What is a Biosafe Pass-Through & Why does Your Cleanroom Need One?

Many companies, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, use cleanrooms and isolated laboratories on a regular basis. For most of them, one of the most important requirements of a cleanroom is the ability to remove specimens or other materials without compromising its isolation, and as cleanroom usage grows, this requirement is only going to become ever more important. A BioSafe® Pass-Through from Terra Universal allows for easy transfer without cross-contamination.

The basic principle behind a Pass-Through or Pass-Through Window is simple. Like an airlock, it is a chamber installed into a wall separating two rooms with doors on both sides. Each door will only open when the other door is sealed, ensuring that there is never a direct connection between the clean and dirty sides.

Cleanliness is not a constant, and one of the most important features of any pass-through system is its ease of sterilization. Right angles and plated hardware can easily become microbial breeding grounds, and running the interlock hardware through the main chamber just adds another level of complexity and layer of difficulty to the cleaning process.

Terra Universal BioSafe Pass-Throughs are built with ultra-smooth stainless steel surfaces, so that they can be cleaned quickly and easily. Smooth radius interior curves ensure that there is nowhere for microbes or other contaminants to build up inside the chamber. All Terra Universal BioSafe Pass-Throughs use continuous seam welds to produce a crack-free interior surface for ease of cleanup.

BioSafe Pass-Throughs are available in either 304 SS or 316 SS depending on the buyer’s needs or applications. 304 SS is an excellent choice for most uses, while 316 SS has better corrosion and oxidation resistance, making it better suited for use with more reactive compounds. Sizes range from as small as 12” x 12” x 12”, to up to 27.5” x 24” x 50” for the largest model. All BioSafe Pass-Throughs have a no-lip design to maximize clearance and the efficient use of space within the chamber. Buyers also have the option of interior racks to support stainless steel shelves, which are available separately. Grounded terminals help prevent electrostatic buildup.

Support brackets can be mounted on the wall on the “dirty” side to help support the pass-through, especially the deeper ones. Terra Universal recommends that all 36” deep models use these support braces to ensure stability in use.

The key to any pass-through is the door; the chamber itself is easy, but the doors have to both open easily and maintain a seal when closed. Terra Universal offers two kinds of door, standard doors with tempered glass set in stainless steel frames or optional solid stainless steel doors. Each door includes a BioSeal elastomer edge seal made from polyurethane. This seal eliminates the need for an adhesive gasket, preventing outgassing, which can contaminate samples or specimens. The doors are also removable, so they can be sterilized in an autoclave, or changed when necessary.

An interlock ensures that both doors cannot be opened simultaneously. Rather than running it through the clean chamber, Terra Universal runs the interlock through its own narrow-profile compartment, keeping it isolated. Each interlock is rated to resist up to 200 lbs of force to maintain the seal and prevent them from being forced open.

Any organization that uses cleanrooms can benefit from Terra Universal’s BioSafe Pass-Throughs. Prospective customers can either select from the wide range of existing sizes or discuss a custom installation to meet their specific needs.

Biosafe Pass-Throughs