BCU-2™ Rat Sealed Negative Pressure Cage

BCU-2™ Rat Sealed Negative Pressure Cage – Sealed, Negative-Pressure Biocontainment IVC Cage for Rats

The BCU-2™ Rat is a sealed, negative-pressure individually ventilated cage designed for the biocontainment housing of rats. It builds on the innovations of the NexGen IVC and the BCU-2 Mouse, maintaining the solid, reliable performance of the BCU-2 family in a system specifically designed for rats and rat research. Allentown's BCU has been regarded as the gold standard in biocontainment housing since 1997. The gasketed cage maintains negative pressure when it is removed from the rack.

Watering is provided via a water bottle (Cat. no. 232143 is designed for bottle watering only).

Key Features

• Patented four-point seal (US Patent 6,308,660): when a cage is removed, both the cage and the rack remain sealed from the room
• Gasketed cage lid maintains negative pressure within the cage when it is removed from the rack
• Standard cage-level exhaust filtration; optional certified cage-level HEPA exhaust filtration
• Docking indicator on every rack slot alerts the operator to improperly docked cages
• Ergonomic cage locks provide consistent pressure along the entire cage perimeter; the locks snap up for tunnel washing
• Clear polysulfone cage and flip-up cardholders for easy observation
• Animal welfare checks without fully removing the cage from the rack
• Compact nesting and stacking for efficient autoclaving
• At least 10 hours of rack battery backup, with blower redundancy, wireless monitoring, and alarms

How to Complete the BCU-2 Rat Cage Set

The BCU-2™ Rat Sealed Negative Pressure Cage is supplied as a complete cage with the following components:

1. BCU-2 Rat cage assembly (cage bottom)

2. Top: Standard Filter Top Assembly with a gasket and ergonomic cage locks

3. Wire bar lid: Full Pocket Wire Bar Lid (food capacity: 771 g)

4. 450 mL water bottle

5. Choose a cardholder: vertical or horizontal (each for 76 × 102 mm or 76 × 127 mm cage cards)

6. Filters: Intra-Cage Extract Filter with Extract Filter Housing – standard; Certified Intra-Cage HEPA Exhaust Filter – optional

Housing Capacity According to Directive 2010/63/EU

Maximum number of animals per cage, based on the minimum floor area per animal set out in Directive 2010/63/EU:

• Up to 4 rats weighing 200 g or less
• Up to 3 rats weighing over 200 g and up to 300 g
• Up to 2 rats weighing over 300 g and up to 400 g
• Up to 2 rats weighing over 400 g and up to 600 g

Applications of the BCU-2™ Rat Cage

• Biocontainment housing of rats in infectious disease research
• Housing of rats exposed to hazardous agents as an alternative to glove-box isolators
• Biocontainment facilities (e.g., ABSL-2 and ABSL-3), as part of the facility's overall containment strategy