The process of prevention of large scale loss biological components, integrity including both human kind and ecology is called Bio-Safety. The application of knowledge, technique, equipment, methods, solutions to prevent personal, laboratory or environmental exposure to potentially infectious agents and bio hazards.

The role of Bio Safety
The prevention mechanisms include strict rules and guidelines to follow to protect from harmful conducts. Therefore as the name suggests it is one of the most important and needful processes in order to maintain a healthy life on Earth. When dealing with this process, high measures of security are needed because of the possibility of outlet of harmful gases into the environment which can not only be poisonous but fatal for the humanity. Various levels are set as precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in enclosed laboratory facilities. With levels ranging from BSL-1 to the highest order of BSL-4. While equipment like the Fume Hood is required for laboratory purposes, the Bio Safety Cabinets used for environmental and personal purposes.

What are Fume Hoods
The Fume Hood and Bio Safety Cabinet are two of the most popular resources used to help prevent that exposure. It is a local closed ventilation device which is used to limit exposure to hazardous bio-agents and bio-chemicals. The first device is equipped with at least one type of continuous flow quantities monitoring devices designed to provide the user with the current information on the operational status of the hood. Since these remove large amount of conditioned air from the ventilation system, these devices consume large amounts of energy. Used when primarily small amount of biological and chemical containment is required, a total exhaustion through the outside duct and the HEPA filter is needed and when the procedures require the use of hazardous materials, chemicals and agents.

Bio Safety Cabinets Verses Fume Hoods

While Bio Safety Cabinets have HEPA filtration of air intake, recirculates filtered air into the laboratory and is utilized in the sterilization of bio agents in cell cultures and containment of infectious work, a Fume Hood has no air filtration. Exhausts chemical fumes outside the laboratory and is suitable for chemicals and non-sterile work. To decide between the two one must consider the type of protection needed and what will the equipment be used for. While some may have a requirements where the combined features of both the equipment are needed, the new hybrid cabinet is the perfect solution to their problems.By simply offering a configuration where the electrical controls and outlets are located on the outside of the cabinet the-device can be used as a hood.

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Drying cabinets can be customized and special features can be added to meet the user’s exact requirements. The different manufacturers also bring out different sizes of cabinets.

Hygroscopic materials such as fertilizer chemicals, salts, paper and cotton attract and hold water molecules. In a laboratory setting, these materials need to be stored in a dry environment, and this is where drying cabinets are so useful.

Drying Cabinets

Evidence remains Intact

In the Forensic Evidence environment the drying cabinet would be used for drying of evidence recovered from a crime scene. Wet evidence needs to be dried in these Evidence Drying Cabinets so that it can be stored and retrieved for testing in the future. If this wet evidence isn’t dried properly, you could land up with bacterial growth which will destroy the biological material.

These particular drying cabinets connect to air ducts to vent to the outdoors. These particular and specialized drying cabinets are made with double wall stainless steel. They come with adjustable floor levelers, mesh floor screens, magnetic door gaskets, drying racks with removable hanger rods as well a radius interior corners for easy cleaning.

These cabinets have to be well used and maintained as so much is at stake. They have to ensure containment of odors and particulates. A humidity sensor will alert the operator when the evidence is ready for removal.

The air-flow system with these drying cabinets guarantees that air is evenly distributed over every shelf in the cabinet.  Products on all levels are processed equally to always achieve consistent results. The circulation fan draws in fresh air, spreads it evenly over the product, and then discharges it through a discharge vent.

Typical features in these drying cabinets are –

adjustable shelves
internal lighting
interior extractor fans for removing excess moisture
they are energy efficient
they are fully insulated
they have timers and dial thermostat control

Dealing with moisture, the warming cabinets have to be corrosion proof so as to increase operational life. They come with a plumbing package to clean the cabinets and avoid cross contamination at the same time. These cabinets are indispensable in the lab setting for protecting the user and materials from infectious pathogens as well as putrid odors.

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Every laboratory needs a fume hood because breathing in dust, mist and vapors can be deposited in the airways and be absorbed by the lungs into the bloodstream where they are carried to the rest of the body. Laboratory fume hoods control exposure to toxic vapors and gases, and are the primary method of exposure control in the laboratory.

