What Is a Pass Through Box?

As the name suggests, Pass Through Box is a small transfer chamber used to pass materials between cleanroom environments. These units are not intended for transferring people or large equipment between rooms, nor for continuous process feeds. Instead, they facilitate the transition of goods and materials between a cleanroom and a non-clean room, minimizing operator fluxes and therefore contamination risks.

Like airlocks, the basic function of a cleanroom pass through box is to ensure that the transition between two areas remains contamination-free. This is accomplished by creating a physical barrier between the two areas, thereby keeping contaminants that have already entered the cleanroom from entering again.

Additionally, a cleanroom pass through box is designed to allow only filtered air to enter and exit the chamber, thus protecting transferred materials from particle contamination. It also provides a controlled environment for a variety of applications including the transfer of products and goods, decontamination by UV, or the use of gaseous cleaning agents such as hydrogen peroxide.

A variety of sizes and options are available to meet the requirements of any cleanroom transfer application. Floor mount cleanroom pass throughs provide a convenient entrance for carts and larger items, while wall mounted models expedite the transfer of materials through an opening installed in the wall at a secure standing height. Both types of cleanroom pass throughs are equipped with smart interlocks to prevent damage that could occur if the door handle is pulled on both sides simultaneously, and they feature an LED light that indicates whether or not the chamber is available for access.

For the most critical biological applications requiring stringent sterilization protocols, Cleanroom Designs offers both static and active pass through boxes that include an ION HP+ hydrogen peroxide bio decontamination system. This unit creates overpressure and filters incoming air through the system’s HEPA filter to provide high purity cleanroom-grade air into the pass through chamber.

In addition to the ION HP+, both static and active cleanroom pass through chambers offer autoclave-safe doors. These models are ideal for USP 797 or 800 compounding pharmacies and other bio-pharmaceutical applications requiring strict cleanliness standards. They are also available with a defined leak path to vent contaminated air into the chamber.