The term 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. The terms should only be applied to those devices that meet the requirements of Class I, II, or III specifications, based on their construction, airflow velocities and patterns, and their exhaust systems.
A feature unique to BSC Class II cabinets is a vertical laminar (unidirectional) HEPA-filtered air stream that descends downward from the interior of the cabinet. This continuously flushes the cabinet interior of airborne contaminants and protects samples being handled within the cabinet from contamination and is known as the downflow.
Our cell culture laboratory equipped with Thermo Scientificâ„¢ 1300 Series Class II, Type A2.
The Class II Type A2 that has a negative pressure surrounding the positively pressurized contaminated plenum. In case there is a leakage on the positive plenum, the leaking aerosol will be pulled by the negative pressure back to the positive plenum, and it will not leak out. In the A2 cabinet, about 70% of air from the positive plenum is recirculated as downflow, and the remaining 30% is discharged to the lab through the exhaust filter.
