阅读说明：本技术 三维细胞自动培养机 (Three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine ) 是由 朱承娟 于 2019-05-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种三维细胞自动培养机。根据本发明一实施例的三维细胞自动培养机,其包括：第一主体,其内部配备细胞培养空间,用于培养细胞的支承体投放到所述细胞培养空间,并在其上培养细胞,通过所述细胞培养空间与第一分隔壁被划分形成,从而注入并储存培养液的培养液储存空间,配备为包围所述细胞培养空间,并且连通所述培养液储存空间与细胞培养空间的排水口形成于所述第一分隔壁；连通管,其设置于所述第一分隔壁,并通过虹吸作用将细胞培养空间的培养液排出到外部；及第二主体,其内部配备培养液回收空间,所述培养液回收空间配置于所述第一主体的下部,从而回收和向外部排出通过所述连通管排出的培养液,通过所述培养液回收空间与第二分隔壁被划分形成,从而能够从外部观察细胞的细胞观察空间配备于所述第二主体。(The invention relates to a three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine. The three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a first body provided with a cell culture space therein, a support body for culturing cells being placed in the cell culture space and culturing the cells thereon, a culture solution storage space being partitioned by the cell culture space and a first partition wall and injecting and storing a culture solution, a drain port being provided to surround the cell culture space and communicating the culture solution storage space and the cell culture space, the drain port being formed in the first partition wall; a communicating pipe which is provided in the first partition wall and discharges a culture solution of the cell culture space to the outside by a siphon action; and a second body in which a culture medium collecting space is provided, the culture medium collecting space being disposed at a lower portion of the first body to collect and discharge the culture medium discharged through the communication pipe to the outside, the second body being partitioned from the second partition wall by the culture medium collecting space, and a cell observation space in which cells can be observed from the outside being provided.)

1. A three-dimensional cell culture machine, comprising:

a first body provided with a cell culture space therein, the cell culture space being provided with a culture medium storage space into which a support for culturing cells is put and on which the cells are cultured, the cell culture space being partitioned from a first partition wall so as to inject and store a culture medium, the first body being provided so as to surround the cell culture space, and a drain port communicating the culture medium storage space with the cell culture space being formed in the first partition wall;

a communicating pipe which is provided in the first partition wall and discharges a culture solution of the cell culture space to the outside by a siphon action; and a process for the preparation of a coating,

and a second body in which a culture medium collecting space is provided, the culture medium collecting space being disposed at a lower portion of the first body to collect and discharge the culture medium discharged through the communication pipe to the outside, the second body being partitioned by the culture medium collecting space and a second partition wall, and a cell observation space in which cells can be observed from the outside being provided in the second body.

2. The three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine according to claim 1, wherein the first body and the second body are formed as one body, or are formed as a separate structure which is detachably assembled, and a discharge port for discharging a culture solution is formed at a lower portion of the second body which is integrated with the first body.

3. The three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to claim 1, wherein a lower end portion of the culture solution storage space is formed to have a horizontal cross section formed in a diagonal direction or to form a V-shaped valley with respect to the drain opening.

4. The three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein horizontal cross sections of the first body and the second body are formed in a polygonal shape or a circular shape, and first and second partition walls whose horizontal cross sections are formed in a polygonal shape or a circular shape are formed on central portion sides of the first and second bodies.

5. The three-dimensional cell culture machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a first cover for opening and closing the cell culture space, and a second cover for opening and closing the culture solution storage space.

6. The three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to claim 5, wherein the first cover and the second cover are respectively provided with a sealing gasket inside to seal the cell culture space and the culture solution storage space.

7. The three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to claim 1, wherein the culture solution in the cell culture space is discharged to the communicating tube by a siphon action when the culture solution in the cell culture space is filled up to the highest water level of the communicating tube.

8. The three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to claim 1, wherein the first body and the second body are made of transparent material.

9. The three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to claim 1, wherein a lowermost end portion of one end of the communication pipe is formed at a position higher than the drain port formed in the first partition wall.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine. And more particularly, to a three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine that automatically supplies a culture solution to cells that can be cultured into artificial organs such as skin, liver, or heart, and performs culture.

Background

One method of culturing Cells is to inoculate Cells (feeding Cells) on a Cell Culture Dish (Cell Culture Dish) and then inject an appropriate amount of Culture Medium (Media/Medium) for culturing.

