materials, workers, and the environment. However, while decontaminating BSCs, some serious precautions need to be taken. For instance, you must always wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when sterilizing cabinets’ surfaces. PPE should at least include a laboratory coat, special gloves, and long pants. Eyes must be protected as well. It is also highly recommended to protect your feet by wearing closed-toe shoes.

If you have been working with highly infectious substances, your biosafety cabinet must be sterilized before you change HEPA filters or move the cabinet. No additional work can be done until the BSC is decontaminated. Typically, the disinfection of a biosafety cabinet is performed by third parties who use vaporized hydrogen peroxide, chlorine dioxide, or formaldehyde.

These recommendations apply to the regular sterilization of most biosafety cabinets. Before carrying out such a procedure for the first time or for specific disinfection procedures, it is advised to refer to the manufacturer’s operation and maintenance manual for additional instructions.

Tips to Keep in Mind Before and During Your Experiment

Preparation is a significant part of any experiment. Ensure that you understand the internal workings and limitations of your BSC (biological safety cabinet) and follow the below tips to ensure maximum safety.

Before Your Experiment

Many biosafety cabinets are intended to run around the clock. If your safety cabinet has been turned off, you must turn it back on at least five minutes before you begin working. In this way, the cabinet's blowers can remove contaminants and particulates from the equipment.

During the Experiment

• It would be best to move slowly to prevent destabilizing the air streams in BSCs. To remove surface impurities, you should wait for roughly a minute before placing them inside your BSC. Also, before removing them from the cabinet, ensure to surface cleanse them. When using a Class II BSC, avoid resting your arms on the front grille and instead work as far back into the cabinet as ergonomically possible.

• Avoid the creation of aerosols in Class II or III BSCs by keeping a lid or cover on top of your dishes and plates. Keep tubes and bottles in an elevated position and close them when not in use.

• Avoid using open flames in a microbiological safety cabinet at all costs. Microorganisms cannot fall into a tube or flask if the neck of the culture vessel is set on fire on an open bench. If there is an open flame in a BSC, it will impede the flow of the HEPA-filtered air delivered to the work surface.

• You should use Bunsen burners with on-demand ignition if you need open flames. A leaking Bunsen burner, tube, or valve could go unnoticed in recirculating BSCs and cause an explosion, increasing the danger of contamination.

• You can use an in-house vacuum system or freestanding aspiration equipment to aspirate and collect biological liquid waste. Your collection bottle must be connected to an overflow bottle containing disinfection, and your vacuum source must be shielded from aerosols by a HEPA filter when using in-house developed vacuum systems.