A Guide Through 3 Different Classes of Laminar Flow Hoods

Laminar Flow Hoods are highly essential for almost all Research and Medical laboratories across the world. It helps to maintain a clean and sterile environment or a chamber of such kind in which you can do your microbial, fungal, or virus-related works without any hint of contamination. This is the greatest invention which prevents all kinds of contaminations as well. Some microbes can be harmful to humans with which you might have to work in the lab as the purpose of your research. These include several viral pathogens, parasites, and so on. The laminar flow systems contain the spread of these microbes entirely in them. Hence, they have an immense role to promote a sanitary environment by ensuring a constant airflow and filtration of microbes.   

Laminar flows provide unidirectional airflow with a constant all the time. This enables the lab environment to remain hygienic as the hood filters the air with its revolutionary HEPA filter technology. 

To know more about Laminar Flow Hoods, you need to understand the working mechanism of the machine. A basic laminar flow system is composed of a filtration pad that gets rid of the particles of different sizes, a HEPA, or the High-Efficiency Particulate Air filter and a fan for sucking the air up. All these elements work in sync and get rid of the contaminating components and/or germs from the air.  

The whole process starts with the actions of the fan. First the air is drawn by the fan which is pulled by the filter pads that in turn traps the bigger particles like dust and spores instantly. After the air becomes dust and spores free, the HEPA filter comes to do the job. The HEPA gets rid of the finer and finest particles like microbes, virus particles, and fungal spores too; hence making the air free from all the contaminants. 

These airflow systems also come with UV-systems which ensures you the maximum sanitization standards and enables you to perform all your intricate research experiments without worrying about contamination. 

Now, there are two different types of laminar flow systems available in the market depending on your requirements or application needs. So, you need to decide from these two types of Laminar Flow Hoods;

Vertical Laminar Flow Hoods

In Vertical Laminar Flow Hoods the air enters from the apex of the system which gets delivered to the air holes in the basal portion of the chamber. The filter is placed right at the top of the workspace to protect the lab workers and other components of the lab from any unwanted mishaps. It is best suitable for those laboratories which work on biological and medical samples.   

Horizontal Laminar Flow Hoods  

Horizontal Laminar Flow systems on the other hand flow the air from the frontal side to the backside of the device. In this case, the contaminated air is pulled into the device through the backside of the workspace, and the clean particle-free air is released through the frontal side. Here, the filter is mounted on the workbench directly and hence requires some more space horizontally compared to the previous device. This is designed to completely protect the components which are inside the workspace but does not guarantee complete security and safety for the workers of the lab.   

Based on their working principle and level of protection offered, laminar hoods can be divided into three different classes. Read the next part of the article to know the different classes of Laminar Flow Hoods.

Class I Laminar Flow Hoods

Class, I laminar airflow systems have a simple design that is similar to chemical fume hoods which can be seen in chemistry labs. They offer complete protection to both the lab environment and the workers in the lab. Although it does not provide complete protection from the contaminants associated with the lab. 

Class II Laminar Flow Hoods

This class of laminar flow system provides complete protection against hazardous contaminating substances. Hence, it provides complete protection to the workers and lab samples as well. These can be used in those labs which actively work on bacterial and viral contaminants and hazardous components. 

Class III Laminar Flow Hoods

Class III laminar flow hoods are used in those laboratories which require the highest safety standards. These offer great protection from highly infectious viral particles and parasites as it provides an airtight environment inside the workspace. 

Planning to buy your variant of Laminar Flow Hood?

So, we have provided you the details regarding the different classes of laminar airflow systems and we assume that you have a complete idea for which you want to opt for.

Always remember to give priority to the safety and security standards of the laboratory. After buying your laminar airflow make sure to maintain it regularly and take care of all the possible chances of hazards concerning the machine.