Description
The primary purpose of a BSC is to serve as a means to protect the laboratory worker and the surrounding environment from pathogens. All exhaust air is HEPA-filtered as it exits the biosafety cabinet, removing harmful bacteria and viruses. This is in contrast to a laminar flow clean bench, which blows unfiltered exhaust air towards the user and is not safe for work with pathogenic agents. Neither are most BSCs safe for use as fume hoods. Likewise, a fume hood fails to provide the environmental protection that HEPA filtration in a BSC would provide however, most classes of BSCs have a secondary purpose to maintain the sterility of materials inside (the "product")
Class I: The Class I biological safety cabinet is an open-front negative pressure cabinet the exhaust air from the cabinet is filtered by a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. The Class I biosafety cabinet will provide personnel and environmental protection, but not product protection. Class II: The Class II vertical laminar-flow biological cabinet is an open-front, ventilated cabinet. This cabinet provides a HEPA-filtered, recirculated mass airflow within the work space. The exhaust air from the cabinet is also filtered by HEPA filters. Thus, the Class II biosafety cabinet will provide personnel, environment and product protection. While HEPA filters are effective for trapping particulates and infectious agents, these filters will not capture volatile chemicals or gases Class III: The Class III cabinet is a totally enclosed ventilated cabinet of gas-tight construction. Operations within the Class III cabinet are conducted through attached rubber gloves. When in use, the Class III cabinet is maintained through negative air pressure of at least 0.5 inches water gauge. Supply air is drawn into the cabinet through HEPA filters. The cabinet exhaust air is filtered by two HEPA filters, installed in series, before discharge outside of the facility. The exhaust fan for the Class III cabinet is generally separate from the exhaust fans of the facility's ventilation system.
Customised Configurations and Sizes are available upon request.