• Group of enclosures where the biosafety cabinets belong

• Enclosures with defined airflow

• BIOSAFETY CABINET • CLEAN BENCHES • CHEMICAL FUME HOOD
▪ Product- protect our product from contamination

▪ Personnel- we protect ourselves as personnel, our co workers from

any harmful or hazardous exposure from the samples we are
working on. Also protecting ourselves from hazardous chemicals.

▪ Environment- we protect the people in the community from the

harmful effects of the sample we are working on
 CHEMICAL CLEAN BIOSAFETY
FUME BENCH/PCR CABINET
HOOD CABINET
Product No Yes Yes
protection
Personnel Yes No Yes
Protection
Environment No/Yes No Yes
Protection
▪Use of HEPA Filters to clean/filter out the
contaminants from the air.
▪ CHEMICAL FUME HOOD
▪ a ventilated enclosure in which gases,
vapors and fumes are captured and
removed from the work area.
▪ The personnel are handling hazardous
chemical and the personnel should be
protected from it, so the airflow should be
away from the personnel into the hood and
outside away from the personnel
▪ Provides personnel protection
▪ Not for use with highly infectious
materials or environmentally dangerous
substances
▪ Exhaust air not clean/filtered
▪ CLEAN BENCHES
▪ an enclosed laboratory bench that is designed to
prevent pollution and contamination by controlling and
keeping the air cleanliness level at a certain point.
▪ The personnel are preparing PCR mastermixes and
thus must be protected from contamination, so the air
coming from the outside the cabinet must first be filtered
before it goes inside the cabinet
▪ FILTERED AIR GOES INSIDE THE CABINET AND EXITS
WITHOUT FILTRATION
▪ Provides product protection only
▪ Delivers HEPA-filtered air across work surface
▪ Facilitates worker exposure to materials in use
(toxins, allergens, infectious agents)
▪ Exhaust air is not filtered
▪ For Microbiology clean preparation (making agar
plates and sterile media) and Molecular work (PCR
mastermix)
▪ BIOSAFETY CABINETS
▪ All types of protection are achieved
▪ Provide product, personnel and environment
protection
▪ the air outside is filtered before it goes inside the
working space and then the air that goes out the
cabinet is first filtered as well.
▪ HEPA filter
▪ The supplied air inside the cabinet and the
expelled air outside from the cabinet are
clean/filtered.
▪ Used for processing pathogenic or potentially
pathogenic samples.
▪ HEPA filters (High Efficiency Particulate Air)
▪ They are constructed with borosilicated glass and they
are arranged into a random fiber
▪ 99.97% efficiency at 0.3 microns
▪ Larger and smaller particles are filtered at higher
efficiency
▪ Gases and vapors are not removed from the air stream
by HEPA filtration
▪ ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air)
▪ 99.999% efficiency at 0.12 microns

▪ SULPA (Super Ultra Low Penetration Air)

▪ 99.9999% efficiency

▪ *According standards in biosafety HEPA filters

will suffice
▪“ Curtain of air” at the opening
▪ Laminar flow of filtered air within the
BSC
▪ Filtration of exhausted air
▪ Class I
▪ Protects worker and environment

▪ Class II
▪ Worker, product, environmental protection

▪ Class III
▪ Totally enclosed, ventilated, air-tight
▪ Suitable for work at BSL-3 and BSL-4
▪ Absolute containment
▪ Air goes inside the cabinet without filtration but
comes out with filtration
▪ This airflow is the same of that chemical fume
hood except the air is filtered first before goes up.
▪ Open-fronted, negative pressure, ventilated
cabinets
▪ Unsterilized room air enters and circulates within
the cabinet and exhaust air from the cabinet is
filtered by HEPA-filter
▪ No product protection is needed
▪ Opening suspicious mail
▪ Running centrifuges
▪ Housing fermenters
▪ Aerating cultures
▪ Provides personnel, product and environmental protection
▪ Sterilize both the air entering and circulating the cabinet
and exhaust air
▪ ALSO KNOWN AS LAMINAR FLOW
▪ Open front with inward airflow
▪ Downward HEPA filtered laminar flow
▪ HEPA filtered exhaust air
▪ Does not provide absolute containment it can only provide
containment if these three aspects are maintained as such
the containment is provided by balanced directional airflow
in filtration.
▪ Type A1
▪ Type A2
▪ Type B1
▪ Type B2
▪ BIOSAFETY CABINET CLASS II Type A1 & A2
▪ 70% of air is recirculated within the BSC
▪ 30% of air is exhausted through a HEPA into the room
▪ The plenum is Positive Pressure (Negative Pressure -type A2
– with/without canopy)
▪ BIOSAFETY CABINET CLASS II Type B
▪ Hard ducted for exhaust air, no canopy

