Top 5 Causes of Contamination in Biosafety Cabinets (And How Maintenance Helps!)

Proper usage of lab equipment, including your Biosafety Cabinet (BSC), is key to ensuring that your work is not contaminated and that personnel are safe. Biosafety cabinets exist to ensure that you, your surroundings, and your samples are not contaminated. They are vital in laboratory settings and controlled environments to ensure performance and safety. There are several practices that are often overlooked or minimized when it comes to the proper use of a biosafety cabinet. Let’s get into these and see what the most important things to remember when dealing with your lab equipment, along with key troubleshooting and practical suggestions from your local experts at DigeLab Solutions.

1. Incorrect Movement

Slow, smooth, and deliberate movements are best when utilizing a biosafety cabinet. On the other hand, excessive or rapid movements can disrupt the air curtain that’s present when a biosafety cabinet is functioning. This is true whether the movements are in or around the cabinet. To prevent contamination from disruptive air currents, you may be able to establish a no-walking zone around the lab equipment. Proper positioning that allows for the user to have proper ergonomic positioning will also ensure more precise movements and less fatigue, preventing contamination and supporting overall efficiency. Additional training of personnel or a rethinking of the layout of your laboratory may help as well.

2. Failing Components

Regular inspection and monitoring of airflow components, alarms, filters, and pressure gauges can help to ensure that your lab equipment is performing as it should. Specific routine checks can be done daily, weekly, and annually to ensure proper functioning, safety, and to help prevent contamination. If HEPA filters are no longer able to keep up with your air filtration needs, then they should be professionally replaced. A fume hood alarm that repeatedly beeps could be a sign of needed maintenance or a malfunctioning component.

3. Hygiene Issues

From spills to mislabeled materials or something as simple as lab personnel forgetting to use a clean lab coat or gloves or to wash their hands, there are countless ways that anything less than perfect hygiene can cause cross-contamination in experiments done in a biosafety cabinet. Poor cell culture management and a subpar cleanliness of the general work environment can also have a direct impact on the purity of the samples used in your experiment. Contaminants can end up building up inside the biosafety cabinet’s internal parts and could be difficult to clean. When cleaning is done, if it is not done frequently, thoroughly, or properly, the work tray could remain contaminated. Depending on the material involved, this could be risky for anyone in the lab. 

4. Unorganized Workspace

Clutter, or too many items held within the small space of the biosafety cabinet, can compromise airflow and allow contaminants to remain behind on the work surface. At the same time, it is also important to ensure that you have all the items you need when you begin work in a biosafety cabinet. Failure to have all supplies ready means that you will need to repeatedly open and close the sash, which will interrupt smooth airflow and could allow outside contaminants to creep into your workspace.

5. Equipment and Airflow Issues

A biosafety cabinet is designed to remove harmful particles from the air and safely capture them in a filter or disperse them via an exhaust system. If any component of the equipment is not working as it should, there is a real risk of contamination. This could mean blocked grills, using the wrong type of biosafety cabinet for the work you’re doing, working with clogged HEPA filters, a malfunctioning motor, or improper calibration. Electrical and control system issues that affect the lighting and alarm systems can also be problematic. Any and all of these failing components will open opportunities for contamination and the potential for exposure to hazardous materials. You can troubleshoot using smoke tests to check airflow, but eventually, you will need to have your unit serviced and recertified.

Signs of Biosafety Cabinet Contamination

Early identification of contamination in your biosafety cabinet is vital for the health and safety of lab personnel and to provide you with accurate research results. Common indications to look out for if you suspect contamination can include unexpected growth on culture plates, unusual or “off” odors, and visible particles or residues in your work area. Airflow issues, loud operation noise, and a sudden shift in the cabinet’s performance, along with alarms, are more clues to indicate that contamination could have happened.

When you notice any of these signs, it is vital to contact certified technicians–like the team at DigeLab Solutions–to clean, repair, and recertify your biosafety cabinet. This will ensure your safety and help to keep your work from becoming contaminated. It is best for everyone’s safety and for your lab’s reputation to hold to the highest standards and take immediate action if you suspect contamination.

Biosafety Cabinet Certification and Maintenance

Regular maintenance by lab personnel can go far to preventing the contamination of your lab equipment. This includes keeping grills clear and free of obstructions for consistent protection. Routine cleaning procedures, like cleaning work surfaces before and after use, preventing cluttered work surfaces, and setting your work surface up properly, can also help to ensure proper function and prevent contamination. Common, everyday hygiene practices such as washing hands and wearing clean lab uniforms can also help to prevent the spread of contaminants. Keep in mind that experiments done with animals will require more frequent disinfection. Be sure to use approved and safe cleansers that will not harm or corrode work surfaces and stay aware of potential sources of contamination–even factors that seem insignificant could be the cause.

Besides common daily, weekly, and yearly maintenance checks and tasks, incorporating common practices like removing unnecessary items from workspaces and ensuring proper airflow prior to each use can go far to keeping your lab equipment contaminant-free. Annual biosafety cabinet certification is also vital to ensuring that your lab is safe and compliant with current standards. And if you are unsure as to the source of the contamination issue, then a repair done by a certified technician is a must.

For help fixing persistent contamination problems with your lab equipment, or to schedule your annual biosafety cabinet certification, please contact the team at DigeLab Solutions. It’s our goal to keep you safe and get your lab back up and running as soon as possible.