A plastic laboratory glove box is a tightly sealed container box that has openings either on the same or in the opposite sides, equipped with gloves that facilitate the operator to carry out the task inside the isolated setting. Walls of the laboratory glove box is made with transparent acrylic plastic or tempered glass, which allow clarity of the entire procedures and manipulations in the chamber. Additionally, the glove box is cost-effective, lightweight and compact too. It can be easily positioned on any benchtop or on any stand.
Basically there are two main types of glove boxes. The first type of glove box helps laboratory employees to perform a task or experiment with dangerous chemicals such as radioactive material or infectious disease agents, while the second type of glove box assists in handling the materials which demand very high purity inert atmosphere, for instance, argon or nitrogen. Portable Glove Boxes can also be used to handle the items placed in a vacuum chamber.
The glove box can be divided in the following manner-
- Inert atmosphere work-
Inert atmosphere glove box is generally used by organ metallic chemists to transfer dry solids from one container into another container. Glove boxes which are used in the inert atmosphere are also called isolation glove box or nitrogen glove box.
Inert atmosphere glove boxes are typically stored at high pressure, compared to the surrounding air so that any microscopic leaks are mostly inert gas out of the box rather than allowing air inside.
- Hazardous materials work-
This type of glove boxes is usually used in biological sciences while dealing with anaerobe or lethal microorganisms. Glove boxes which are used in hazardous conditions are called containment glove box.
Such a glove box is sustained at low pressure compared to the surrounding ambiance so that microscopic leaks lead to air intake rather than hazard outflow. Glove boxes for radioactive work are kept under inert conditions.
Literally glove boxes are employed in laboratories and clean rooms for pharmaceutical manufacturing, for semiconductor manufacturing, for additive manufacturing, for carrying out chemical research and for performing diverse biological research.
Advantages of using plastic laboratory glove boxes are mentioned below-
- One of the best advantages of plastic is its lightweight but much stronger material.
- A plastic laboratory glove box is of relatively low price.
- The plastic glove box is more collision resistance than any other material.
- It renders low humidity processing atmosphere for carrying out a broad range of manufacturing and testing procedures.
- Extra airlock system supports the controlled ambiance, for moving samples in and out of the glove box.
- Reinforced stainless steel framed door guarantee airlock durability and dual side access doors augment structural rigidity.
Diverse uses of glove boxes are mentioned below-
- Glove boxes are broadly used in radiochemical and radio metallurgical laboratories.
- It is widely used in production plants.
- One of the most important functions of the glove box is to isolate the contaminants from the environment. So the glove box is primarily used for isolating the contaminants from the atmosphere.
- Glove boxes also find application in the aerospace industry for managing samples restored from space.