Safely Working with Infectious Media

In life science or diagnostics laboratories, users often work with infectious liquids containing viruses or bacteria. One current example is the detection methods used for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, in which biological safety is of paramount importance. VACUUBRAND's BVC fluid aspiration systems are specially designed for such applications and offer a high level of safety for the user.

Fluid Aspiration Systems

The BVC is an optimized system for fluid aspiration that can be used in laboratories with Biosafety Level BSL 1 to BSL 3. The units are designed so they can be installed outside the safety cabinet, which saves on work surface space and more importantly to not affect the low turbulence air flow of the safety cabinet. The system comes ready to use out of the box and consists of an ergonomic hand controller, optional integrated chemical-resistant vacuum pump ("BVC control" and "BVC professional"), collection flask, protection filter and tube connections.

Biological safety

The BVC fluid aspiration systems are specifically designed for working with infectious liquids in the laboratory and offer the dual possibility of both autoclaving and direct disinfection within the bottle using aggressive chemicals. The collection flasks are made of polypropylene or coated glass and together with the protection filter can be easily and safely disconnected and reconnected to accommodate your cleaning protocol. The 0.2 μm hydrophobic protection filter offers enhanced protection from contamination of the environment by aerosols and can be autoclaved up to 20 times. The hand controller, which has no contact with the liquid medium due to a continuous suction tube, is also fully autoclavable.

All fluid aspiration systems can also be optionally supplemented with autoclavable quick-release couplings (standard on BVC professional PP model): these serve as additional safety components both between the collection flask and the handle connection and between the collection flask and the vacuum pump. When changing flasks, they allow automatic hermetic sealing between the aspirated fluid and the environment. The "BVC professional" system also features a non-contact liquid-level sensor outside the collection flask. Both features are designed to contribute to enhanced user safety, especially when handling highly infectious media.

Functionality and ease of use: A BVC system for parallel use by two users, second tube and hand controller as accessories

BVC fluid aspiration systems not only consider the essential biological safety criteria for working with infectious liquids, but also feature a range of other useful aspectsThe aspiration systems with integrated vacuum pump also offer the possibility of a second user connection for parallel operation without any loss of performance. This can be used for an additional application such as sterile filtration and buffer degassing or can be connected with a second hand controller for a secondary fluid aspiration process.

Comfort at work: Thanks to its ergonomic shape, the patented VHCpro aspiration hand controller allows for ambidextrous, fatigue-free work. With either the BVC control or professional models, the user can regulate the precise suction power needed via a touch panel. The vacuum pump switches on and off automatically, according to demand, which contributes to operating comfort as well as further reducing the already low operating noise.

Modularity: Depending on the existing laboratory set up, BVC systems can be used as complete units i.e. with built-in chemical-resistant vacuum pump (“BVC control“ and “BVC professional“), or optionally used with an existing on-site vacuum supply (“BVC basic“). The system is complemented with an extensive range of optional accessories, such as table stands for the hand controller and 8-channel adapter for pipette tips with ejector.

Ergonomic handle for daily use