A clean bench is a local air purification device that provides a sterile and dust-free clean environment for the operation area by filtering particles, microorganisms, and other pollutants in the air. Its application fields are extensive, covering industries with strict requirements for environmental cleanliness. Specifically, it can be divided into the following major categories:
I. Biomedical and Life Sciences Field
This field is the core application scenario of clean benches. The core requirement is to prevent microbial contamination of experimental samples/reagents while protecting operators from biological hazards (such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses). The main application scenarios include:
Microbiology experiments: isolation, culture, and identification of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, as well as microbial counting and drug sensitivity tests, etc., to avoid contamination of the culture system by external miscellaneous bacteria and ensure the accuracy of experimental results.
Cell biology research: Passage, cryopreservation, transfection of mammalian cells (such as HeLa cells, stem cells), as well as operations like apoptosis and cell cycle detection, to prevent cell contamination by mycoplasma, fungi, etc., and ensure the purity of the cell line.
Molecular biology experiments: PCR amplification, gene cloning, plasmid extraction, nucleic acid electrophoresis, etc., to avoid cross-contamination of nucleic acids (such as exogenous DNA/RNA interference), are particularly crucial in high-precision experiments like fluorescence quantitative PCR.
Biological product preparation: Small-scale research and development or pilot-scale production of biological preparations such as vaccines, antibodies (monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies), and recombinant proteins, ensuring that the products are not contaminated by microorganisms and meet biosafety standards.
Clinical diagnostic assistance: Aseptic processing of clinical samples (such as blood, tissues, cerebrospinal fluid), for instance, pathogen isolation, cell smear preparation, etc., to prevent diagnostic errors caused by sample contamination.
Ii. Pharmaceutical and Pharmaceutical Industry
The pharmaceutical industry’s requirements for cleanliness comply with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice for Drugs). Clean benches are mainly used in key stages of drug production to prevent drugs from being contaminated by particles or microorganisms. Specific applications include:
Sterile drug production: The repackaging, filling, and sampling operations of injections (such as vaccines, antibiotic injections), ophthalmic preparations, freeze-dried preparations, etc., to ensure that no external contaminants are introduced during the drug production process and to guarantee drug safety.
Research and development and refinement of active pharmaceutical ingredients: Post-treatment for small-batch synthesis of some highly active and high-purity active pharmaceutical ingredients (such as anti-tumor drugs and hormone drugs) to prevent impurities from being mixed in and protect operators from the toxicity of drugs.
Clean treatment of traditional Chinese medicine preparations: Purification of traditional Chinese medicine extracts, preparation of sterile preparations (such as traditional Chinese medicine injections), removal of dust and microorganisms in traditional Chinese medicine raw materials, and meeting the quality standards of modern traditional Chinese medicine.
Pharmaceutical quality inspection: Microbial limit tests for drugs, sterility tests (such as determining whether drugs contain live bacteria), and sample pretreatment for drug purity analysis to ensure reliable test results.
Iii. Food and Cosmetics Industry
The core demand in this field is to prevent food/cosmetics from being contaminated by microorganisms during production or testing, extend their shelf life, and ensure product safety. The main application scenarios are:
Food microbiological testing: Detection of pathogenic bacteria, such as total bacterial count, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus, in food to prevent external microbial contamination of samples during the testing process and avoid misjudgment.
Aseptic food production: The repackaging and filling of high-value-added aseptic foods (such as aseptic fruit juice, infant formula food, health products), as well as the inoculation of strains for fermented foods (such as yogurt, pickles), to prevent contamination by miscellaneous bacteria from affecting the flavor and safety of the products.
Cosmetics research and development and production: Aseptic production of cosmetics (especially creams, lotions, masks, and other products that come into direct contact with the skin), as well as purity testing of cosmetic raw materials to prevent microbial contamination that could lead to product deterioration or skin allergies.
Iv. Electronics and Semiconductor Industry
The electronics industry has extremely high requirements for a “dust-free” environment (requiring control of micrometer or even nanometer particles). Clean benches are mainly used to protect precision electronic components from particle contamination and ensure product performance. Specific applications:
Semiconductor component manufacturing: Assembly, soldering, and packaging of chips, integrated circuits (ICs), diodes, transistors, etc., to prevent dust and metal particles in the air from adhering to the surface of the components, which may cause short circuits or performance failures.
Precision electronic component processing: sensor (such as photoelectric sensors, pressure sensors), micro motors, sample preparation for electron microscopes, and assembly of optical fiber connectors must be carried out in a dust-free environment to ensure accuracy.
Circuit board repair and testing: Repair, soldering, and performance testing of high-precision PCB boards (such as circuit boards for aerospace and medical equipment) to prevent particle contamination from affecting circuit conductivity.
V. Other special fields
Materials science research: Preparation and characterization of nanomaterials (such as nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes), purity treatment of metal powders, and synthesis of polymer materials to avoid impurities affecting the physical and chemical properties of materials.
Environmental monitoring: Detection of trace pollutants (such as heavy metals and organic pollutants) in air, water, and soil. The sample pretreatment process should be carried out in a clean environment to prevent external pollutants from interfering with the test results.
Forensic identification: The extraction, preservation, and analysis of forensic physical evidence (such as blood, hair, fibers) to avoid cross-contamination and affect the accuracy of the identification conclusion.
In summary, the core value of a clean bench lies in providing a “sterile and dust-free” local clean environment for specific operations. Its application scenarios essentially revolve around two major demands: “preventing contamination” (protecting samples/products) and “ensuring safety” (protecting operators/end users), covering multiple industries with high precision and high-risk requirements.
