What to Consider When Purchasing a Biosafety Cabinet

A biological safety cabinet is an essential piece of equipment for any laboratory handling biological agents. But while the class of biosafety cabinet you require is determined by the level of biohazard you work with, there are many other decisions to be made when purchasing a system, and making the right choices are vital to ensuring that the cabinet meets your needs—both immediately and in the future.

Furthermore, with many validated safety and other basic functional features now supplied as standard, there is currently the opportunity for more premium options. So what are some of the things to consider when purchasing a system, and how could they benefit you and your research?

Price and size

As with any purchasing decision, the cost of a system is always a consideration. In addition to looking at the price tag, however, it is also important to consider the lifetime operating costs of a particular model—to ensure that what might have looked like a cheaper system, is actually a good investment in the long run. Energy consumption, service life and warranty, maintenance, and the cost of replacement parts should all be considered.

The size of your cabinet is also important—especially when laboratory space is at a premium. How many people will be working inside your cabinet? Does it need to be able to accommodate any oversized equipment? Choosing the right cabinet size is a careful balancing act between being able to comfortably complete your work and not taking up your whole laboratory.

Long-term flexibility

With the lifespan of cabinets continually increasing, and a typical cabinet often lasting between 10 to 15 years, flexibility is also becoming increasingly important for consumers. People often don’t know what comes next with their research, explains David Wasescha, Director of Biosafety Products at Labconco. But while it is important to purchase a versatile cabinet, with the potential to accommodate wherever your future research might take you, you don’t want to end up paying for costly features you won’t use. Being realistic about your potential needs is therefore important.

Customization

Customization is another thing you may want to consider when purchasing a biosafety cabinet, particularly if you have specific needs or limited laboratory space. Customizing a unit can allow you to create a cabinet that works for your exact requirements, such as the ability to house automation or oversized equipment. Other common modifications include heated work surfaces, integrated microscopes, and marble plinths to resist vibration—all designed to help you perform your tasks more effectively and maximize efficiency.

Customization can also help labs re-use existing equipment when purchasing new is not within budget or practical. Re-purposing an existing cabinet can allow money to be allocated to other equipment in addition to reducing waste.

Energy efficiency

The desire for energy efficiency is another growing trend and one that looks set only to continue, especially with the emerging “next generation of scientists who grew up with sustainability as a focus,” says Wasescha. But aside from being more environmentally friendly, there are additional benefits from choosing more energy-efficient cabinets—largely in the form of lower operating costs and longer cabinet life expectancy. Changes such as energy-efficient motor designs, LED lighting, improved filtration efficiency, and low-flow modes have meant that cabinets last longer and consume less energy when not in use.

Additional features

With workers spending more time at stations, ergonomic features are also an important consideration, with many labs now insisting upon previously additional features as standard, Wasescha says. Variable working heights, reduced noise levels, a motorized front sash window, clear sidewalls, and display screens at eye level are frequently requested by consumers. The added conveniences allow users to be more comfortable for longer, as well as increase productivity and help improve laboratory results.

Be careful to ensure these features do not come at a cost however. Reducing noise can reduce filter life, warns Wasescha, so always consider replacement parts and maintenance in any overall decision. Although with filter technology continually improving, this may soon cease to be a consideration.

Data logging and connectivity

Increased demand for connectivity is an emerging trend. “At this point, we are just seeing the beginning of our ability to remotely check a cabinet’s status,” says Dave Phillips, Senior Global Product Technology Specialist at Thermo Fisher Scientific. The future, however, is exciting, and connectivity is definitely something to consider when making a purchase. “I think the trend to increasing biosafety cabinet and laboratory equipment connectivity will change the way we conduct science beyond our imagination,” continues Philips.

Automatic data logging is also now a possibility. People are increasingly demanding data-driven insight, with display screens showing information such as filter life tracking and airflow monitoring.

With the functionality and life expectancy of biological safety cabinets continually increasing, there is now more than ever to think about when making a purchase. Flexibility and customization, ergonomics, energy-efficiency, and connectivity, should all be considered in addition to price and size. At the heart however, “a cabinet is a safety product, and any additional features cannot compromise on this,” explains Wasescha.

Improving Cleanroom Access

For a glimpse of what the future of biosafety could look like, consider the Azzur Group’s Cleanrooms on Demand™. Each cleanroom is equipped with a biological safety cabinet that meets ISO-5 requirements. Azzur ensures that this qualification is maintained overtime through qualification and calibration services coupled with regulatory compliant cleaning and environmental monitoring practices.

According to the company, Cleanrooms on Demand enable early-phase pharma companies to transition more easily from R&D to manufacturing batches at scale for human trials. “This is an important service for our clients, many of whom may have never gone through such processes before. By taking advantage of our institutional knowledge and expertise, clients can make this important transition safely and efficiently,” explains Ravi Samavedam, Chief Innovation Officer at Azzur Group.

Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand™ were developed to address a common pharma manufacturing dilemma— build a new facility or bring on a third party such as a CDMO. “Both of those choices take considerable time and can be very expensive. Cleanrooms on Demand enable a first set of batches into clinics while avoiding this dilemma. Eventually clients will graduate from our Cleanrooms on Demand to later-phase CMO support or build their own facilities for commercial launch,” adds Samavedam.