LETAL - Laboratory of Technological Assays in Clean Rooms
The Laboratory of Technological Assays in Clean Rooms (LETAL) is a multidisciplinary laboratory that features facilities in a cascade controlled areas (from ISO 7 to ISO 5) for microbiological and chemical analysis of the effects of ionizing radiation in/on products. It includes areas for conventional microbiology (ISO 6) and molecular biology (ISO 7) studies, a negative pressure room (ISO 5) dedicated to protecting the operator and the environment (e.g. environmental virology) and a positive room (ISO 5) that protects the product to be manipulated (e.g. sterility assays, electronic components). This infrastructure is equipped with several laminar flow cabinets (vertical and horizontal) and analytical instruments (e.g. HPLC, UV-VIS spectrophotometer, TOC analyser; Fig. 1).
The Laboratory was built to allow researchers of National and International Institutions and Industries to develop radiation technologies and/or to suppress the need of environmental control areas (clean areas) for their work.
EXPERTISE SERVICES
- Validation of the sterilization dose for health care products (based on ISO 11137).
- Characterization of products bioburden: line production analysis (based on ISO 11737).
- Experimental irradiations (experimental Co-60 source –Precisa 22; Linear accelerator).
- Microbiological parameters of Indoor Air Quality (Decreto-lei 353-A/2013)