5 Safety, Hazard Containment & Sterilising Equipment
Cleaning is essential part of good laboratory techniques
Good laboratory technique demands that all glassware must be both physically and chemically clean. Depending on what it is being used for, it may also need to be sterile.
Although some lab workers may prefer the traditional method of cleaning their equipment by hand, this is highly likely to leave residual contaminants on the glassware and other items, even if they appear completely clean to the human eye. Hand cleaning can also pose a potential safety risk to staff as accidental breakage can cause injury.
Common contaminants found on glassware used in a laboratory environment include traces of chemicals used in previous experiments, residue from detergents used in cleaning, microbes, bacteria and grease. Grease is particularly likely if the glassware has been handled at any point by someone who wasn’t wearing gloves. Food particles, including fats and proteins, may also remain on equipment after sample analysis has taken place.
In medical laboratories which deal with cell cultures, microbiological contamination is a real threat and it is not uncommon for mycoplasma to infect cell lines. This is because the bacteria can spread through the air and anything which is not completely sterile poses a risk.
Even new laboratory glassware must be carefully treated before it can be used. Unused glass is slightly alkaline but laboratory glassware must be completely neutral so it does not have an impact on any precision results. This means it must be treated with acid (usually several hours in a 1% solution of hydrochloric or nitric acid) and then cleaned thoroughly before it is used for the fi rst time.
Making sure it is free from any grease is vital as grease will prevent the surface of the glass being uniformly wetted by distilled water. If your glassware is used to accurately measure precise volumes of liquid, it is particularly important that no traces of grease are present on the surface of the glass.
If they are, the volume of liquid delivered will be affected as the contaminants will prevent the glass from being wetted uniformly, changing the way the liquid is within the container. Even the smallest amounts of impurities will have an impact on the meniscus and make it diffi cult for laboratory workers to make the correct calculations and adjustments. This applies also to watermarks, among other impurities, which can be removed and prevented with deionised water.
Cleaning solutions, soaps and detergents can also have a negative impact so it is possible that even the act of cleaning glassware can contaminate it if it is not rinsed thoroughly so all residues are removed. Traces of detergents can pose a particular risk if your laboratory deals with biological testing as they can interfere with both serological and cultural reactions.
Keeping your lab safe and optimise research processes
Using laboratory glassware washers, like those from Miele Professional, is a way of ensuring your cleaning and reprocessing is carried out quickly and effi ciently to
consistently high and reliable standards. This will save your team members time, meaning they are free to focus on other tasks within the laboratory.
Our machines are also designed to use water and chemicals effi ciently to keep running costs down and lessen the environmental impact.
It is important to consider the drying process to ensure this doesn’t add contaminants to the glassware. Choosing a product which includes a HEPA fi lter will ensure that all particles which may be present in the air used for drying are removed and don’t end up having an impact on your equipment.
The design of glassware washers is also important as any crevices, nooks and crannies within the machine can hold contaminants like blood, soil and other materials. Choosing a product with a smooth internal fi nish and no heater elements within the chamber itself will minimise the risk of products accumulating within the appliance and remove a potential source of contamination. This is something the designers at Miele took into consideration when working on our range of glassware washers and washer disinfectors.
Laboratory sinks, incubators, benches and other furniture within the laboratory are also potential sources of contamination, along with the water source itself. All unnecessary equipment should be removed from workspaces and decontaminated as quickly as possible after use before being stored appropriately to reduce this risk.
If it is impossible to properly clean glassware straight after use, it should be put in water until thorough cleaning can take place. This is because residues become more diffi cult to remove the longer they are left and they are more likely to stick to glassware if it is left standing around on a work surface.
Auxiliary Air Fume Hood
Zero room air requirements. Hemco
Corporation’s fume hood exhaust is equal to the auxiliary supply air, thereby zero room air is required. With the sash in the ½ open position and face velocity of 100 feet
per minute, the cfm required equals the air supply. The hood exhaust air plus auxiliary air make up for room supply defi ciencies. Auxiliary air fume hoods provide energy savings.
When there is a shortage of air in the lab, it is less costly to provide an auxiliary air fume hood system than to change or enlarge the whole building air handling system. With the sash in the ½ open position it only requires 50% supply air to make up for the exhaust air, making it 100% effi cient with no room air required. Supply air ducting and remote blower required. Auxiliary Air fume hoods are available in 4’, 5’, and 6’ widths. All electrical components and services are UL and CSA listed. Shown with optional service fi xtures, plumbing and electrical, airfl ow monitor, work surface and base cabinet.
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/Q2gJ 58166pr@reply-direct.com
Greener Solutions for Autoclave Energy Effi ciency
With steam sterilisation temperatures and pressures well established, autoclaving within a vessel of a known size requires a predefi ned quantity of energy. To be energy-effi cient during thermal sterilisation, autoclaves must reach - and hold - a sterilisation temperature
and pressure without heat loss to the environment, but also drop back to room temperature and pressure effectively during cooling stages.
Astell are innovators in energy effi ciency - their autoclaves: capture and reuse heat energy that would otherwise be lost; use the minimum necessary volume of water to generate steam; generate that steam very quickly to minimise the opportunities for heat loss.
Yet these technical developments can only go so far, and Astell’s greatest energy saving happens before the autoclave is ever switched on.
Astell request that their potential customers supply detail of what they plan to sterilise. This allows the autoclave manufacturer, founded in the Victorian era, to produce devices that include only the specifi c hardware required to meet the user’s needs.
“Constructing autoclaves for the end user’s specifi c needs allows us to save our customers from large bills,” said Sales & Marketing Director, Paul Birchmore. “It also allows them to help save the planet by keeping the resources that would go into producing unnecessary components in the ground.”
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/1zlE 57798pr@reply-direct.com
Astell.com
Astell produce customisable autoclaves for every situation. Visit
Astell.com to find out more.
Astell autoclaves come in all shapes and sizes...
...and can be fitted with
simple options..
ADVERTORIAL Autoclaves
...or with advanced upgrades...
...in any combination to give you the exact autoclave for your sterilisation requirements
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