Types of laminar flow cabinet

Depending on the direction of movement of air,laminar flow cabinets are divided into two types:

1.Vertical laminar flow cabinet

In the vertical flow cabinets,the air moves from the top of the cabinet directly towards the bottom of the cabinet.A vertical airflow working bench does not require as much depth and floor space as a horizontal airflow hood which makes it more manageable and decreases the chances of airflow obstruction or movement of contaminated air downstream.The vertical laminar flow cabinet is also considered safer as it doesn’t blow the air directly towards the person carrying out the experiments.

2.Horizontal laminar flow cabinet 

·         In the horizontal laminar flow cabinets,the surrounding air comes from behind the working bench,which is then projected by the blower towards the HEPA filters.The filtered air is then exhausted in a horizontal direction to the workplace environment.One advantage of this cabinet is that airflow parallel to the workplace cleanses the environment with a constant velocity.The elluent air directly hits the operator, which might reduce the security level of this type of laminar flow cabinets.

Uses of Laminar flow hood

The following are some common uses of a laminar flow cabinet in the laboratory:

1.Laminar flow cabinets are used in laboratories for contamination sensitive processes like plant tissue culture.

2.Other laboratories processes like media plate preparation and culture of organisms can be performed inside the cabinet.

3.Operations of particle sensitive electronic devices are performed inside the cabinet.

4.In the pharmaceutical industries,drug preparation techniques are also performed inside the cabinet to ensure a particulate-free environment during the operations.

5.Laminar flow cabinets can be made tailor-made for some specialized works and can also be used for general lab techniques in the microbiological as well as the industrial sectors.

Precautions

While operating the laminar airflow,the following things should be considered:

1.The laminar flow cabinet should be sterilized with the UV light before and after the operation.

2.The UV light and airflow should not be used at the same time.

3.No operations should be carried out when the UV light is switched on.

4.The operator should be dressed in lab coats and long gloves.

5.The working bench,glass shield,and other components present inside the cabinet should be sterilized before and after the completion of work.