However, in order to culture and observe cells continuously for a long period of time, a cumbersome process of replacing the culture solution many times is required. As described above, in the process of replacing the Culture solution many times, there is a possibility that the cells (Culture cells) being cultured are exposed to the outside and contaminated, and thus improvement is required.

On the other hand, automatic cell culture apparatuses, which have been disclosed or have been widely used, frequently malfunction due to problems with machine apparatuses such as internal moisture, and thus may require more maintenance costs.

Therefore, up to now, an automatic cell culture machine using a machine device has been widely known. That is, since it is necessary to culture cells for a long period of time to prepare cells into artificial organs such as skin, liver, heart, etc., an apparatus capable of stably and efficiently culturing cells is required.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

The present invention is intended to simultaneously improve many problems that cannot be solved by the prior art, thereby automatically supplying a culture solution to cells and continuously culturing and observing the cells for a long period of time.

The invention aims to provide a three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine which can automatically supply a culture solution to cells which can be cultured into artificial organs such as skin, liver or heart, thereby being easy to culture for a long time and continuously observe.

Technical scheme

To solve the above problem, an automatic three-dimensional cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention may include:

a first body made of a transparent material, having a cell culture space provided therein, a Medium storage space into which a Medium is injected and stored by a support body (Scaffold) for culturing cells being placed and on which the cells are cultured being partitioned by the cell culture space and a first partition wall, and a drain port communicating the Medium storage space and the cell culture space being formed in the first partition wall so as to surround the cell culture space;

a communicating pipe which is provided in the first partition wall and discharges a culture solution of the cell culture space to the outside by a siphon action; and

and a second body made of a transparent material and having a Culture medium collecting space provided therein, the Culture medium collecting space being disposed at a lower portion of the first body to collect and discharge the Culture medium discharged through the communication pipe to the outside, the second body being partitioned from a second partition wall by the Culture medium collecting space, and a Cell observation space in which cells (Culture cells) can be observed from the outside being provided in the second body.

In addition, in the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first body and the second body may be formed as one body, or may be formed as a separate structure that is detachably assembled, and a Drain Port (Drain Port) for discharging a culture solution may be formed at a lower portion of the second body integrated with the first body.

In addition, in the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the lower end portion of the culture solution storage space may be formed to have a horizontal cross section formed in a diagonal direction or to form a V-shaped valley with respect to the drain opening.

In addition, in the three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the horizontal cross-sections of the first and second bodies may be formed in a polygonal shape or a circular shape, and the first and second partition walls, whose horizontal cross-sections are formed in a polygonal shape or a circular shape, may be formed at the central portion sides of the first and second bodies.

In the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the drain port and the communication pipe may be disposed to face each other or to intersect each other.

In addition, the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a first cover for opening and closing the cell culture space, and a second cover for opening and closing the culture solution storage space.

In addition, in the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first cover and the second cover may have sealing gaskets respectively disposed therein to seal the cell culture space and the culture solution storage space.

In the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the process of supplying the culture medium to the culture medium storage space and the process of supplying the support and the cells to the cell culture space may be performed on a Clean bench (Clean bench).

In addition, in the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the culture solution in the cell culture space is filled up to the highest water level of the communication pipe, the culture solution in the cell culture space may be discharged to the communication pipe by a siphon action.

In addition, in the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first body and the second body may be made of a transparent material.

In the three-dimensional automatic cell culture apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a lowermost end portion of one end of the communication pipe may be formed at a position higher than the drain port formed in the first partition wall.

These solutions will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the implementation of the invention based on the drawings.

Before this time, the terms or expressions used in the specification and claims should not be interpreted in a conventional or dictionary manner, but should be interpreted in accordance with the meanings and concepts conforming to the technical idea of the present invention on the basis of the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the terms to explain his invention in the best way.

Advantageous effects

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the culture medium can be repeatedly and automatically supplied by a non-powered One-way low method (One-way low) through the culture medium storage space, which is divided by the first partition wall and is formed separately from the cell culture space, and the communicating pipe and the culture medium recovery space, thereby enabling the cells to be cultured for a long period of time.

