A multifunctional microbial culture tank and its application

Abstract

This invention discloses a multifunctional anaerobic culture vessel and its application. The culture vessel includes: a double-cylinder microbial culture vessel, a culture vessel lid disposed on the double-cylinder microbial culture vessel, a sealing ring fixed inside the culture vessel lid, and an outer sealing component disposed between the double-cylinder microbial culture vessel and the culture vessel lid; the sealing ring and the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture vessel form a complementary structure; this invention increases the sealing performance by forming a complementary structure between the sealing ring and the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture vessel, and, together with the outer sealing component, achieves a gaseous environment that can accurately control a specific trace oxygen concentration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to detection auxiliary equipment, and in particular to a multifunctional anaerobic culture vessel and its application. Background Technology

[0002] Campylobacter is a major cause of foodborne diarrhea in humans and is the most common bacterium causing gastroenteritis worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The high incidence of Campylobacter diarrhea, coupled with its course and potential for fatal sequelae, makes this disease of significant socioeconomic importance. According to Chinese national food safety standards, the culture and detection of Campylobacter requires a microaerophilic environment with a 5% oxygen concentration. However, food safety standards also cover several anaerobic bacteria, including Shigella, Clostridium botulinum, Bifidobacterium, and Clostridium perfringens. The optimal gas environment for anaerobic bacteria culture is a 0% oxygen concentration anaerobic environment. Therefore, food safety testing institutions require a good microaerophilic and anaerobic culture tool. Compared to conventional aerobic culture tools such as constant temperature incubators, this type of tool requires a special, airtight cavity design to eliminate gas exchange and leakage during the culture process. This allows the tool, with the assistance of gas extraction and replacement devices or anaerobic catalysts, to ensure a constant microaerophilic or anaerobic environment for the culture of Campylobacter and other anaerobic bacteria. Currently available anaerobic culture boxes / vessels suffer from problems such as insufficient airtightness, low sealing operation efficiency, and low culture throughput, leading to a decrease in the overall detection rate of Campylobacter and anaerobic bacteria and unstable culture results.

[0003] The working principle of the anaerobic culture box / jar: A microbial culture carrier containing anaerobic or microaerophilic bacteria, such as a petri dish, is placed into the open anaerobic box / jar, followed by the addition of an anaerobic catalyst. The lid is then closed. An O-ring seals between the jar body and lid; closing the lid simultaneously engages the sealing clips connecting the jar body and lid, creating a sealed anaerobic or microaerophilic environment within the jar. Current design issues:

[0004] Insufficient airtightness: The airtightness of anaerobic digesters on the market currently relies heavily on the O-ring rubber seals being in good condition. If the rubber seals age, cracks may appear, creating a risk of air leakage and resulting in poor airtightness.

[0005] Low sealing efficiency: The current sealing method requires manual clamping of the sealing clips connecting the tank lid to the culture tank after each addition of culture. There are usually 4 sealing clips, requiring 4 operations, which reduces the efficiency of operation.

[0006] Poor control of microaerophilic gas environment: Microaerophilic bacteria such as Campylobacter require a specific micro-oxygen concentration in the gas environment. Due to the poor sealing performance of the original tank, air with a 20% oxygen concentration was mixed into the anaerobic tank, which led to more oxygen entering the anaerobic tank, resulting in the final tank not forming a specific and accurate oxygen concentration.

[0007] The market needs an anaerobic culture vessel with a gaseous environment that can accurately control specific trace oxygen concentrations and has good airtightness. This invention solves this problem. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the present invention aims to provide a multifunctional anaerobic culture vessel and its application. The present invention enhances sealing performance by forming a complementary structure between the sealing ring and the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture vessel. Furthermore, in conjunction with the outer sealing component, it achieves a gaseous environment capable of accurately controlling specific trace oxygen concentrations.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0010] A multifunctional microbial culture vessel includes: a double-cylinder microbial culture vessel, a culture vessel lid disposed on the double-cylinder microbial culture vessel, a sealing ring fixed inside the culture vessel lid, and an outer sealing assembly disposed between the double-cylinder microbial culture vessel and the culture vessel lid; the sealing ring and the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture vessel form a complementary structure.

[0011] The aforementioned multifunctional microbial culture tank has a sealing ring consisting of an upper sealing ring and a lower sealing ring; the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank has an upper opening corresponding to the upper sealing ring and a lower opening corresponding to the lower sealing ring.

