The importance of designing research laboratories to prevent contamination
ROME, December 12th, 2016 – The sampling operations known as coring that are conducted in Antarctica are becoming more and more important, as they provide us with much valuable information about the Earth’s past, such as solar radiation, changes in temperature and climate, glacial variations and volcanic eruptions, to name just a few specific areas of research. When it is systematically collected, elaborated and studied this data makes a vitally important contribution to scientific research and it can answer the questions about our future that are becoming increasingly urgent. In the field of biology the experts talk of major findings and of “genuine markers that allow us to reconstruct the chronological sequence and exact timing of natural archives with a precision that is difficult to achieve with other methods,” as Alessio Di Roberto, of the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, recently declared.
Needless to say, research laboratories in this sector are of fundamental importance to obtaining the right results. “There is a very high risk of contamination”, states Giancarlo De Matthaeis of Labozeta. “For this reason the laboratories that we plan and create for this area of research require us to pay particular attention, on the basis of designs that are intended to provide maximum physical safety and security for researchers in the work spaces, the so-called white rooms, and to ensure the absolute integrity of all the elements contained within the core samples.”
“But this is not all – continues De Matthaeis -. The maximum attention is paid to all the elements that go to make up a laboratory of this kind, the chemical fume hoods, laminar flow cabinets, and the special characteristics of the various filters and materials, in order to ensure zero dispersion into the environment and to make it possible to work in isolated and sterile conditions. You could say – concludes De Matthaeis – that there is a further research into the needs of the research, with the aim of ensuring efficiency and safety, completely eliminating the risk of contamination that would otherwise dramatically affect the results of this work that is so important for our future”.
Press and Communications Office Alessandro Ambrosin ufficiostampa@labozeta.it