I just got back from my vacation and in reading the histonet digests from
the last two weeks I was interested in the discussion of cryostat vacuums.

The Cryo-Vac-Away, a patented Instrumedics product, addressed the issues
raised and that is why the system has a two-filter system located inside the
cryostat.

A nozzle located at the knife suctions away the debris as it is generated.
The debris is captured in the
primary filter containing a coarse and fine filter and downstream a
viral/bacterial filter that will capture pathogens that might escape the
debris in the primary filter. We believe the viral/bacterial filter is
absolutely essential to protect the operator and the environment.

 The fact that the filters are inside the cold cryostat chamber results in
the debris freeze-drying and becoming very porous which guarantees that the
vacuum will continue to function properly. Vacuums that trap the debris at
room temperature clog rapidly and will not function effectively and are not
environmentally friendly.

Bernice
schiller@instrumedics.com