Safety cabinet

A safety cabinet is a sterile workbench used in cell culture laboratories or when working with sensitive materials, such as semiconductor materials in semiconductor technology. A safety workbench consists of a work table with an enclosure that is specially ventilated. A distinction is made between the microbiological safety workbench and the cleanroom workbench. Both safety workbenches, with the exception of the Class I microbiological safety workbench, first protect the product by introducing filtered air. The cleanroom workbench (laminar flow cabinet) does not provide any protection to the user. The microbiological safety cabinet (BSC) provides the user with additional protection against the escape of (contaminated or potentially contaminated) microorganisms and aerosols. A distinction is made between the safety levels of microbiological safety cabinets: Class I – protection of workers Class II – protection of workers and the work object Class III – increased protection of workers, protection of the work object. In the case of cleanroom workbenches, a distinction is made between cleanroom workbenches with horizontal air flow and with vertical air flow.