Well, a biosafety cabinet is not an ordinary cabinet. It has a very important role in the lives of people dealing with biohazards. A biological safety cabinet (biosafety cabinet) is used to provide personnel, or both personnel and product protection from biohazardous materials. (See blog: Biosafety Cabinet: Defined).
But how can you ensure that the cabinet you are buying will perform as expected?
It will be troublesome for you (if you are the operator of the cabinet) if it malfunctions unexpectedly, right? So here is a tip to assure the biosafety cabinet's performance - look for its certification from international standards specific for biosafety cabinets (See blog: All about biosafety cabinet standards).
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| Photo credits from: www.nsf.org |
If the biosafety cabinet is certified to an international standard (NSF and EN are the most common standards in use today) then its performance is established. Take note that it is never easy to comply to a standard. It takes a lot of effort from the company to ensure that its line of biosafety cabinets comply to these international standards.
To pass a particular standard, a biosafety cabinet shall undergo a series of tests, such as:
- Pressure decay/ soap bubble/ tracer gas leak
- HEPA/ ULPA filter leak
- Noise level
- Lighting intensity
- Vibration
- Personnel, product, and cross-contamination protection
- Stability
- Downflow and Inflow velocities
- Inflow velocity
- Airflow smoke patterns
- Drain spillage trough leakage
- Motor/ blower performance
- Electrical safety
There are a lot of tests for a biosafety cabinet to comply with, right? Wew. Well, this is to ensure that the biosafety cabinet will do its part - that is to provide containment for biohazards and protect the operator, product and environment.
See blog: Do you know the Most Certified Biosafety Cabinet in the World?
The certification ensures that all manufactured biosafety cabinets are of quality, safe and efficient.
Aside from the certification, look for exciting features of the cabinet, such as:
- Airflow sensor to monitor real-time airflow for safety and alert the user if airflow is insufficient.
- Microprocessor controller that can display all safety information on one screen.
- Motorized window that conveniently moves by your fingertip.
- Energy-efficient motor that can provide you energy savings.
- ULPA filter that is 10x more efficient than usual HEPA filter.
- LED lamp that lasts 4x longer and is brighter than fluorescent lamp.
- Antimicrobial coating that inhibits microbial growth.
- And many other features unique to a particular biosafety cabinet.
Well, you've looked for the certificate and exciting features and you've decided to buy. That is not the end of it. When a biosafety cabinet has been purchased and delivered to you, it shall be tested during installation. Downflow velocity and uniformity test and filter leak scan (both downflow and exhaust filters) shall be the minimum tests to be performed.
Take note that it is your responsibility to ensure that the cabinet is tested after installation, in order to ensure all the safety requirements have been met.
And voila, you can finally use your very own biosafety cabinet.
Last reminder. Make you acquire recertification of your biosafety cabinet. Do not forget about it.
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| Photo credits from: Esco Biological Safety Cabinets FB Page |
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