University of Turku Enhances Laboratory Safety and Efficiency with Spectral Blue MWHI® Salo XL

The Department of Biology at the University of Turku conducts internationally recognized research at all organizational levels of life, from molecules to ecosystems. Model organisms include animals (including humans), plants, algae, fungi, and microbes. The Department of Biology provides state of the art, science based teaching in ecology, physiology, genetics, and cell and molecular biology. As part of their training, students carry out practical work throughout their bachelor’s and master’s studies. In genetics and cell and molecular biology, this also includes learning good laboratory practices from the beginning.

At the teaching laboratory at students conduct both eukaryotic and microbial experiments—including work with E. coli—within the same laboratory space and laminar flow cabinets. This setup creates a clear risk: eukaryotic cultures can easily become contaminated by microbial cells if disinfection between experiments is not fast, reliable, and thorough.

To protect sample integrity and maintain high teaching standards, the team needed an efficient and safe method to disinfect three laminar flow cabinets. Their initial plan was to adopt traditional UV disinfection, but during the evaluation process, antimicrobial blue light technology caught the laboratory manager’s attention.

After meeting with the Spectral Blue team, the decision became clear: Spectral Blue MWHI® Salo XL offered a smarter, safer, and more user friendly solution than UV.

Several factors drove the choice:

• Ease of use: The device is simple to operate.
• Safety: Unlike UV, Spectral Blue’s antimicrobial blue light poses no risk to users or maintenance staff.
• Long lifetime LED technology – operates up to 50.000 hours and does not need lamp replacements
• Material friendly: The blue light does not damage plastics, pipettes, or other materials inside the cabinet—meaning everything can remain in place during disinfection.
• Portability: One device can be easily moved between cabinets and between laboratories.
• Time savings: No need to remove and rearrange materials before and after each disinfection cycle.

The team highlight how the Spectral Blue Salo has transformed their workflow: “It makes our work easier. It’s carefree, safe, and portable—so we can use it in any laminar flow cabinet where we need it.”

With the Spectral Blue MWHI® Salo XL, the University of Turku has strengthened both safety and efficiency in their training laboratories, ensuring clean workspaces and reliable results for every experiment.