Automatic culture device

Abstract

The invention relates to the related technical field of culture instruments, in particular to a culture instrument capable of achieving automatic replacement of a culture medium. The bearing seat for placing the culture is added between the cover and the bottom of a traditional culture appliance, and the structure of the bearing seat is correspondingly optimized, so that on one hand, the sealing performance of tissue culture can be ensured; secondly, when the culture solution is replaced, the tissues do not need to be manually transplanted one by one, so that the efficiency in the application process can be greatly improved, and the problem of tissue damage in the transplanting process can be solved; thirdly, specific biological materials can be selected for subsequent experiments, and other biological materials in the culture medium are not affected; and fourthly, the purpose of realizing automatic culture can be achieved.

Description

An automated culture device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of culture devices, and in particular, the present disclosure relates to a culture device capable of automatically replacing culture medium.

[0002] The current culture dish method used in laboratories is to directly culture the culture tissue on the culture solution. In the traditional design, when replacing the culture solution, the tissue needs to be manually transplanted one by one into the new culture solution, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive and can easily damage the tissue cells and incomplete transplantation, affecting the experimental data.

[0003] With the development of automation technology, the current operation is basically performed by machines for transplantation and other processing work. If the traditional method is continued to be used for processing, not only the efficiency is low, but also errors are prone to occur.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a culture device capable of using automated instruments for culture.

[0005]

[0006] The present disclosure aims to at least partially solve one of the technical problems in the related art.

[0007] To this end, the first aspect of the present disclosure provides a culture device comprising an upper cover, a carrier seat, and a base, wherein,

[0008] One end of the carrier seat is detachably connected to the upper cover, and the other end is detachably connected to the base;

[0009] The carrier seat is internally provided with a base, which allows the culture medium contained in the base to pass through and blocks the biological material in the carrier seat from passing through;

[0010] The carrier seat is at least partially convex towards the inside of the base.

[0011] The present disclosure adds a carrier seat for placing the culture between the cover and the base of the traditional culture device, and optimizes the structure of the carrier seat. The culture device provided by the present disclosure has the following advantages: first, it can ensure the sealing of tissue culture; second, it can greatly improve the efficiency of the application process without manually transplanting the tissue one by one when replacing the culture solution, and can also solve the problem of damaging the tissue during transplantation; third, it can select specific biological materials for subsequent experiments without affecting other biological materials in the culture medium; and fourth, it can realize automated culture.

[0012] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the side wall of the upper cover is provided with an anti-skid structure, which comprises anti-skid lines, and the anti-skid lines comprise transverse, longitudinal, diagonal or other lines in combination. When the mechanical arm of the automatic device is grasped or opened, the anti-skid design on the upper cover can play an anti-skid role, and increase the friction between the mechanical arm and the upper cover, so that the opening is easier.

[0013] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the structure of the bearing seat is any one of a columnar structure, a long / cubic structure or a circular truncated cone structure.

[0014] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the substrate is used to hold biological materials.

[0015] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the substrate is a filter screen or a permeable membrane, and the purpose of the substrate is to block the biological materials from passing through the holder, and to allow the culture medium in the base to pass through the substrate and contact the biological materials. Therefore, when the volume of the biological materials is large, the substrate can be a filter screen or a permeable membrane. When the volume of the biological materials is small, such as cells or fungi, the substrate is a permeable membrane. The size and shape of the substrate are not limited, and the substrate can block the biological materials from entering the base and allow the culture medium in the base to freely enter the holder. For example, the substrate is a nylon screen, and the screen can be in a radial shape, a fishing net shape, a tree shape or any other irregular shape.

[0016] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the substrate is arranged at the bottom of the bearing seat, and the substrate is provided with a partition component near one side of the upper cover, and the partition component divides the bearing seat into a plurality of holding spaces.

[0017] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the partition component comprises any one of a nylon screen, a plastic plate or a metal plate.

[0018] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the partition component is arranged along the radial direction of the automatic culture device.

[0019] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the bearing seat further comprises a holder, and the bottom of the bearing seat is provided with a bearing hole for inserting the holder.

[0020] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the side wall of the holder is arranged in steps to form an abutting surface towards the bottom of the bearing seat, and the abutting surface abuts against the periphery of the bottom of the bearing hole when the holder is inserted into the bearing hole.

[0021] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the substrate is arranged at the bottom of the holder, and the substrate is a filter screen or a permeable membrane, and the holder divides the bottom of the bearing seat into a plurality of holding spaces.