▪ BIOSAFETY CABINET CLASS II Type B1

▪ 40% is recirculated within the BSC
▪ 60% is exhausted outside the BSC through hard ducting
BIOSAFETY CABINET CLASS II Type B2
▪ 100% of the air is exhausted through the HEPA filtered
outside the BSC through the hard ducting
▪ Both plenums are Negative Pressure
▪ CANOPY
▪ It helps the HVAC
▪ provides an air gap to
allow room air to enter
the ductwork and mix
with the filtered air being
exhausted to the outside.
▪ If the exhaust fan fails, the
BSC can still work because
its not perfectly fit it is still
has a gap
▪ HARD DUCTING

• It must be connected to the HVAC

• It places an extra burden on the
HVAC system
• There should be a supply and
exhaust air interlock
• Redundant exhaust fan is
recommended if the fan in this
hard ducting fails
• Exhaust failure could pressurize
the BSC, thereby reduced
personal protection
▪ There is an absolute containment
▪ Gas-tight
▪ No recirculation of air
▪ Supply air is HEPA filter/ all air
▪ Exhaust air is double HEPA-filtered or HEPA-filtered and
incinerated before being exhausted to the outdoors
▪ Operation in BSC performed through rubber gloves
▪ Must be connected to a double door autoclave and/pr
chemical dunk tanks to sterilize or disinfect air exiting
materials
▪ Conduct risk assessment
▪ Select BSC type based on
▪ Organisms to be handled
▪ Manipulations required of the
laboratorian
▪ Equipment needed
▪ Use of toxic chemicals and
radionuclides
▪ Chemical Fume Hood – use for toxic and hazardous chemicals
▪ Clean Benches or PCR cabinet – for aseptic work only, no personnel protection, costs
around as much as BSC class II A2 without canopy ducting
▪ BSC class I – limited use, discontinued in the market
▪ BSC class II A2 – sweet spot for biohazardous work, provides the required protection
(personnel, product, environment)
▪ BSC class II A2 with canopy ducting – biohazardous work with toxic and hazardous
chemicals
▪ BSC class II B1/B2 – hard ducted, can compromise the HVAC system, expensive to maintain.
▪ BSC class II c1 – no available standards for certification
▪ BSC class III – provides absolute protection – needs constant certification, very expensive to
maintain and procure
▪ Far from the entrance (the rear of the laboratory away from traffic)
▪ Fragile air flow/ curtain of air protection
▪ Fans or laboratory equipment that creates air movements (e.g. centrifuges, vacuum pumps)
should not be located near the BSC.
▪ Chemical fume hoods must not be located close to BSCs.
▪ Minimize disruption of airflow by locating the BSC away from:
▪ Doors and windows
▪ Personnel traffic
▪ Supply air ducts
▪ Other lab equipment
 12
40 INCHES INCHES
 80 60
INCHES INCHES
40 INCHES 12
INCHES
 120 40
INCHES/10 FT INCHES
 48
INCHES 60 INCHES
 40 INCHES
40 60 INCHES
INCHES
▪ Biosafety cabinet
▪ PRIMARY CONTAINMENT
▪ Curtain of air protection is fragile and must be maintain
▪ Does not provide absolute protection (except for class III)

▪ CLASS II CABINET STANDARDS

▪ USA: NSF/ ANSI 49: 2014 – also used in the Ph
▪ To ensure that the biosafety cabinet provide optimum product, personnel and environmental
protection, it should be PROPERLY
▪ Selected
▪ Installed
▪ Maintained
▪ Used
▪ Certified

▪ At initial installation and annually thereafter

▪ Depending on the risk assessment, certification can be as frequent as every 3 months

▪ After moving
▪ After replacing filters or major maintenance repair
▪ Following rules and regulations
▪ According to manufacturer’s instructions
▪ Primary test ▪ Secondary Test (optional if
▪ Cabinet integrity (for A1 only) available in cabinet)
▪ Downflow Velocity Test ▪ Lighting intensity test

▪ Inflow Velocity Test ▪ Sound level test

▪ HEPA filter leakage test ▪ Vibration test

▪ Smoke Patterns Visual Test ▪ Electrical leakage and ground

circuit resistance test
▪ Site Installation/assessment
▪ The use of ultraviolet (UV) light in bsc is not required
▪ UV light is not that effective as a decontaminant and can only affect
those are exposed to it
▪ Certification of BSC should follow the schedule set by the laboratory (at least annually)
▪ Should be done ONLY by accredited or certified engineers or personnel against a specific
standard (e.g NSF/ANSI 49)
▪ Training of engineer or personal by the manufacturer is not equal to the accreditation or
certification to a specific standard
▪ ask for the updated accreditation or certification of the engineer or personnel that will perform
the certification
▪ Ask for updated certification and/or calibration of all the equipment used in the certification