Microbiological Studies on the Performance of a Laminar Airflow Biological Cabinet

Abstract

Engineering and microbiological tests indicated that a typical, commercial laminar airflow cabinet was not effective in providing either product protection or agent containment. The cabinet was modified and tested through a series of alternate configurations to establish a set of design criteria. A mock-up cabinet was developed from these design criteria. The mock-up unit was evaluated for efficiency in providing both product protection and agent containment. In these evaluations, challenge methods were developed to simulate normal, in-use laboratory operations. Controlled bacterial or viral aerosol challenges were used at higher than normal levels to provide stringent test conditions. Test results indicated that the mock-up unit was considerably better in preventing agent penetration (0.1 to 0.2 particles per 100 ft 3 of air) than the commercial cabinet (5 to 6 particles per 100 ft 3 of air) during product protection tests. Similarly, agent containment was considerably better in the new cabinet (particle escape of 2 to 3 per 100 ft 3 of air at only one of the five test sites) than in the commercial cabinet (particle escape of 2 to 14 per 100 ft 3 of air at three of the five test sites).

CXXIX. Biological safety cabinets for contamination control

“…The establishment of true laminar flow was enhanced by orienting the window parallel to the rear wall of the work space. The efficiency of the design was proven by tests using a microbial indicator system (11), and demonstrated not only exceptional product protection but operator protection as well.…”