[0022] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, one carrier seat is provided with at least one carrier hole, one carrier hole can be inserted with one storage device, and the bottom of one carrier seat is inserted with at least one storage device.

[0023] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the structure of the storage device comprises at least one of a columnar structure, a polyhedral structure, and a circular truncated cone structure.

[0024] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the storage device comprises at least one of a cuboid, a cylinder, a hexagonal prism, an octagonal prism, and a circular truncated cone.

[0025] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the structures of the storage devices inserted in the same carrier seat can be the same or different.

[0026] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, single or multiple biological materials can be placed in a single storage device, and the storage device separates the materials from the biological materials. When a specific biological material needs to be selected for subsequent experiments, the storage device containing the specific biological material can be directly taken out without affecting other biological materials.

[0027] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the outer side of the sidewall of the storage device is provided with an anti-skid structure, and the anti-skid structure comprises anti-skid lines, which comprise transverse lines, longitudinal lines, diagonal lines, or other stripe combinations. When any storage device needs to be taken out, the anti-skid lines can enhance the friction force during taking out, so that the storage device is not easy to slip during taking out.

[0028] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the shape of the carrier hole comprises at least one of a circle and a polygon.

[0029] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the polygon comprises at least one of a triangle, a square, a prism, and a trapezoid. In some embodiments, the carrier hole can also be irregular in shape, as long as it can be inserted with the storage device.

[0030] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the shapes of the carrier holes in one carrier seat can be the same or different. For example, one carrier seat can simultaneously contain carrier holes with different shapes.

[0031] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier holes can be arranged in the carrier seat in a certain proportion, or the carrier holes can be randomly arranged in the carrier seat.

[0032] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the outer side of the sidewall of the carrier seat is provided with an outwardly extending protrusion, and the carrier seat is limited between the upper cover and the base by the protrusion.

[0033] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, an outwardly extending protrusion is arranged outside the sidewall of the container, and in the process of automatic replacement of culture solution, the automation equipment grasps the protrusion by a mechanical hand, so as to separate the base from the upper cover and the container.

[0034] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the outer edge of the protrusion is provided with a lug and / or a gripping plate for grasping.

[0035] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the lug is symmetrical on the protrusion and is grasped by a mechanical hand.

[0036] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the lug is at least partially bent towards the base at one end away from the protrusion.

[0037] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the gripping plate can be manually grasped or grasped by a mechanical hand.

[0038] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, in the process of automatic replacement of culture solution, the automation equipment grasps the lug or the gripping plate by a mechanical hand, so as to separate the base from the upper cover and the container.

[0039] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the detachable connection includes at least one of a threaded connection, a buckle connection, and a sealing ring connection.

[0040] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat is connected to the upper cover by a threaded connection, the carrier seat is connected to the base by a sealing ring connection, or,

[0041] The carrier seat is connected to the upper cover by a sealing ring connection, and the carrier seat is connected to the base by a threaded connection.

[0042] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat is connected to the upper cover by a sealing ring connection, and the carrier seat is connected to the base by a sealing ring connection.

[0043] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat is connected to the upper cover by a threaded connection, and the carrier seat is connected to the base by a threaded connection.

[0044] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the sealing ring includes any one of a U-shaped sealing ring, an O-shaped sealing ring, and a Y-shaped sealing ring.

[0045] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, a protrusion is arranged on the outer edge of the bottom of the base in a circumferential direction, for fixing the base on a matching card seat, and plays a role of stabilizing the culture instrument.

[0046] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the material of the culture instrument is any one of glass and plastic.

[0047] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the upper cover, the base and the carrier seat are all made of plastic.

[0048] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the upper cover, the base and the carrier seat are all made of glass.

[0049] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the upper cover and the base are made of glass, and the carrier seat is made of plastic.

[0050] The second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for automatically culturing biological materials, which comprises containing a culture medium and biological materials in an automatic culture device, and specifically comprises the following steps:

[0051] removing the upper cover by the automatic device;

[0052] lifting the carrier seat containing at least part of the biological materials by the automatic device;

[0053] automatically detecting the biological materials, or reloading the carrier seat after transferring the carrier seat to another base or replacing the culture medium in the base;

[0054] The automatic culture device comprises a base, a carrier seat detachably loaded on the base, and an upper cover for sealing the carrier seat.