[0012] In the aforementioned multifunctional microbial culture tank, the volume of the upper sealing ring is larger than that of the lower sealing ring.

[0013] The aforementioned multifunctional microbial culture tank has a trapezoidal cross-section for the sealing ring and a trapezoidal cross-section for the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank.

[0014] In the aforementioned multifunctional microbial culture tank, the sealing ring is installed in the inner slit of the culture tank lid.

[0015] The aforementioned multifunctional microbial culture tank has an outer sealing assembly comprising: a tank cover strip fixed to both sides of the culture tank cover, a fastening hook assembly for fixing the irrigation strip to the culture tank cover, an easy-to-plug interface and a sealing valve located at the top of the culture tank cover.

[0016] The aforementioned multifunctional microbial culture tank has a fastening hook assembly consisting of: a fastening hook body that is snapped and fixed on the irrigation pressure strip, and a pressure spring connected inside the fastening hook.

[0017] The aforementioned multifunctional microbial culture jar has a lid handle on its lid.

[0018] The aforementioned multifunctional microbial culture vessel is used to culture Campylobacter and anaerobic bacteria.

[0019] The advantages of this invention are:

[0020] This invention forms a complementary structure between the sealing ring and the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank. The complementary structure uses a symmetrical trapezoidal structure for both the lower edge of the sealing ring and the upper edge of the tank body, which increases the sealing performance, ensures a strict seal between the tank body and the tank lid, and eliminates the possibility of air leakage.

[0021] The complementary structure, combined with the easy-to-plug interface and sealing valve, enables the creation of a gaseous environment that can accurately control specific trace oxygen concentrations, thereby optimizing the cultivation of microaerophilic bacteria such as Campylobacter jejuni.

[0022] The structural design of the outer sealing assembly simplifies the anaerobic sealing operation, thereby improving efficiency;

[0023] Because of its sealed design, it can be used for anaerobic culture of anaerobic bacteria when an anaerobic catalyst is built in or when a vacuum is created by gas extraction to achieve an oxygen-free environment. When a microaerophilic catalyst is built in, it can be used for microaerophilic culture of microaerophilic bacteria, thus achieving a multi-functional application. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a structural disassembly diagram of one embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Meaning of the reference numerals in the diagram:

[0027] 1. Double-cylinder microbial culture tank; 2. Culture tank lid; 3. Trapezoidal sealing ring; 4. Tank lid pressure strip; 5. Tank lid handle; 6. Fastening hook body; 7. Pressure spring; 8. Easy-to-plug interface and sealing valve. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0029] like Figure 1 , 2The illustrated multifunctional microbial culture jar includes: a double-cylinder microbial culture jar 1, a culture jar lid 2 disposed on the double-cylinder microbial culture jar 1, a sealing ring fixed inside the culture jar lid 2, and an outer sealing assembly disposed between the double-cylinder microbial culture jar 1 and the culture jar lid 2; the sealing ring forms a complementary structure with the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture jar 1, and the sealing ring is installed in the inner slit of the culture jar lid 2. The anaerobic culture jars connected by the double jars are double-cylinder in shape, and each jar can hold a culture dish individually.

[0030] The sealing ring consists of an upper sealing ring and a lower sealing ring; the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank 1 has an upper opening complementary to the upper sealing ring and a lower opening complementary to the lower sealing ring. Preferably, the upper sealing ring has a larger volume than the lower sealing ring; for example... Figure 1 As shown, in a further preferred embodiment, the complementary structure is a trapezoidal complementary structure; the cross-section of the sealing ring is trapezoidal, and the cross-section of the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank 1 is trapezoidal. It should be noted that the complementary structure is not limited to the trapezoidal shape; the shape is not restricted. However, this invention employs a trapezoidal sealing design, where the top of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank 1 uses a trapezoidal opening that is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom, forming a trapezoidal complement with the trapezoidal sealing ring 3, which is smaller at the top and larger at the bottom. This design, with the larger opening at the top and smaller at the bottom, further improves the sealing performance.

[0031] The outer sealing assembly consists of: lid strips 4 fixed to both sides of the culture tank lid 2, a fastening hook assembly that fixes the irrigation strips to the culture tank lid, an easy-to-plug interface and a sealing valve 8 located at the top of the culture tank lid. The fastening hook assembly consists of: a fastening hook body 6 that snaps onto the irrigation strip, and a pressure spring 7 connected inside the fastening hook. For ease of handling, the culture tank lid 2 is equipped with a lid handle 5.

