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Biological safety cabinets designed to protect the operator, the environment, and the samples inside the cabinet from low- and moderate-risk biological agents (e.g., human pathogens). These cabinets typically consist of an enclosure with an open front for handling of products. They include blowers to produce an inward vertical laminar flow of room air into the hood and an exhaust system; both the inward vertical laminar airflow system and the exhaust-air system include high-efficiency particulate-air (HEPA) filters (for product and environmental protection, respectively). Class II cabinets are, by far, preferred for most clinical laboratories for handling of cell cultures and human pathogens (e.g., bacteria, viruses, parasites), for tissue culture and tumor virus work, and for handling extremely toxic agents (e.g., chemotherapy drugs). Class II microbiological safety cabinets are further classified in types A (exhaust of air to the room environment through HEPA filter) and B (hard-ducted to the outdoor environment, exhaust of air through HEPA filter). The construction and the airflow velocities and patterns of type A cabinets make them suitable for microbiological use but not for handling volatile or toxic chemicals and radionuclides, while the characteristics of class B cabinets permit their use with toxic chemicals and radionuclides.
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