BSC Biological Safety Cabinets

A biological safety cabinet (BSC, or biosafety cabinet) uses HEPA-filtered airflow to protect the user, the sample and the laboratory when working with microorganisms and cell cultures. CSI Labshop supplies biosafety cabinets to microbiology, food, research and university laboratories across Malaysia.

Tell us the organisms or samples you handle, any chemicals used in the cabinet and your room layout, and we will recommend the right class and size and send a quotation.

Classes of biological safety cabinet

Class I protects the user and the room, but not the sample. It suits enclosing equipment or work where product protection is not needed. See ESCO Class I and BIOBASE Class I cabinets.
Class II Type A2 is the most widely used cabinet. It protects the user, the sample and the room, recirculating most of the filtered air and exhausting the rest. See ESCO Class II A2, BIOBASE Class II A2 and Fisher Scientific EN 12469 cabinets.
Class II Type B1 and B2 are ducted to the building exhaust, so they can be used with small amounts of volatile chemicals. B2 is total exhaust. See ESCO B1, ESCO B2 and BIOBASE B2 cabinets.
Class III cabinets are gas-tight glove boxes for the highest-risk work. See ESCO Class III cabinets and isolators.
Sterile boxes give a simple clean workspace for low-risk sterile handling. See the SANPLATEC DX sterile box.

How to choose a biosafety cabinet

Risk: your biosafety officer’s risk assessment decides the class; most BSL-2 work uses Class II A2.
Chemicals: if you use volatile chemicals inside the cabinet, choose a ducted B1 or B2 model.
Width: common sizes are 0.9, 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 m. Choose by the number of users and the equipment inside.
Standards: look for cabinets tested to EN 12469 or NSF/ANSI 49.
Certification: plan for on-site testing after installation and once a year.

Brands we supply

ESCO: Class I, II (A2, B1, B2) and III cabinets
BIOBASE: Class I and Class II cabinets, NSF and EN certified models
Fisher Scientific: NSF 49 and EN 12469 certified cabinets
SANPLATEC: sterile boxes and enclosures

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a biosafety cabinet and a laminar flow cabinet?

A laminar flow (clean) bench protects only the sample and blows air towards the user. A biosafety cabinet protects the user as well, so it is the right choice for microorganisms and cell cultures.