Biological safety cabinets, or BSCs, are highly regulated pieces of equipment that provide a physical barrier and a containment wall between the hazardous organism and lab personnel. They also provide an extra layer of protection to prevent contamination or cross-contamination in an emergency.
In research laboratories, this type of equipment is used for access and manipulations with bio-hazardous agents such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins. Therefore, certain precautions must be taken when using BSCs in order to secure the premises against the risks of exposure to these infectious agents.
These cabinets provide a completely safe and secure storage option for different laboratory samples. They ensure that all the toxic elements in a lab are contained and accounted for to ensure a safe working space for everyone. Here’s a rundown of five major benefits of using these biological safety cabinets in laboratories:
Safety And Security
The primary purpose of Biological Safety Cabinets is to prevent contamination and cross-contamination. This can be done by using flocculent powders, biohazard bags, masks, and gloves. There are also anti-contamination products that can be used to clean and sterilize the work area before and after a research experiment has been conducted.
BSCs are very effective in contacting bio-hazardous agents in the air or coming through open doors or windows for access inside labs. The main point is that nothing touches the work surface without a special mask to prevent cross-infection, which poses issues for contamination from being spread from one experiment to another.
Securing Valuable Samples
Several valuable samples and stocks of material used for research and experiments must be protected from contamination. These may be dangerous samples that are toxic, have a high risk of infection, or possess infectious agents, including cancer cells or viruses. Normally, biological safety cabinets are used for storing various delicate as well as hazardous materials including:
Chemicals and strong acids
Biological samples like organs, tissues, etc.
Substances that react vigorously with air and pollutants
Using BSCs allows for the storage, treatment, and manipulation of these biological specimens in a safe environment and provides for their transportation through secured cabinets. In addition, this equipment does not require personal protective gear because it is designed to keep the outer doors closed during use, with only one person allowed into the cabinet at any time.
Containment And Control
BSCs used in laboratories must have an outside and inside layer that acts as a physical barrier. This outer, sterile container allows the processing of biological specimens while ensuring that no contamination is introduced into the lab and no exotic organisms enter the environment. These chambers offer active protection against pollutants and air particles.
Proteins, cells, or other materials can be stored in this unit without the risk of invasion from outside sources. It is contained by a steel wall and two half-inch thick doors. The dialysis membrane of the bio-containment chamber filters out drugs while allowing certain essential materials to pass through. This helps with efficient and effective pharmaceutical application and prevents deadly side effects.
Preventing Exposure To Infectious Agents
Numerous infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites pose a risk of causing infection or even death in humans when exposed to them. BSCs are made of stainless steel to prevent the introduction of hazardous biological agents into the lab and prevent contamination.
This kind of equipment is placed in an air-tight room with a biohazard bag, and a plastic frame called a barrier frame around it. This barrier frame allows for viewing and viewing through the bags, but no direct contact is allowed.
Accommodating Various Samples
BSCs may be used for both containment and processing of samples. These units also allow researchers to safely store different types of samples inside them without any issue or risk of contamination or exposure to any kind of bio-hazardous agent. In addition, using this type of equipment makes for easy manipulation and preservation of the samples and transportation and storage.
Biological safety cabinets have been used to transport organs and other human samples such as blood. This is one example of when a BSC would be appropriate to use in a hospital while maintaining the highest possible security, safety, and contamination prevention standards.
When it comes to research laboratories, biological safety cabinets provide an extra layer of protection when working with bio-hazardous samples or toxic, infectious, or dangerous substances. You will be surprised to see how greatly you can improve your efficiency of safe and effective storage with the help of these biological safety cabinets.