[0032] The specific working method of sealing the culture chamber is as follows: First, the culture, such as the culture dish, is placed into the double-chamber container; then, a trapezoidal sealing ring 3 is installed in the narrow slit inside the container lid; since the cross-sectional area of ​​the sealing ring is trapezoidal, it forms an interlocking and complementary shape with the top of the container; finally, after closing the culture container lid 2 with two fastening hook components onto the container, the two fastening hook components are lowered and pressed down, so that the sealing ring and the top edge of the complementary double-cylinder microbial culture container 1 form mutual restraint, and the entire anaerobic container is sealed.

[0033] Microbial culture tanks are used to cultivate Campylobacter and anaerobic bacteria. Because the new microbial culture tanks themselves can ensure a seal, they can be used for anaerobic culture of anaerobic bacteria (such as Shigella and Bifidobacterium) when an anaerobic environment is achieved by either using a built-in anaerobic catalyst (which reacts with oxygen in the air within the chamber to consume all oxygen in the sealed chamber) or by using a gas extraction method to create a vacuum (achieved by connecting an external vacuum pump to the easy-plug interface). When a microaerophilic catalyst is built-in (which reacts with oxygen in the air within the chamber to consume some oxygen in the sealed chamber, reducing the oxygen concentration from about 20% of normal air to 5%-10%), it can be used for microaerophilic culture of microaerophilic bacteria (such as Campylobacter jejuni and Brucella).

[0034] The sealing ring and the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank 1 of this invention form a complementary structure, ensuring a tight seal between the tank body and the lid, eliminating the possibility of air leakage. Because of its excellent sealing performance, the application range of the culture tank is expanded, achieving multi-functionality. Traditional anaerobic culture tank sealing methods require multiple clamping operations with the sealing clips; the new lid only requires two sealing hooks, which can be simply pressed downwards to press the tank body and lid together, achieving tank closure. Simultaneously with the anaerobic culture tank closure, the trapezoidal sealing method ensures that the tank body and lid are both closed and sealed, greatly simplifying the sealing operation and significantly improving sealing efficiency. The double-tank design, where two tanks share the same lid, allows for simultaneous placement of anaerobic culture dishes into both tanks with a single lid opening and closing operation, increasing throughput. Because the airtightness of the tank is greatly improved, no air containing 20% ​​oxygen concentration will mix into the anaerobic tank, which ensures that a specific and accurate oxygen concentration can be formed in the tank at the end, providing the optimal oxygen concentration for microaerophilic bacteria such as Campylobacter, thereby improving the cultivation effect of Campylobacter and other microaerophilic bacteria.

[0035] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments do not limit the present invention in any way, and all technical solutions obtained by equivalent substitution or equivalent transformation fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multifunctional microbial culture tank, characterized in that, include: A double-cylinder microbial culture jar includes a culture jar lid, a sealing ring fixed inside the culture jar lid, and an outer sealing assembly disposed between the double-cylinder microbial culture jar and the culture jar lid; the sealing ring forms a complementary structure with the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture jar. The sealing ring consists of an upper sealing ring and a lower sealing ring; the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank consists of an upper opening corresponding to the upper sealing ring and a lower opening corresponding to the lower sealing ring. The volume of the upper sealing ring is larger than that of the lower sealing ring; The sealing ring has a trapezoidal cross-section, and the top edge of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank has a trapezoidal cross-section. The top of the double-cylinder microbial culture tank adopts a trapezoidal opening that is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom, which complements the trapezoidal sealing ring that is smaller at the top and larger at the bottom. The outer sealing assembly comprises: a lid strip fixed to both sides of the culture tank lid, a fastening hook assembly for fixing the lid strip to the culture tank lid, an easy-to-plug interface and a sealing valve located at the top of the culture tank lid; The fastening hook assembly comprises: a fastening hook body that is snapped and fixed on the can lid pressure strip, and a pressure spring connected inside the fastening hook; The sealing ring is installed in the inner slit of the culture tank lid; The microbial culture tanks are used to cultivate Campylobacter and anaerobic bacteria.

2. The multifunctional microbial culture tank according to claim 1, characterized in that, The culture tank lid is equipped with a lid handle.

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