I. Biomedical and Life Sciences Field
This field is the core application scenario of clean benches. The core requirement is to prevent microbial contamination of experimental samples/reagents while protecting operators from biological hazards (such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses). The main application scenarios include:
Microbiology experiments: isolation, culture, and identification of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, as well as microbial counting and drug sensitivity tests, etc., to avoid contamination of the culture system by external miscellaneous bacteria and ensure the accuracy of experimental results.
Cell biology research: Passage, cryopreservation, transfection of mammalian cells (such as HeLa cells, stem cells), as well as operations like apoptosis and cell cycle detection, to prevent cell contamination by mycoplasma, fungi, etc., and ensure the purity of the cell line.
Molecular biology experiments: PCR amplification, gene cloning, plasmid extraction, nucleic acid electrophoresis, etc., to avoid cross-contamination of nucleic acids (such as exogenous DNA/RNA interference), are particularly crucial in high-precision experiments like fluorescence quantitative PCR.
Biological product preparation: Small-scale research and development or pilot-scale production of biological preparations such as vaccines, antibodies (monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies), and recombinant proteins, ensuring that the products are not contaminated by microorganisms and meet biosafety standards.
Clinical diagnostic assistance: Aseptic processing of clinical samples (such as blood, tissues, cerebrospinal fluid), for instance, pathogen isolation, cell smear preparation, etc., to prevent diagnostic errors caused by sample contamination.
Ii. Pharmaceutical and Pharmaceutical Industry
The pharmaceutical industry’s requirements for cleanliness comply with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice for Drugs). Clean benches are mainly used in key stages of drug production to prevent drugs from being contaminated by particles or microorganisms. Specific applications include:
Sterile drug production: The repackaging, filling, and sampling operations of injections (such as vaccines, antibiotic injections), ophthalmic preparations, freeze-dried preparations, etc., to ensure that no external contaminants are introduced during the drug production process and to guarantee drug safety.
Research and development and refinement of active pharmaceutical ingredients: Post-treatment for small-batch synthesis of some highly active and high-purity active pharmaceutical ingredients (such as anti-tumor drugs and hormone drugs) to prevent impurities from being mixed in and protect operators from the toxicity of drugs.
Clean treatment of traditional Chinese medicine preparations: Purification of traditional Chinese medicine extracts, preparation of sterile preparations (such as traditional Chinese medicine injections), removal of dust and microorganisms in traditional Chinese medicine raw materials, and meeting the quality standards of modern traditional Chinese medicine.
Pharmaceutical quality inspection: Microbial limit tests for drugs, sterility tests (such as determining whether drugs contain live bacteria), and sample pretreatment for drug purity analysis to ensure reliable test results.
Iii. Food and Cosmetics Industry
The core demand in this field is to prevent food/cosmetics from being contaminated by microorganisms during production or testing, extend their shelf life, and ensure product safety. The main application scenarios are:
Food microbiological testing: Detection of pathogenic bacteria, such as total bacterial count, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus, in food to prevent external microbial contamination of samples during the testing process and avoid misjudgment.
Aseptic food production: The repackaging and filling of high-value-added aseptic foods (such as aseptic fruit juice, infant formula food, health products), as well as the inoculation of strains for fermented foods (such as yogurt, pickles), to prevent contamination by miscellaneous bacteria from affecting the flavor and safety of the products.
Cosmetics research and development and production: Aseptic production of cosmetics (especially creams, lotions, masks, and other products that come into direct contact with the skin), as well as purity testing of cosmetic raw materials to prevent microbial contamination that could lead to product deterioration or skin allergies.
Iv. Electronics and Semiconductor Industry
The electronics industry has extremely high requirements for a “dust-free” environment (requiring control of micrometer or even nanometer particles). Clean benches are mainly used to protect precision electronic components from particle contamination and ensure product performance. Specific applications:
Semiconductor component manufacturing: Assembly, soldering, and packaging of chips, integrated circuits (ICs), diodes, transistors, etc., to prevent dust and metal particles in the air from adhering to the surface of the components, which may cause short circuits or performance failures.
Precision electronic component processing: sensor (such as photoelectric sensors, pressure sensors), micro motors, sample preparation for electron microscopes, and assembly of optical fiber connectors must be carried out in a dust-free environment to ensure accuracy.
Circuit board repair and testing: Repair, soldering, and performance testing of high-precision PCB boards (such as circuit boards for aerospace and medical equipment) to prevent particle contamination from affecting circuit conductivity.
V. Other special fields
Materials science research: Preparation and characterization of nanomaterials (such as nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes), purity treatment of metal powders, and synthesis of polymer materials to avoid impurities affecting the physical and chemical properties of materials.
Environmental monitoring: Detection of trace pollutants (such as heavy metals and organic pollutants) in air, water, and soil. The sample pretreatment process should be carried out in a clean environment to prevent external pollutants from interfering with the test results.
Forensic identification: The extraction, preservation, and analysis of forensic physical evidence (such as blood, hair, fibers) to avoid cross-contamination and affect the accuracy of the identification conclusion.
In summary, the core value of a clean bench lies in providing a “sterile and dust-free” local clean environment for specific operations. Its application scenarios essentially revolve around two major demands: “preventing contamination” (protecting samples/products) and “ensuring safety” (protecting operators/end users), covering multiple industries with high precision and high-risk requirements.