These exhaust ventilation systems have a cabinet with a front window made out of safety glass. The window, known as a sash, prevents injury from splashes and even small explosions that happen inside the hood.  A fume hood exhausts hazardous gases, dusts and vapors from a certain area, protecting lab workers from inhaling the fumes. They make use of occupancy sensors which detect when a user is no longer at the hood, and auto sash operators then close the fume hood sash. This system is called a VAV system.

Inadequate Flow Rates with Improper Use

Fume hoods in a laboratory setting come with control- panels and are not just a side-item to make life more comfortable in the laboratory environment. There are risks with the improper use of fume hoods, which are classified as safety equipment. With improper use and maintenance the fume hood won’t provide adequate flow rates.

As with all laboratory appliances and equipment, you get different types of the same thing. Let’s look at a few of the different types of fume hoods you get –

● Distillation Fume Hood
● Ducted and Ductless Fume Hood
● Acid Digestion Fume Hood
● Radioisotope Fume Hood
● Perchloric Acid Fume Hood

The principle with fume hoods remains basically the same. Air is drawn in from the front side of the cabinet and then expelled outside the laboratory. It can also be filtered and re-enter the room in a safe state.

You’ll mostly find these hoods against walls and they are available in different widths, from 1000mm up to 2000mm with its height varying between 1900mm and 2700mm. Most fume hoods come with internal lights with vapor proof covers, and for working with particularly hazardous materials, there’ll be an enclose glovebox.

Working towards Energy Efficient Lab

Fume hoods remove large volumes of conditioned air from lab spaces which in turn means they consume large amounts of energy. The bulk of the energy these fume hoods are responsible for is the energy needed to heat or cool air into the lab (air-conditioning). Depending on the system installed, this energy can be electricity, natural gas or other energy types. The fume hoods are a major factor in making laboratories far more energy intensive compared to standard commercial buildings. Programmes are in place for laboratory workers to reduce energy consumption by keeping variable air volume sashes closed as much as possible and using Fume Hoods with an energy saving VAV system.

The fume hood is an important safety feature in the laboratory and when selected properly can actually result in energy savings for the laboratory.

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When pathogens enter the human body they wreak havoc on the body. Many of the diseases we’ve always believed to have no cure are caused by microbial infections. But how do scientists work safely with these infectious micro-organisms? How do bio-safety cabinets fit in? After all, those working in laboratories stand the chance of acquiring infections from the agents they work with. Hand washing is effectively used in the laboratory for the removal of these unwanted toxic materials, but is this enough?

Solutions to Occupational Hazards

Biosafety cabinets are the main means of containment for working with infectious microorganisms, and lab supervisors have training in microbiology but also general lab safety procedures.  The main purpose of these cabinets is to protect the operator as well as the environment from biological contaminants. In fact, all work that can create aerosols is done inside a biological safety cabinet. Floor, wall and floor penetrations are also sealed so as to contain gaseous decontaminants and aerosols.

These biological safety cabinets are used to do research in pharmaceutical settings as well as industrial and clinical settings. They provide various levels of protection. It’s not everyone who can use these cabinets, and proper training is required. The bio-safety cabinet is an enclosed, ventilated hood which allows one to handle pathogens safely as well as contaminants and other hazardous materials. This is an important piece of laboratory equipment, providing protection for personnel and environment.

The Different Class Biosafety Cabinets

There are 3 types of biological safety cabinet, Class I, II and III. Class II is a popular choice. A HEPA filter is used before exhaust air is emitted. Laboratory workers began using the class II safety cabinet which actually became the mainstay in laboratories as well as pharmacies.

Class II hoods provide personnel-, environmental and product protection for a range of risk materials.  Airflow is drawn into the front grille. The downward flow of HEPA-filtered air provides product protection by minimizing the chance of cross-contamination across the hood’s work surface.

The proper class and type of biosafety cabinet must be selected so as to match the need for the specific application and level of bio-containment required. Class I and II cabinets are free-standing while Class III is an enclosed unit. This class of safety cabinet is used for work with high-hazard micro-organisms.

Training and Hygiene Practices are Important

The person at risk of exposure and laboratory-acquired infection is the person working hard in the laboratory to identify a suspect infectious agent within a specimen. Cleanliness, knowledge, training as well as the choice of safety equipment and work practices around the equipment is critical so as to prevent personal exposure.

Biosafety cabinet-training and education of workers about potential hazards in the lab as well as how to ensure safe work practices are essential. They work together to create a safe work environment in the laboratory.

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How Many Samples do you want to Incubate?

