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Air-tight enclosures (boxes) designed to provide a confined atmosphere in which procedures may be performed in isolation from the general laboratory environment; all operations inside the box are performed through relatively impermeable gloves attached to ports in the box walls. These boxes may include a transfer chamber for introduction and/or extraction of materials, adjustable pressure capabilities (either positive or negative), and cock valves for purging. They are made of impermeable materials such as fiberglass, stainless steel, aluminum, or a combination of materials; some boxes are mobile or portable. The boxes may also include capabilities for low- and/or high-temperature processing. Basic glove boxes offer only limited protection to the samples, the operator, and the environment. Containment boxes are operated under negative pressure to protect the operator and/or the environment from material processed inside the box and isolation boxes are operated under positive pressure to protect the product inside the box from the operator and/or the environment. Combined containment/isolation boxes are also available. Some glove boxes may offer protection similar to biological safety cabinets.
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