LEMINAR AIR FLOW WORKING

STATION
DR. TEJAS B PATEL
FACULTY OF PHARMACY
DHARMSINH DESAI UNIVERSITY
 LAMINAR AIR FLOW CABINET
 A laminar flow cabinet or laminar flow closet or tissue culture hood is a
carefully enclosed bench designed to prevent contamination of semiconductor
wafers, biological samples, or any particle sensitive materials.
 air is passed through a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulates Air) filter which
removes all airborne contamination to maintain sterile conditions.
 PARTS OF LAMINAR AIR FLOW
 A laminar flow hood consists of a filter pad, a fan and a HEPA (High Efficiency
Particulates Air) filter.
 The fan sucks the air through the filter pad where dust is trapped After that the
prefiltered air has to pass the HEPA filter where contaminating fungi, bacteria,
dust etc are removed.
 sterile air flows into the working (flasking) area where you can do all your
flasking work without risk of contamination.
 CONSTRUCTION OF LAF
 Laminar Flow Cabinets, or laminar air flow cabinets as they are also known, are
normally made of stainless steel with no gaps or joints thereby preventing the
build-up of bacteria from collecting anywhere in the working zone.
 Laminar Flow Cabinets are also known as clean benches because the air for the
working environment is thoroughly cleaned by the precision filtration process.
 TYPES OF LAF CABINETS
 Laminar Flow Cabinets can be produced as both horizontal and vertical
cabinets.
 There are many different types of cabinets with a variety of airflow patterns for
different purposes
1. Vertical Laminar Flow Cabinets
2. Horizontal Laminar Flow Cabinets
3. Laminar Flow Cabinets and Hoods
4. Laminar Flow Benches and Booths
 HORIZONTAL LAMINAR FLOW
CABINETS
 direction of air flow which
comes from above then
changes direction and is
processed across the work in
a horizontal direction.
 The constant flow of filtered
air provides material and
product protection.
 VERTICAL LAF CABINETS
 function equally well as
horizontal Laminar Flow
Cabinets
 laminar air directed
vertically downwards onto
the working area
 The air can leave the
working area via holes in the
base
 Vertical flow cabinets can
provide greater operator
protection.
 EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING
 Important parameters to make sure that the hood works efficiently:
 the HEPA filter has to remove all airborne materials
 the air speed in the working area has to be about 0.5 m/s
 HOW TO USE LAF?
 Before you start flasking in your laminar flow hood you should do the following
actions.
 Turn on the blower and wipe out the sterile area with an alcohol soaked piece
of kitchen paper.
 Let the blower run continuously for 30 minutes.
 When this time has passed, wipe out of the sterile area with an alcohol soaked
piece of kitchen paper.
 APPLICATIONS
 Laminar Flow Cabinets are suitable for a
variety of applications where an individual
clean air environment is required for smaller
items, e.g. particle sensitive electronic
devices.
 In the laboratory, Laminar Flow Cabinets are
commonly used for specialized work.
 Laminar Flow Cabinets can be tailor made to
the specific requirements of the laboratory
 ideal for general lab work, especially in the
medical, pharmaceutical, electronic and
industrial sectors.
 HEPA FILTER
 HEPA is an acronym for “High Efficiency Particulate Air”
 This type of air filter can remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold,
bacteria and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 micrometres (μm)
 TYPES OF HEPA
TYPES Application Performance
A industrial, noncritical 99.97 % @ 0.3 μm
B nuclear containment 99.97 % @ 0.3 μm (certified by
DOE)
C laminar flow 99.99 % @ 0.3 μm
D ultra-low penetration air 99.9995 % @ 0.12 μm
ULPA
E stopping toxic, nuclear, 99.999 % efficiency
chemical and biological
threats
 CONSTRUCTION OF HEAP FILTER
 HEPA filter is constructed of borosilicate microfibres in the form of pleated
sheet.
 Sheet is pleated to increase the overall filtration surface area.
 The pleats are separated by serrated aluminum baffles or stitched fabric
ribbons, which direct airflow through the filter.
 This combination of pleated sheets and baffles acts as filtration medium.
 It is installed into an outer frame made of fire-rated particle board, aluminum,
or stainless steel.
 The frame-media junctions are permanently glued or ‘‘pot-sealed’’ to ensure a
leak proof
HEPA FILTRATION MECHANISM

1. Inertial Impaction : particle inertia causes it to

leave the flow streamlines and impact on the
fiber.
2. Diffusion: The particles traverse the flow
stream, they collide with the fiber and are
collected.
3. Interception: These mid-sized particles follow
the flow stream as it bends through the fiber
spaces. Particles are intercepted or captured
when they touch a fiber.
THANK YOU