When selecting a laboratory incubator, the size and capacity of the incubator is an important consideration and requires you to estimate the number of samples to be incubated at any one time. Certainly, reducing contamination is also an important goal in laboratory incubator design.

Hygiene is another important aspect. It is one of the highest priorities when working with an incubator. The reason for this is that germs can land up in the samples through air movement in the chamber. The chamber needs to be designed so that there are no sharp corners. Mostly, the inner part of the incubator is made with corrosion-free stainless steel which makes cleaning it that much easier.

Getting rid of Contaminants

Quite a few incubators today offer a convenient and safe high-temperature decontamination cycle, allowing the user to heat-sterilize the incubator so as to get rid of decontaminants. Manufacturers of these incubators offer –

high temperature decontamination cycles
integrated touch-screen displays
removable shelves
data storage and more.

Some units even offer interior glass doors which allow the contents to be viewed without disrupting the incubator’s atmosphere.  Whatever features a laboratory incubator has, users essentially want a trustworthy unit where they can grow their microbiological- or cell cultures in a contaminant free environment.

Cultivation of Micro-Organisms – the Principal Use

The principle uses for the controlled environment of an incubator in the 21st century is the cultivation of microorganisms for medical treatment and research. Laboratory incubators were used during the twentieth century so as to identify pathogens in patients’ bodily fluids in order to diagnose their disorders. The air’s moisture within the chamber is increased and heated to 37°Celsius to promote pathogenic growth. The microorganism multiplies, allowing identification of a disorder.

You can get counter-top models and free-standing incubator models. There is an inner chamber, and to prevent contamination and avoid bacterial growth, the chamber of the incubator needs to be sealed to be 100% airtight. Two kinds of heat sources are used for these incubators – fans to circulate warmth and hot water jackets. People who work with laboratory incubators will tell you that the water-jacket incubators pose a problem which the wall heaters won’t and that is because they are pressurized they can leak

Lab Incubator – Great Benefit to your Research
These heated, insulated boxes which are used for growing microbiological or cell cultures are an important component in the laboratory and come with a programmable timer for different temperatures and humidity levels. Do your research carefully and choose those incubators which provide optimum incubation conditions for a wide variety or research in your laboratory.

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You have to know your laboratory ovens because they’re not all the same. You get high temperature ovens, wax melting ovens, heavy duty ovens, vacuum ovens, standard digital ovens, materials testing ovens, drying ovens, soil drying and aggregate ovens, hot air sterilizers, dual purpose ovens and energy efficient ovens among others. The energy efficient ovens are popular now because of the global energy crisis. Laboratories need to be cost-effective because they’ve got experiments going and equipment running continuously.  Typical sizes of these laboratory ovens are from one cubic foot to as much as 32 cu ft.  With the smaller ovens, they can sometimes be stacked one on top of the other.

The laboratory oven is an invaluable appliance because it enables temperature stability for safety while drying glass and plastic. These ovens are used principally for drying glassware as well as heat-resistant equipment.

Laboratory ovens are perfect for many purposes and environments. There’s an oven for every use, from removing moisture to changing chemical and physical properties.

Just some of the characteristics people look for when considering purchasing a laboratory oven –

● good fair pricing
● good safety features
● simplicity and ease of installation and use
● generous warranty
● smallest footprint possible
● low operating- and low maintenance costs
● broad temperature ranges
● controlled airflow so as to ensure uniform temperature
● good support services after purchase

The ovens maintain temperatures from ambient to about 300°C and are used in many different industries as well as environmental labs. Those units which operate at temperatures above 300° C are usually used for specialized electronics applications. Laboratory oven applications are expanding beyond just drying, and you’ll find chemists who use these ovens for other things such as determining moisture content in foods, for die-bond curing, polyimide baking and sterilizing.

Precise Air Flow Pattern

Airflow patterns increase drying and curing efficiency. Laboratory ovens suit the needs of those who require precise temperature control, heat distribution as well as safety features. Safety is always important and you’ll want to look at an oven that has an automatic turnoff for when the unit overheats as well as flaps for venting chemical fumes.  Temperature control- and distribution are sought after features in a laboratory oven.

You can say that the most important consideration when buying an oven is the type of temperature controller available. Controllers work through a thermostat to turn the oven on and off when desired temperatures are reached. A PID controller or proportional integral derivative controller is a popular choice for applications where precise temperature control and uniformity is required.

