ANALYTICAL FACILITIES

The biosafety laboratory level 2 (LBS2) of the IDiBE is a facility for the safe culture of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The pathogens intended for use in this facility are agents of moderate potential hazard to personnel and the environment.

A biosafety laboratory is a biological containment facility that has a series of measures concerning facilities, equipment and personnel organisation to isolate hazardous biological agents from laboratory operators and from outside the laboratory (including the environment). The containment levels and measures are established according to the level of risk posed by working with biological agents. Specifically, the IDiBE LBS2 is designed for work with pathogenic biological agents included in risk group 2, i.e. those biological agents that can cause illness in humans and can pose a danger to workers, but are unlikely to spread to the community and effective prophylaxis or treatment is generally available.

The containment measures include a unique ventilation system that pressurises the work rooms to prevent the possible escape of contaminants to the outside, as well as an air treatment unit with HEPA filters to filter the extracted air before it is released into the atmosphere.

This laboratory consists of an anteroom and two workrooms for working with viruses and bacteria, respectively. Each of these work rooms is equipped with specific incubators for the cultivation of bacteria or cell lines and with type II biological safety cabinets (EN 12469:2000), designed to protect the user, the samples and the environment.

This new facility will give the Institute the capacity to undertake new lines of research and more ambitious and competitive projects that require this level of Biosafety. For example, one of the projects will include the testing of new vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), in collaboration with the Hospital General Universitario de Elche.

Entry and use of this facility is subject to prior authorisation by the university’s scientific and occupational risk managers and the number of regular users will be restricted.

The main researcher responsible for these facilities is Dr. María del Mar Ortega-Villaizán and the technician responsible is Dr. María Lourdes Renart.

Contact: Maria Lourdes Renart Pérez (e-mail:   phone: +34 648 891 376).