Tech Column | What Environmental Technical Standards Must Be Met for Laboratory Animal Housing?

Release time:

2025-09-28 16:20

In the field of life science research, laboratory animals serve as "special assistants" in unraveling the mysteries of life and tackling challenging diseases. Their living environments, however, are not set up arbitrarily—they must strictly adhere to a series of environmental technical standards. These criteria not only safeguard the welfare and health of the experimental animals but also directly influence the accuracy and reproducibility of animal study results, ultimately impacting the scientific rigor of the entire research endeavor. So, what are the key environmental technical indicators that an experimental animal's environment must meet? Nanjing Expansion Technology Starting from the classification of experimental animal environments, and combined with specific scenarios such as production areas, we will explore the relevant technical indicators in detail.

01 Guidelines and Classification of Experimental Animal Environments

The scientific design of laboratory animal environments is a critical prerequisite for ensuring the scientific rigor, standardization, and biosafety of animal experiments, while various design specifications provide the core rationale and technical guidelines for environmental construction. Below is a summary of key design standards related to laboratory animal environments, covering multi-dimensional requirements such as facility construction, biosafety, and cleanroom practices—standards that firmly establish both institutional frameworks and technical foundations for the planning and development of these facilities.

Experimental Animal Environment-Related Design Specifications

Serial Number	Design Specifications
1	"Experimental Animals: Environment and Facilities" GB14925-2023
2	"Technical Code for Laboratory Animal Facility Construction" GB50447-2008
3	General Requirements for Biosafety in Laboratories GB19489-2008
4	"Technical Code for Biosafety Laboratory Buildings" GB50346-2024 (Draft for Comments)
5	General Guidelines for Biosafety in Pathogen Microbiology Laboratories WS233-2017
6	"Cleanroom Design Code" GB50073-2013
7	2023 Revision of the "Good Manufacturing Practice for Pharmaceuticals"
8	Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2025

Based on the aforementioned design guidelines, experimental animal facilities can be further categorized into distinct types, depending on factors such as the level of control over contaminating agents and the suitability for specific animal grades. Each environmental type features differentiated technical specifications—ranging from personnel and material management to the use of containment devices and microbial control—thereby supporting the housing and research needs of experimental animals at varying biosafety levels. The following sections elaborate on the primary types of experimental animal environments and their core components.

Laboratory Animal Environment

Environment	Content
Conventional environment	It meets the basic requirements for housing laboratory animals, controls the entry and exit of personnel, materials, and animals, but does not fully manage infectious agents. It is suitable for housing basic-grade laboratory animals.
Barrier environment	Complying with animal housing requirements, it strictly controls the entry and exit of personnel, materials, and air, making it suitable for raising clean-grade and/or specific pathogen-free (SPF) experimental animals.
Isolation environment	Employ a sterile isolation device to maintain a germ-free environment and prevent external contaminants. The air, feed, water, bedding, and equipment inside the isolation unit must be sterile, while the dynamic transfer of animals and materials must be handled through a specialized transfer system. This system ensures complete isolation from the external environment yet allows seamless maintenance of conditions consistent with the internal environment during animal transfers. It is ideally suited for housing specific-pathogen-free, gnotobiotic, and germ-free experimental animals.

02 Experimental Animal Environmental Technical Specifications

Environmental Technical Standards for Laboratory Animal Production Facilities

Main Technical Specifications for Auxiliary Facilities of Barrier Environment Systems

Process for Entering Animal Facilities: Personnel, Items, and Animals

03 What services can Nanjing Expansion Technology offer you?

Pre-Project Consultation for Laboratory Animal Facilities

Category	Content
Basic Conditions Survey	Based on the materials provided by the client—such as the types and quantities of laboratory animals, as well as the experimental methods—and after conducting an on-site inspection, we gain a fresh perspective to understand and define the project's objective baseline conditions.
Requirement Discovery and Validation	Based on the objective underlying conditions, determine the required facility usage, target certifications, and other relevant factors; identify the project's precise needs, and develop a feasible design and construction plan, along with a project budget and facility operating costs.

Laboratory Animal Facility Design

Category	Content
Laboratory Animal Facility Planning	From a macro perspective, comprehensively plan the entire space of the experimental animal facility.
Process Flow Layout	Based on the preliminary spatial planning and combined with the site-specific characteristics, the required processes will be designed and laid out in the most economical and rational manner. The final design will then be reviewed and approved by the local Experimental Animal Management Committee, providing a solid foundation for the subsequent specialized designs.
Preliminary Design	Based on the established process layout and aligned with the owner's requirements, design professionals from each discipline and system provide conceptual and feasible frameworks for the project, laying the groundwork for detailed design in the next phase.
Deepen the design	Based on the preliminary design drawings, and in combination with the actual conditions at the construction site, further refine, supplement, and improve the drawings. The detailed designs must meet both the owner's requirements and practical needs, while also complying with relevant design codes and construction standards.
Construction Drawing Design	Construction drawing design marks the final stage of the design process; the design documents and drawings for each discipline must meet the requirements for construction and installation. At the same time, detailed construction planning should continue—particularly in specialized areas such as the precise positioning designs for installing laboratory instruments, experimental cages, equipment, and other facilities—and further refinements will be made based on site conditions and the owner's specific requirements.

Experimental Animal Facility Construction Management

Category	Content
Construction Preparation	Assign dedicated project team personnel to conduct on-site surveys, review the engineering project's design drawings and documents, and carry out precise measurement, positioning, and layout work at the site.
Preparation and Review	Participate in technical briefings, review the project design based on site conditions, and provide constructive feedback for necessary revisions. Additionally, organize the preparation of construction and organizational plans for the project and key engineering works, along with detailed and practical construction strategies and schedule plans. Ensure the rational allocation of personnel, materials, and equipment to fully prepare for construction activities.
Coordinated Management	Establish project management goals and innovative plans, build a comprehensive management system to ensure the achievement of set objectives; accept supervision and guidance from the construction entity and higher-level departments; and promptly and effectively communicate and report to the managing and supervising units.
Construction Control	Protect finished and semi-finished products according to the construction drawings, construction techniques, and phased construction methods. Strictly follow the construction schedule and carefully coordinate the sequence of operations. If changes to the project are required due to alterations in site conditions or the owner's preferences, a change request form must be completed and approved by Party A before construction can proceed.
System Debugging	After the system construction is completed, conduct debugging and inspection of each system to ensure they are operating properly.
Completion and Acceptance	Coordinate with the owner to conduct a comprehensive acceptance inspection of the completed project, and complete the竣工验收报告. The report must be signed and stamped by both the owner and the construction contractor for confirmation, after which the completion documents will be organized and handed over to the owner for record-keeping. Finally, submit the project for testing and acceptance by the local Experimental Animal Management Committee, and obtain the license for using (or producing) experimental animals.

Laboratory Animal Facility Maintenance and Support

Category	Content
Regular check-ups	After the project concludes, professional technicians will organize relevant training sessions for laboratory users. Additionally, they will regularly inspect and calibrate the system and equipment to identify potential issues and address them promptly, ensuring reliable support for users and maintaining the effective operation of both systems and products.
Maintenance Management	We have a well-trained, experienced after-sales service team that ensures your issues are resolved satisfactorily within 2 to 24 hours. Additionally, we leverage advanced technologies such as networking, big data, IoT, and equipment management systems to enable remote monitoring, control, and debugging capabilities.

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