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Biosafety Cabinets - What Are Biosafety Cabinets and Their Classifications?

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Kewaunee Labway
Biosafety Cabinets - What Are Biosafety Cabinets and Their Classifications?

The biosafety cabinets are designed to safely work with harmful pathogens. The biosafety cabinets are mostly used in different types of laboratories such as biotech, pathological, clinical etc. Depending on the use, the BSC are classified into many types, as given below:

 

1. Class I Biosafety Cabinets

 

These are the ventilated cabinets that offer environmental and personnel protection. But these do not offer any extensive coverage for the products from outside contamination. So, they are limited in use. The cabinets have a HEPA filter at the end of the exhaust outlet. These cabinets are mostly used at the level 1 to 3 of the biosafety cabinets containment, depending on the application.

 

2. Class II Biosafety Cabinets

 

Class II BSC offer higher levels of protection compared to Class I biosafety cabinets. In addition to environment and personnel, Class II BSC offer product protection. These cabinets have an open front for the inward airflow for the personal protection and downward HEPA-filtered airflow for the product protection feature. These cabinets also have the HEPA-filter similar to the Class I BSC, offering environment protection.

 

Class II biosafety cabinets are further classified into multiple types, namely, A1 and A2, B1 and B2, and C1.

 

• Type A1

Type A1 BSCs are required to have a minimum of 75 fpm (0.38 m/s) inflow. A canopy can be used on an A1 only to control nuisance doors.

 

• Type A2

 

Type A2 BSCs must have a minimum 100 fpm (0.51 m/s) inflow. In addition to controlling nuisance odour, similar to A1, the canopies in A2 cabinets also control safe concentrations of chemicals.



• Type B1

 

Type B1 cabinet must maintain a minimum average inflow velocity of 100 fpm through the sash opening.

 

• Type B2

 

Type B2 cabinets, like B1, must maintain a minimum average inflow velocity of 100 fpm through the sash opening. Additionally, these cabinets exhaust all air outside without any recirculation, after filtration through a HEPA filter. Hence, these are also called as Total Exhaust Cabinets.

 

• Type C1

 

Type C1 cabinets must maintain a minimum average inflow velocity of 105 fpm through the sash opening. The unique feature is they can operate in two modes – recirculation mode like Type A or exhaust mode like Type B.

 

3. Class III Biosafety Cabinets

 

Class III BSCs are leak-tight and fully enclosed. They are also commonly referred to as Glove Boxes, as it has an attached rubber gloves for performing sterile operations.

 

Conclusion:

 

https://www.kewaunee.in/ is one of the leading providers of biosafety cabinets in the industry. Kewaunee’s Interceptor biosafety cabinets are NSF certified for safety and performance. More details can be had from https://www.kewaunee.in/biological-safety-cabinet.php.

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