[0055] The present disclosure provides a method for automatically culturing biological materials. By using the method provided by the present disclosure, on the one hand, the biological materials can be automatically detected, for example, the biological materials to be detected in the carrier seat are moved to the optical detection device connected thereto by the automatic device, so as to realize the semi-automation of the culture and detection of the biological materials to a certain extent and reduce the pollution caused by human operation; on the other hand, the biological materials with a growth condition more in line with the expectation can be selectively selected for further culture, or part of the biological materials not in line with the expectation can be removed to save the cost of later culture; on the other hand, the culture medium can be automatically replaced.

[0056] According to the specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the device for automatically detecting the biological materials comprises an optical detection device.

[0057] According to the specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the optical detection device is used to detect the biological materials.

[0058] According to the specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure uses a microscope to detect the biological materials and record the parameter indexes of the biological materials, which include the survival condition and growth of the biological materials.

[0059] According to the specific embodiments of the present disclosure, before detecting the biological materials, the carrier seat containing the biological materials is transferred to another base by the automatic device to realize the replacement of the culture medium.

[0060] According to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprises the step of picking the biological material in the carrier seat by an automated device.

[0061] According to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the carrier seat comprises a plurality of holders, and the method further comprises the step of picking the holders in the carrier seat by an automated device.

[0062] According to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the automated device is a robotic arm.

[0063] A third aspect of the present disclosure provides an automated device for automatically replacing culture medium, which comprises the automated culture apparatus as described above.

[0064] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the automated device for automatically replacing culture medium has a card seat for stably holding the automated culture apparatus.

[0065] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the automated device for automatically replacing culture medium has a robotic arm for picking the carrier seat.

[0066] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the automated device for automatically replacing culture medium has a robotic arm for picking the holder in the carrier seat.

[0067] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides the use of the automated culture apparatus as described above in the automated device for automatically replacing culture medium.

[0068] Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

[0069] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and be readily appreciated from the following description, including the appended drawings.

[0070] FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a culture apparatus in one specific embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0071] FIG. 2 shows two different structural views of a carrier seat in a culture apparatus in one specific embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0072] FIG. 3 shows a whole structural view of a culture apparatus in one specific embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0073] FIG. 4 shows a top view of a carrier seat in a culture apparatus in one specific embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0074] FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a culture apparatus in one specific embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0075] FIG. 6 shows different forms of the carrier seat in the culture apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0076] FIG. 7 shows an overall structure of the culture apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0077] FIG. 8 shows a structure of the carrier seat in the culture apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein FIG. 8A shows a plan view of a main frame of the carrier seat, and FIG. 8B shows a front view of a holder further included in the carrier seat;

[0078] FIG. 9 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the culture apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0079] wherein 101 is an upper cover, 102 is a carrier seat, 102a is a carrier seat, 1021a is a base, 1022a is a partition member, 1023 is a protrusion, 1023b is a lug, 1023c is a grip plate, 102b is a carrier seat, 1021b is a holder, 1022 is an abutting surface, 1022b is a base, 1024 is a carrier hole, and 103 is a base.

[0080] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below. The embodiments described below are examples for explaining the present disclosure and should not be understood as limiting the present disclosure.

[0082] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used only for the purpose of description and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implying the number of the technical features indicated. Thus, the features defined with "first", "second", etc. can explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0083] The endpoints of the ranges and any values disclosed herein are not limited to the precise values stated. The ranges or values should be construed to be approximations that allow for significant variation. Within the range or value, endpoints are generally provided to the nearest ten-thousandth of the unit and can be achieved through manipulation of the amounts or shape of the device, each and every medium of the range or value should be considered and explicitly stated. Other values that are not explicitly delineated or stated can take on values from this range or value it can be readily accepted by those with ordinary skill in the art.

[0084] In order to facilitate a better understanding of the present disclosure, certain technical and scientific terms are defined below. Unless otherwise defined herein, all other technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0085] In the present text, the terms "comprising" or "comprise" are to be construed as open terms, i.e. meaning including but not limited to.

[0086] In the present text, the terms "optionally", "optional" or "optional" generally mean that the event or circumstance subsequently described can or can not occur, and that the description includes situations where the event or circumstance occurs and situations where it does not.

[0087] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture device, as shown in Figure 1, which comprises an upper cover 101, a carrier seat 102, a base 103, wherein one end of the carrier seat 102 is detachably connected with the upper cover 101, and the other end is detachably connected with the base 103, and the carrier seat 102 is connected with the upper cover 101 and / or the base 103. The carrier seat 102 has a displacement function, allowing the culture medium contained in the base 103 to pass through and blocking the biological material from passing through.

