A
laminar flow hood is designed to remove chemical fumes and aerosols from the
work area while a biosafety cabinet is designed to provide both the protection
for employees as well as for the cleaning purpose. Basically, these are the
specialized types of laboratory equipment which have some special appeal of
it's own and now day’s different technologies are coming in the foreign
countries which help to do the work much easier and beneficial as well.
A
laminar flow hood consists of a filter pad, a fan and a HEPA (High Efficiency
Particulates
Air)
filter. The fan sucks the air through the filter pad where dust is trapped.
After that the
Profiteered
air has to pass the HEPA filter
where contaminating fungi, bacteria, dust, etc are
Removed.
Now the sterile air flows into the working (flasking) area where you can do all
your
Flasking
work without risk of contamination. The HEPA filter has to remove all (99,9 %)
airborne material (filter class H 14According to EN 1822)
The HEPA filter should be big enough to have enough space available in the flask
Area. Make sure,
laminar flow hoods and biological safety cabinets are not interchangeable
because they have different functions and technologies. Basically, laminar flow hoods are used to
remove chemical fumes away from the work area. On the other hand, biological
safety cabinets or BCS are used to provide both the clean work environment and
protection for employees who can create aerosols when working with biological
hazards. BCS cannot be used for working with volatile chemicals or radioactive
materials. But, laminar flow hoods are rarely found in a clinical laboratory
setting.
ADVANTAGES-
- You can do it in almost every kitchen
- Does not require a lot of space
- Low costs.
- Before you start building your flow hood you have to decide if you prefer a vertical or
- Horizontal air flow in the flaking area. In a vertical flow, the air moves from the top of the
- Working area to the bottom and leaves the flasking area through holes in the base. When you
- Use a flow hood with horizontal air flow the air moves from the back of the working area to
- The front.
Important
parameters to make sure that the hood works efficiently:
- The HEPA filter has to remove all airborne materials
- The airspeed in the working area has to be about 0. 5 m/s
The
two types of laminar flow hoods
Before
you start building your flow hood you have to decide if you prefer a vertical
or
Horizontal
air flow in the flasking area. In a vertical flow, the air moves from the top of
the
Working
area to the bottom and leaves the flasking area through holes in the base. When
you
Use
a flow hood with horizontal air flow the air moves from the back of the working
area to
The
front. Before you start flasking in your laminar flow hood you should do the
following actions.
- Turn on the blower and wipe out the sterile area with an alcohol-soaked piece of
- Kitchen paper.
- Let the blower runs continuously for 30 minutes. When this time has passed repeat the
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