In addition, since the cells can be continuously observed through the cell observation space divided by the second partition wall so as to be formed separately from the culture medium collecting space, it is convenient to obtain compatibility with an external device for imaging the growth, movement pattern, or the like of a specific portion of the cells. Therefore, it is effective in that cells can be easily cultured into artificial organs such as skin, liver or heart.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the inside of a three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cross-section of a three-dimensional cell culture robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a process of culturing cells using the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The specific aspects and certain features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and an embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this specification, components of each drawing are attached with reference numerals, and it should be noted that the same components are attached with the same reference numerals as much as possible although they are shown on different drawings. In addition, with regard to describing an embodiment of the present invention, when it is considered that detailed description of related known technical features or functions may affect the core of the present invention, detailed description will be omitted.

In addition, in describing the technical features of the present invention, terms such as first, second, a, B, and the like may be used. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element, and the nature, order, or sequence of the respective elements are not limited by these terms. When it is stated that one component is "connected," "coupled," or "linked" to another component, the component may be directly connected or linked to the other component, but it may also be understood that another component is "connected," "coupled," or "linked" between the two.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the inside of a three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a first body 10 is provided inside with a cell culture space 11 and a culture solution storage space 13 partitioned by a first partition wall 12 so as to be formed separately from each other, and a second body 30 is provided inside with a culture solution recovery space 31 and a cell observation space 33 partitioned by a second partition wall 32 so as to be formed separately from each other, and shows a coupling relationship in which a communicating tube 20 is provided to the first partition wall 12.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the first body 10 is integrated with the second body 30, the lower end portion 13a of the culture liquid storage space 13 is formed to constitute a V-shaped valley with respect to the drainage port 14 inside the first body 10, and the coupled relation in which the drainage port 30a is formed in the second body 30 is exhibited.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first body 10 is internally provided, divided by the first partition wall 12, so that the cell culture space 11 and the culture solution storage space 13 are separately formed, and the first cover 40 and the second cover 41 for opening and closing the cell culture space 11 and the culture solution storage space 13, respectively, are provided at an upper portion of the first body 10, and the second body 30 is internally provided, divided by the second partition wall 32, so that the culture solution recovery space 31 and the cell observation space 33 are separately formed, and a coupling relationship in which the communication pipe 20 is provided to the first partition wall 12 is exhibited.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first body 10 and the second body 30 are formed in a detachably assembled separated structure, and show a combined relationship in which the first cover 40 and the second cover 41 are disposed on the upper portion of the first body 10.

As shown in fig. 1 to 4, a three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first body 10 in which a cell culture space 11 is independently provided, a support body 2 for culturing cells is thrown into the cell culture space 11, the cells are cultured thereon, and a culture solution storage space 13 into which a culture solution (Medium, Media, Medium) is injected and stored is independently provided from the first body 10.

That is, the first body 10 is provided therein with the cell culture space 11 and the culture medium storage space 13 separately formed, and the culture medium storage space 13 surrounds the cell culture space 11, and the cell culture space 11 and the culture medium storage space 13 are partitioned by the first partition wall 12, which can be easily implemented.

An opening 10a for externally applying a gel-shaped support 2 made of, for example, an Agarose (Agarose) composition or a polymer material may be formed at the upper part of the cell culture space 11. The support body 2 placed through the opening 10a is placed on the bottom 11a of the cell culture space 11.

In addition, the injection port 10b is formed at an upper portion of the culture solution storage space 13 in order to inject the culture solution from the outside, but the injection port 10b may not be formed at the upper portion of the culture solution storage space 13, and the injection port 10b may be formed at a side surface of the culture solution storage space 13 as long as the injection of the culture solution is facilitated.

The lower end portion 13a of the culture solution storage space 13 may be formed to have a horizontal cross section formed in a diagonal direction or to form a V-shaped valley with respect to the drain port so that the culture solution injected into the culture solution storage space 13 is entirely drained to the cell culture space 11.

The first partition wall 12 is a partition for partitioning the cell culture space 11 and the culture medium storage space 13, is formed in an upper direction from the bottom 11a on which the support body 2 is placed, and has a drain port 14 formed in a side surface of the first partition wall 12 to communicate the cell culture space 11 and the culture medium storage space 13, so that the culture medium is supplied to the cells on the support body 2.