Do research and choose the right oven from a well known brand. Lab ovens have many capabilities and configurations to meet your specific thermal-processing applications.

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In the medical industry, failure to properly sterilize medical equipment carries serious health risks and infection. The level of sterilization will depend on what the object is used for, but whatever the object is, proper cleaning must precede before the sterilization.

Sterilization Avoids Person-to-Person Transmission

Millions of surgical procedures are being performed and all these procedures will inevitably involve contact between surgical instruments and the patient’s sterile tissue. There is always the risk of the introduction of pathogenic microbes, which can lead to infection. Not sterilizing the equipment adequately will lead to person-to-person transmission.

Sterilization through the use of disinfectants and sterilization is absolutely critical if you want to ensure that medical and surgical instruments don’t transmit infectious pathogens. Failure to comply to guidelines surrounding sterilization has led to many outbreaks of infection.

Let’s look at the different sterilization methods:

• Steam Autoclave – the oldest and also the safest method of sterilization where the steam reaches 121-138°C or 250-300°F in the pressure chamber at 15 P.S.I. The sterilization period can range from 10-60 minutes. Configurable cycles allow the user to tailor cycles for liquid or hard items, wrapped items and glassware. With steam autoclaves, microorganisms are killed by heat, and this is speeded up with moisture. Steam isn’t sufficient on its own for sterilization, and pressure greater than atmospheric is required so as to increase the temperature of steam for thermal destruction of microbial life. The Steam autoclave is used mostly for surgical instruments, but it isn’t suited for heat sensitive materials and instruments.
• Common Chemical Sterilization – Ethylene Oxide Gas – an effective, low temperature chemical sterilization method, taking longer than steam sterilization. It takes in the region of 16-18 hours for the completion of a cycle, with temperatures reaching in the 50-60°C range. Ethylene oxide is used to sterilize items that are heat- and moisture sensitive and kills microorganisms and spores. Items sterilized this way need to be aerated. Aeration is needed to make sterilized items safe for patient use. Disadvantages with Ethylene Oxide Gas is that toxic residues can remain on sterilized items, posing health hazards.

Today, the most popular method of low temperature sterilization is done by a Plasma Sterilizer and the cycle is done in less than an hour and it is perfectly safe.

Sterilization means Life

Most medical and surgical devices may well be made of materials that are heat stable and can handle steam sterilization but today there are medical devices made of materials that require low-temperature sterilization. The most popular method of low temperature sterilization is done by a Plasma Sterilizer and the cycle is done in less than an hour and it is perfectly safe.  A number of low-temperature sterilization systems have been developed to sterilize these medical devices and ensure that all human- and animal life benefit from no infection and high survival rates from surgery.

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Disinfectants

Different disinfectants have different target ranges and can’t kill all micro-organisms. Filtration, which is one method of disinfecting, doesn’t kill bacteria. When you look at the difference between sterilization and disinfection, you can safely say, that when it comes to our lives in a hospital situation, sterilization is an absolute necessity where disinfection isn’t. Sterilization methods need to be followed strictly to completely remove microorganisms.

So what is a disinfectant? Disinfectants are often bought in concentrated forms. They are then mixed with water. The different disinfectants which are more commonly used are alcohols, oxidizing agents, aldehyde, phenolic and even sodium bicarbonate. Disinfection can be accomplished by various means which include heat and chemicals. Some chemicals in disinfectants can also sterilize and they are called chemi-sterilants. Chemicals that can be safely applied to the skin and mucous membranes are known as antiseptics.

An ideal disinfectant should:

• be able to destroy microbes within a certain period
• have a broad spectrum of activity
• be active in any pH
• should have a long shelf life
• be active in the presence of organic matter
• be non-toxic and non-allergenic
• efficacy should not be lost with reasonable dilution

Disinfectants are only effective when they are applied according to the label with instructions for the correct time period.

Sterilization totally Destroys Micro-organisms

Sterilization on the other hand is a chemical or physical process that eliminates all forms of microbial life. This is important in the veterinary industry and health care industry when sterilization is required because highly resistant pathogens need to be destroyed and when medical equipment is going to be used in invasive procedures with animals or people. Bacteria, fungi and viruses can’t stand up to sterilization.

Sterilization is always going to be required with any implement that penetrates intact skin and makes contact with the blood system. Once a surgical instrument for instance has been sterilized, you can say that all micro-organisms have been removed and that when the sterilizer has done its job, nothing survives.

