Biological safety cabinetry

Abstract

The biological safety cabinet is the one piece of laboratory and pharmacy equipment that provides protection for personnel, the product, and the environment. Through the history of laboratory-acquired infections from the earliest published case to the emergence of hepatitis B and AIDS, the need for health care worker protection is described. A brief description with design, construction, function, and production capabilities is provided for class I and class III safety cabinets. The development of the high-efficiency particulate air filter provided the impetus for clean room technology, from which evolved the class II laminar flow biological safety cabinet. The clean room concept was advanced when the horizontal airflow clean bench was manufactured; it became popular in pharmacies for preparing intravenous solutions because the product was protected. However, as with infectious microorganisms and laboratory workers, individual sensitization to antibiotics and the advent of hazardous antineoplastic agents changed the thinking of pharmacists and nurses, and they began to use the class II safety cabinet to prevent adverse personnel reactions to the drugs. How the class II safety cabinet became the mainstay in laboratories and pharmacies is described, and insight is provided into the formulation of National Sanitation Foundation standard number 49 and its revisions. The working operations of a class II cabinet are described, as are the variations of the four types with regard to design, function, air velocity profiles, and the use of toxins. The main certification procedures are explained, with examples of improper or incorrect certifications. The required levels of containment for microorganisms are given. Instructions for decontaminating the class II biological safety cabinet of infectious agents are provided; unfortunately, there is no method for decontaminating the cabinet of antineoplastic agents.

Characterization and Control of Airborne Particles Emitted During Production of Epoxy/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites

“…Airflows are substantially different in biosafety cabinets, mainly because of the presence of a front suction slot, which creates an air curtain across the front aperture. (23,24) This air curtain separates the outside atmosphere and the inside space of the cabinet, preventing escape of contaminants from containment. These observations suggest that biosafety cabinets may be an appropriate control measure to contain exposure during sanding of CNT-reinforced epoxy The P/B ratio less than unity observed during sanding with the biosafety cabinet LEV (Table II-b; 0.66) suggests that the mass concentration was greater in the background than that during sanding.…”

Basic Laboratory Safety and General Survey of the Turkish Laboratory Safety Status

“…Mikrobiyolojik BGK, ilk olarak 1900'lü yılların başında tüberkülin hazırlanması sırasında Mycobacterium tuberculosis ile enfeksiyonun önlenmesi için bir havalandırmalı kabin oluşturulması ile başlamış (14) ve günümüze kadar çok büyük değişiklikler geçirmiştir. BGK, çalışan personeli, çevreyi ve ürünü korumak amacıyla hava akımı düzenlenmiş cihazlardır.…”

“…Eliminasyon, BGK'leri içerisindeki mekanik hava ve ventilasyon yolu üzerine yerleştirilmiş, boron silikat mikrofiberlerinden oluşmuş ve alüminyum ayıraçlarla ayrılmış ince tabakalardan oluşan HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air; Yüksek Etkinlikte Partikül Yakalayıcı) adı verilen filtre veya filtre sistemleri tarafından sağlanmaktadır. HEPA, 0.3 mikrondan daha büyük mikrobiyal parçacıkların % 99.97'sini tutarak havayı mikrobiyal partiküllerden arındırmaktadır (14,15). Sınıf I, II ve III olmak üzere üç sınıf BGK tanımlanmıştır.…”

“…Çeker ocağa benzer ancak HEPA filtresi ile çevreye çıkan havayı temizleyip verir. Basit tasarımları ve daha ucuz olmaları nedeniyle personel korumak amacıyla dünyada halen yaygın olarak kullanılmaktadır (14)(15)(16) …”

Isolator System For Laboratory Infectious Animals

“…This kind of cabinet can not provide completely physical barrier for safeguarding animal and occupational health and the odors and allergens environment, because the directly face-to-face manipulation exist between animal and operator in the research procedure. The Class III biological safety cabinet (glove box) was mainly used for experiment operation (Kruse et al, 1991), its internal work area was maintained negative pressure during running state, it was able to provide security, even in the physical prevent contamination system failure. The requirements for wind speed and pressure were relatively higher to maintain the glove box internal laminar flow, but were not conducive to animal care, the occupants had to suffer high stress and uncomfortable environment under the high velocity air flow.…”