Testing a cheaper laminar flow hood
7 days ago
- #home science
- #contamination prevention
- #laminar flow hood
- The blog explores affordable home science solutions, focusing on preventing contamination in biology experiments.
- Contamination sources include airborne microbes, especially when working with agar plates.
- Traditional solutions include spirit lamps or Bunsen burners to create an updraft, and professional laminar flow hoods which are expensive and bulky.
- Amateur mushroom growing communities have popularized cheaper, compact laminar flow hoods using HEPA filters.
- Professional biologists find these affordable alternatives promising if effective.
- A test was conducted using a laminar flow hood from 'Funguyequipment' (no sponsorship involved).
- Agar plates exposed with and without the hood showed significant differences in contamination rates and sizes.
- DIY versions with fans and HEPA filters are also being explored for further testing.
- Affordable laminar flow hoods could revolutionize lab setups, especially in cost-sensitive environments like home labs or small pharma labs.