The first body 10, in which the cell culture space 11 and the culture solution storage space 13 are partitioned by the first partition wall 12, may be formed in a polygonal or circular horizontal cross-section, and the first partition wall 12 formed in a polygonal or circular horizontal cross-section may be disposed at a central portion side of the first body 10.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the first partition wall 12 having a rectangular horizontal cross section is disposed at a central portion side of the first body 10 having a rectangular horizontal cross section, and the drain opening 14 is formed at a lower portion of the first partition wall 12 so as to be in contact with the bottom portion 11 a.

Among them, the first body 10 may be composed of a transparent material that can be implemented, for example, transparent plastic or reinforced glass, so that the culturing process of cells can be easily observed from the outside. In addition, a partial region of the first body 10 may be composed of a transparent material for observing the culture process of the cells.

On the other hand, the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication pipe 20 which is provided to the first partition wall 12 and discharges the culture solution of the cell culture space 11 to the outside by a siphon action, and a second body 30 which is located at a lower portion of the first body 10 and is independently provided with a culture solution recovery space 31 and a cell observation space 33 inside thereof, the culture solution recovery space 31 recovering and discharging the culture solution discharged through the communication pipe 20 to the outside, and the cells can be observed from the outside through the cell observation space 33.

That is, similarly to the first body 10, the cell collecting space 31 and the cell observing space 33 which are formed separately are provided in the second body 30, and the cell observing space 33 and the culture medium collecting space 31 which surrounds the cell observing space 33 are partitioned by the second partition wall 32, which can be easily implemented.

The second partition wall 32 is formed to extend from the bottom 11a of the cell culture space 11 in the lower direction, so that the cells can be easily observed through the cell observation space 33. That is, since the cell observation space 33 is opened to the outside through the second partition wall 32, compatibility with an external device for imaging the growth, movement pattern, or the like of a specific portion of the cell can be easily obtained, and thus the cell can be continuously observed.

The second partition wall 32 allows the cell observation space 33 and the culture medium collecting space 31 surrounding the cell observation space 33 to be independently provided in the second body 30, and the second body 30 may have a polygonal or circular horizontal cross section, and the second partition wall 32 having a polygonal or circular horizontal cross section may be disposed on the central portion side of the first body 10 and the second body 30.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the second partition wall 32 having a rectangular horizontal cross section is disposed at a central portion side of the second body 30 having a rectangular horizontal cross section.

Here, like the first body 10, the second body 30 may be composed of a transparent material that can be implemented, for example, transparent plastic or reinforced glass, so that the culturing process of the cells can be easily observed from the outside. In addition, a portion of the region of the second body 30 may be composed of a transparent material for observing the culturing process of the cells, and the second body 30 and the first body 10 may be formed as one body or in a detachably assembled separate structure.

In the three-dimensional automatic cell culture apparatus 1 in which the first body 10 and the second body 30 are integrally formed, a drain port 30a for discharging a culture medium to the outside is formed at a lower portion of the second body 30.

The communication pipe 20 is provided in the first partition wall 12 so as to discharge the culture medium in the cell culture space 11 to the culture medium recovery space 31 by a siphon action. The communication pipe 20 and the drain port may be disposed opposite to each other or in a crossing direction, and the communication pipe 20 may be formed integrally with the first partition wall 12.

That is, one end of the communication pipe 20 may be formed to be bent and disposed at an upper portion of the bottom 11a of the cell culture space 11, and the other end thereof may be disposed at a lower position than this, and the communication pipe 20 is disposed at the first partition wall 12 opposite to the drain port 14 in the drawing so that the other end thereof is disposed at an upper portion of the culture solution-recovering space 31, thereby discharging the culture solution in the cell culture space 11 to the culture solution-recovering space 31 by a siphon action based on a siphon principle in which the liquid is pushed up into the pipe by the atmospheric pressure acting on the liquid surface at the higher side.

Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the culture solution supplied to the cell culture space 11 is filled up to the highest water level of the communication pipe 20, it is discharged to the culture solution recovery space 31 through the communication pipe 20 by a siphon action. Also, the culture solution recovered to the culture solution recovery space 31 may be finally discharged to the outside of the three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine 1 by separating the second body 30 or the discharge port 30a from the first body 10.

Hereinafter, a process of culturing cells using the three-dimensional cell automatic culture machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a process of culturing cells by the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the support 2 and the cells are placed in the cell culture space 11, the cell culture space 11 is partitioned from the culture medium storage space 13 by the first partition wall 12, and the culture medium injected into the culture medium storage space 13 is supplied to the cell culture space 11 through the drain port 14, and then is collected into the culture medium collection space 31 through the communication pipe 20 by siphon action.