The major difference with disinfection and sterilization can be a matter of life and death. Disinfection isn’t going to be accepted in places like a hospital, where a surgeon will need to use sterilized surgical instruments to avoid passing on a life-threatening infection.

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The autoclave is similar to a pressure cooker where high-temperature steam is forced in under high pressure, removing air. Autoclave sterilization is ideally used for items such as surgical instruments which can tolerate humidity, high temperature and pressure. The advantages of autoclaving is that it destroys micro-organisms more efficiently than dry heat. Another advantage is that a large quantity of material can be sterilized in one batch.  In the medical industry, autoclaves are used to perform sterilization.

There are a number of other methods for sterilization in the medical field.

●Ethylene Oxide (ETO) Sterilization – was first reported in 1859. The sterilization cycle consists of 5 stages – gas introduction, evacuation with humidification, exposure, evacuation, and air washes, taking about 2 1/2 hours. Mechanical aeration takes between 8 to 12 hours at +50 to +60°C, and on completion of aeration, the sterilized objects are removed.  Ethylene Oxide (ETO) Sterilization is suited for objects which can’t sustain the high temperature and moisture necessary for steam such as with autoclave sterilization.

Plasma Sterilizer

PLASMA STERILIZER

• Hydrogen Peroxide Sterilization – Hydrogen peroxide was discovered by LJ Thenard in 1818 and is a popular alternative to ethylene oxide. It is known for its use in the pharmaceutical industry and can be used in 2 ways – hydrogen peroxide plasma sterilization and vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilization.
• Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide (VHP) sterilization is made up of 3 stages – conditioning including vacuum generation, aeration and H202 injection, taking about 60 minutes, including aeration time. VHP sterilization is suited for objects that can’t sustain the high temperature and moisture necessary for autoclave sterilization, and its low temperatures – +25°to +50°C make it suited for medical devices which may have electronics.

In an Emergency Situation

There are different ways to sterilize objects for medical applications, and each sterilization method has its own special characteristics. The method of sterilization will depend on the intended use of the medical device. In any emergency situation however, unless you have a commercial autoclave or prepackaged sterile products, you’ll have to sterilize the best way you can by removing debris off the instruments and either heating the instruments over an open flame or alternatively allowing the instrument to soak in boiling water for 20 minutes. In a hospital situation or out in the bush, sterilization means life.

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An autoclave is used to sterilize medical, laboratory, dental surgical equipment and other items, whether solids, liquids or instruments of various shapes and sizes. Autoclaves vary in size and functionality, being likened to a pressure cooker because they make use of steam to kill bacteria and germs resistant to powerful detergents.
An autoclave is a steel vessel where steam is circulated to sterilize things

Coping with Infection Control

The people who use autoclaves are the medical industry, veterinarians, dentists and even tattoo artists. Autoclave and sterilizer are the same thing, the only real difference being that autoclave is a term associated with laboratories while sterilizer is more commonly linked with medical applications. So how does an autoclave work?

An effective autoclave must contain dry saturated steam, and this is achieved by removing air from the load and the chamber.  Air leaves through a vent as steam enters the chamber. It is important to remove all trapped air from the autoclave because trapped air is a poor medium in reaching perfect sterilization conditions. The vent then closes when all of the air is removed from the chamber. There is a method known as ‘free steaming’, when the vent stays open for a specified time, allowing the  turbulent steam to pass through the vent and forcing trapped air out of the autoclave.

Steam as the Sterilizing Agent

The autoclave is an integral part of the medical industry and for instance in a veterinary practice, it is used to cope with infection control. They use steam as the sterilizing agent to completely sterilize surgical and non-surgical instruments which is safe and effective. The additional pressure in an autoclave means that the water will boil at temperatures which are far higher than its regular boiling point, killing microbes more effectively.

The exact sterilizing time will depend on a number of factors such as the contamination levels of the items being autoclaved and also how the autoclave is loaded up. Since you’re using high-pressure, high-temperature steam, users of autoclaves need to be careful when opening the autoclave to ensure there isn’t a sudden release of pressure that could cause a dangerous steam explosion.

Autoclaves Meet Strict Sterilization Criteria

An autoclave with its different chamber sizes, sterilizes through high-pressure steam with temperatures above 121º. Autoclaving is important because it protects users and their clients from bacterial infections in all industries where health regulations stipulate strict sterilization procedures.

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