A biosafety cabinet bsc also called a biological safety cabinet or microbiological safety cabinet is an enclosed ventilated laboratory workspace for safely working with materials contaminated with or potentially contaminated with pathogens requiring a defined biosafety level.
Uses and principle of operation of biosafety cabinet.
The terms biological safety cabinet and biosafety cabinet have been widely used to describe a variety of containment devices equipped with hepa filter s designed to provide personnel or both personnel and product protection from biohazardous materials.
A bsc serves as a means to protect the laboratory worker and the surrounding e.
Environmental protection from contaminants contained within the cabinet.
With proper techniques activities within the work area can be performed safely minimizing the chance of cross contamination.
The purpose of containment is to reduce or eliminate the exposure to potentially hazardous agents of laboratory workers other persons and the outside environment.
Improper use of a biological safety cabinet can result in contaminated cultures and expose workers to infectious organisms.
In varying degrees a laminar flow biological safety cabinet is designed to provide three basic types of protection.
The term containment describes safe methods or properly managing infectious agents in the laboratory environment where they are being handled or maintained.
Biological safety cabinet a piece of equipment designed to protect the operator the laboratory environment and work materials from exposure to infectious aerosols and splashes that may be generated when manipulating substances containing infectious agents such as viruses bacteria and primary tissue cultures.
Primary containment which is the protection of personnel and the immediate laboratory environment from exposure to infectious agents is provided.
Personnel protection from harmful agents inside the cabinet.
This chapter discusses the purpose principle of operation specifications and applications of biosafety cabinet bsc.
Product protection to avoid contamination of the work experiment or process.
The air mixes with the recirculating air stream and passes through a hepa filter downward toward the work surface creating a contamination free zone.
Follow these guidelines for working safely in a biological safety cabinet bsc.
Improved principles ofbiological safety cabinet design true laminar airflow unidirectional airflow moving along parallel flow lines at a constant velocity minimizes air turbulence within the work zone.