Source BioScience opens the world’s first minus 70 degrees Centigrade walk-in chamber

Published: 4-Feb-2016

The chamber is designed to be a special hygienic environment for outsourced biostorage

International laboratory services and products business, Source BioScience, has launched a revolutionary -70°C walk-in chamber, the Polar 50.

The coldest place on earth is the Antarctic with temperatures regularly reaching -70°C. Source BioScience is now able to replicate these bone-chilling temperatures in an innovative, efficient storage solution. The only one of its kind in the world, the -70°C walk-in chamber is the first in the company's new Polar Series and it says it will be welcomed into research and industrial settings alike.

Boasting a high-efficiency insulated enclosure, with an internal volume of 50m3, the chamber is supported with 100% operational redundancy on key components and has been designed for easy installation in any manufacturing or storage facility.

The latest addition to the company’s growing portfolio of products and services, the first Polar 50 has been installed at the firm’s facility in Rochdale, UK and is available for outsourced storage projects.

Typically it will be used for storing biological, life sciences, pharmaceutical, and medical products

Simon Palmer, Business Development, International Markets, Source BioScience, said 'Typically it will be used for storing biological, life sciences, pharmaceutical, and medical products such as cell lines, cell extracts, DNA, RNA, blood, tissue, drug substances, etc.'

Palmer added that the chamber is designed to be a special hygienic environment. The internal skin of the room is faced with a grade 304 stainless steel finish. Any joints have food-safe grade low modulus sealant applied for a clean hygienic finish. Corners have been carefully formed and finished with food-safe capping. The shelving system is also manufactured from grade 304 stainless steel and finished to eliminate any sharp edges, corners or other projections. Any cut edges are de burred and sanded where appropriate to eliminate sharp edges.

Keith Parkes, Manufacturing Director at Source BioScience, said: 'Engineering equipment which will operate within and maintain a large storage void at -70°C has been a challenging process, requiring close co-ordination between the groups involved in bringing this to fruition. Various operational elements have been built to maintain the low temperature conditions, interface with the key components and fit within our storage facility.

'While the project has been extremely challenging, as a team we have delivered a unique engineering solution which will meet the needs of our customers looking to store products at ultra-low temperatures.'

Source BioScience is an international provider of laboratory services and products serving clinical diagnostics, genomics, controlled environment storage, proteomics, drug discovery & development and research and analytical testing services markets.

You may also like