A laminar flow hood is a highly specialized laboratory equipment that provides a sterile and safe area or zone within the laboratory, to carry out any activity that is required. This equipment constitutes a space with a specific air treatment, which provides an area with a strict control of non-road particles.
Laminar flow hoods employ HEPA filters that trap entrained airflow particles. This type of filter has an efficiency of 99.97% for particles greater than or equal to 0.3 micrometers. They are designed to specifically protect the sample and not the user, so they should not be used when working with pathogens or volatile or toxic chemicals.
Regarding their structure, they generally provide a wide work area, with glass side walls, illuminated by means of a fluorescent lamp, and they also have a UV lamp that allows the area to be sterilized before and after use. All this will allow to obtain a work area with a smooth stream of air with laminar flow, where the sample will receive protection from any pollutants in the environment.
When is the use of a laminar flow hood recommended?
Its use is recommended when working with samples or products that require protection. In this way, cross contamination is avoided, a phenomenon that can cause loss of samples or products, and as a consequence in turn of economic resources and time.
It is noteworthy that it is not recommended to use a laminar flow cabinet when handling samples of pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, among others, for which biosafety cabinets should be used.
Main brands of laminar flow hoods
Laminar flow hoods are important and essential tools of laboratory work, they are necessary in research, clinical, microbiological and drug production laboratories. By using this equipment we create an environment that is clean from particles, and safe for the product, the environment, and the operators. Therefore, having the best laminar flow hood is an essential requirement, which is why in this article we present the best-known brands of laminar flow hoods:
• Biobase.
• Lam systems.
• Albian.
• Meditech.
• Ovan.
• Labox.
• Envair.
• Airclean Systems.
• Monmouth Scientific.
• Kalstein.
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