That is, as shown in fig. 5, the process of culturing cells using the three-dimensional automatic cell culturing machine 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is first to inject a culture solution into the culture solution storage space 13 through the injection port 10b and fill it, and then to couple the second cap 41 to the injection port 10b, thereby sealing the culture solution storage space 13. The support body 2 and the cells are put into the cell culture space 11 through the opening 10a, a proper amount of culture medium is poured, and then the first cover 40 is coupled to the opening 10a, thereby sealing the cell culture space 11.

Therefore, the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a first cover 40 for opening and closing the cell culture space 11, and a second cover 41 for opening and closing the culture solution storage space 13. Also, the first cover 40 and the second cover 41 may be internally provided with gaskets 42, respectively, to seal the cell culture space 11 and the culture solution storage space 13.

In addition, the process of culturing cells by the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, that is, the process of supplying the culture medium to the culture medium storage space 13 and the process of supplying the support 2 and the cells to the cell culture space 11 can be performed on a Clean bench (Clean bench).

On the other hand, 3 to 4 days after the culture solution is injected into the culture solution storage space 13, the injection port 10b is partially opened by the second cover 41, so that the culture solution flows out through the drainage port 14. Wherein the second cover 41 is completely closed when the culture solution is filled up to the highest water level of the communication pipe 20, thereby sealing the culture solution storage space 13.

When the culture medium is filled up to the highest water level of the communicating tube 20, the culture medium in the cell culture space 11 is discharged to the culture medium recovery space 31 by siphoning. Specifically, when the culture liquid is filled up to the highest water level of the communication pipe 20, the culture liquid reaches the highest water level (height) of the communication pipe 20 such that the pressure of the culture liquid is the same as the direction of gravity, whereby the culture liquid is discharged to the culture liquid recovery space 31.

The culture solution is discharged through the communicating tube 20, and when the level of the culture solution in the cell culture space 11 is lower than the lowermost end of one end of the communicating tube 20, the discharge of the culture solution is stopped.

Thereafter, the injection port 10b is partially opened again by the second cover 41, and when the culture solution fills the cell culture space 11, the second cover 41 is closed to reseal the culture solution storage space 13, and when the culture solution is refilled up to the highest water level of the communication tube 20, the culture solution in the cell culture space 11 can be discharged again to the culture solution recovery space 31 by siphon action.

The lowermost end of one end of communication pipe 20 is preferably disposed above bottom 11a and is formed at a position higher than drain port 14 formed in first partition wall 12. As described above, when the culture liquid level in the cell culture space 11 is lower than the lowermost end portion of one end of the communicating tube 20, the siphon action is stopped.

At this time, if the position of the drain port 14 is higher than the lowermost end of one end of the communicating tube 20, the culture solution level in the cell culture space 11 is not lower than the lowermost end of one end of the communicating tube 20, and the culture solution is continuously drained. Therefore, in order to repeat a series of processes of discharging, stopping, and discharging again the culture solution, the lowermost end portion of one end of the communication tube 20 is preferably formed at a position higher than the drain port 14 formed in the first partition wall 12.

Through the above process, the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention can circulate and supply the culture solution to the cells for a long time by using the unpowered One-way low method (One-way low), thereby enabling the cells to be cultured for a long time.

In addition, when the culture solution is recovered and filled in the culture solution recovery space 31, after it is discharged to the outside, the culture solution can be refilled in the culture solution storage space 13 to be supplied to the cells, and can be repeatedly performed, so that the cell culture can be performed, for example, for 30 to 60 days.

Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is effective to culture cells for a long period of time, for example, to easily culture artificial organs such as skin, liver, or heart.

As described above, although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to one embodiment thereof, the present invention is only for the purpose of specifically describing the present invention, and the three-dimensional automatic cell culture machine according to the present invention is not limited thereto. The terms described above such as "including", "consisting of" or "having" mean that the corresponding components may be included unless otherwise stated, and therefore, it should be construed that other components may be further included rather than excluded, and all terms of technology or science, etc., having the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined.

The above description is only an exemplary description of the technical idea of the present invention, and various modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, an embodiment disclosed in the present invention is not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to explain it, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of the invention should be construed by the scope of the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope thereof should be construed to be included in the scope of the present invention.