The rapid spread of the new coronavirus has brought the virus into people’s sight once again. Not only medical and rescue personnel is on the front line, but also scientific researchers are intensively conducting virus research and drug experiments. Then you may wonder, what does the laboratory for virus experiments look like? And what is the difference among P1, P2, P3, P4 Biosafety Laboratories? How is it different from the biological laboratory in the school and the testing laboratory in the hospital? Next, let’s get to know the biosafety laboratory together: P1, P2, P3, P4 Biosafety Laboratories.

What is the Biosafety Laboratory?

A laboratory is a necessary place for scientific research. According to the risk level, including the infectivity and hazard of infectious pathogens, the biological laboratory is divided into P1 (Biosafety level 1), P2, P3, and P4 four levels, according to the biosafety level (BSL).

P1, P2, P3, P4 Biosafety Laboratory

The work that can be undertaken by the P1-P4 laboratory is also divided according to the safety level, and the strict level is from low to high.

P1 Laboratories: Basic laboratory, suitable for humans, animals, and plants or the environment with low hazards, and does not have pathogenic factors for healthy adults, animals, and plants.

P1 Laboratories

P2 Laboratories: Basic laboratories, suitable for pathogenic factors that reveal moderate or potential hazards to humans, animals, plants, or the environment, will not cause serious harm to healthy adults, animals, and the environment, and have effective prevention and treatment measures.

P2 Laboratories

P3 Laboratories: Protective laboratories, suitable for the treatment of highly harmful to humans, animals, and plants or the environment, through direct contact or aerosols to cause serious or even fatal diseases, or highly harmful to animals and plants and the environment Pathogenic factors usually have preventive and therapeutic measures.

P3 Laboratories

P4 Laboratories: the highest level of protection laboratory, suitable for highly hazardous to humans, animals, and plants or the environment, transmission via aerosol or unknown transmission path, or unknown, highly dangerous pathogenic factors. There are no preventive and therapeutic measures, for example, the Ebola virus.

P4 Laboratories

According to the document, the new coronavirus is temporarily taken to the pathogenic microbe Management of the second type of pathogenic microorganisms in the classification of biological hazards. Then it comes to protection measures needing to pay attention to.

Personnel Protection in the Biosafety Laboratory

When entering the ordinary laboratory, the experimenter only needs equipment such as lab coat, gloves and face protection. And there are potentially dangerous pathogenic factors in high-level experiments. How should researchers protect themselves?

In order to isolate researchers from potential pathogens, it is necessary to wear positive pressure protective clothing with an independent oxygen supply to enter the laboratory. In protective clothing, the air that the experimenters breathe comes from an independent air system, and activities in the laboratory require replacement of the breathing tube, which is why many spiral tubes are hung in the laboratory.

For laboratories at P2 level and above, bio-safety cabinets (BSCs) must be equipped according to regulations, and dangerous pathogens must be handled in the cabinets. The biological safety cabinet is a kind of negative pressure equipment, which is also divided into different levels according to the ratio of circulating air and exhaust air. It continuously extracts the air in the cabinet to ensure the negative pressure in the cabinet to prevent the gas generated in the experimental operation. After the experiment is completed, when personnel leaves the laboratory, they must carry out chemical shower disinfection to eliminate any viruses that may be contaminated, and finally, remove the protective devices layer by layer.

Perfect Biosafety Cabinets from Heal Force

Heal Force biosafety cabinets set the standard in quality, design, and innovation that comes from a heritage of over 25 years’ experience. At Heal Force, we know how important it is to offer a high level of protection to operators, samples, and environments with advanced technology. With an extensive track record of safety, reliability, and performance, Heal Force cabinets make an ideal investment for a wide range of applications including work with infectious agents that require biosafety level 1,2,3 containment.

Heal Force is sticking to lead you to a healthier life.

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