[0088] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the carrier seat 102 is connected with the upper cover 101 and / or the base 103, it is a sealed connection.

[0089] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the carrier seat 102 is connected with the upper cover 101 and / or the base 103, it can be a non-sealed connection.

[0090] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat 102 is at least partially convex towards the inside of the base 103. So that the biological material in the carrier seat 102 can be in contact with the culture medium in the base 103, which includes solid culture medium and liquid culture medium.

[0091] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat 102 is placed with a culture, and the culture device can be a culture bottle or a culture dish, which is adjusted according to different culture needs. For example, when the culture is plant tissue and the culture purpose is rooting culture, the culture device is preferably a culture bottle; when the culture is plant tissue and the culture purpose is callus culture, the culture device is preferably a culture dish.

[0092] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat 102 specifically comprises two structures, as shown in FIG. 2, wherein A in FIG. 2 represents one structure of the carrier seat 102, denoted as carrier seat 102a, the base 1021a with displacement function in the carrier seat 102a is located at the bottom of the carrier seat 102a, and the biological material is placed on the base 1021a; B in FIG. 2 represents another structure of the carrier seat 102, denoted as carrier seat 102b, the base 1022b with displacement function in the carrier seat 102b is located at the bottom of the container 1021b further contained in the carrier seat 102b, and the biological material is placed on the base 1021b.

[0093] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the structure of the carrier seat 102 is the carrier seat 102a, the present disclosure provides an automatic culture device, which is composed of the upper cover 101, the carrier seat 102a and the base 103, as shown in FIG. 3, the tissue to be cultured is placed in the carrier seat 102a, the bottom of the carrier seat 102a is one or more filter screens or a film with permeability, which can make the culture medium in the base 103 enter the carrier seat 102a, so that the cultured tissue in the carrier seat 102a can fully contact the culture solution; the upper cover 101 has no material exchange property, which is used to cover the carrier seat 102a to protect the tissue from being contaminated; the culture medium is contained in the base 103 part, and the culture medium can be replaced by replacing the base 103, and the outer edge of the bottom of the base 103 is provided with a protrusion 1031 in the circumferential direction, which can effectively fix the culture device on the instrument for automatically replacing the culture medium, so as to prevent the culture device from moving when replacing the culture medium.

[0094] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat 102a is a columnar structure, and the carrier seat 102a has a displacement function, as shown in FIG. 4, the carrier seat 102a is provided with a base 1021a for containing biological material, and the base 1021a is provided with a partition component 1022a, such as a small clamping groove or other objects that can separate the space, which is suitable for the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 2, the partition component 1022a divides the carrier seat 102a into multiple storage spaces, which are used to separate the cultured tissues, so as to avoid the internal tissues from rolling and combining into a lump during the movement or replacement of the culture solution.

[0095] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the distribution of the partition component 1022a is not particularly limited, for example, the partition component 1022a can be distributed in a radial manner, a mesh shape, a concentric circle shape, and any shape that can separate the culture is suitable for the present disclosure, wherein the size of the separated space changes with the shape of the culture.

[0096] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the material of the partition component 1022a is not particularly limited, and any material known in the art for use in culture apparatuses is suitable for use in the present disclosure.

[0097] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 5, an outwardly extending protrusion 1023 is provided outside the sidewall of the carrier seat 102a, and the carrier seat 102a is limited between the upper cover 101 and the base 103 by the protrusion 1023. The inner diameter of the end of the carrier seat 102a adjacent to the base 103 is smaller than the inner diameter of the end of the carrier seat 102a adjacent to the upper cover 101, and the carrier seat 102a is in a stepped or circular truncated cone shape, which can ensure that the culture placed at the bottom of the carrier seat 102a can fully contact the culture medium in the base 103.

[0098] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture apparatus, which is composed of an upper cover 101, a carrier seat 102a, and a base 103. The outer wall of the carrier seat 102a is provided with a sealing ring, which can tightly connect the carrier seat 102a and the base 103, seal the base 103, isolate air, and protect the culture medium in the base 103 from being contaminated by the outside world. The carrier seat 102a is provided with an extended protrusion 1023 on the side, and the carrier seat 102a and the base 103 are separated by applying an external force to the protrusion 1023, so as to replace the base 103 to replace the culture solution.

[0099] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture apparatus, which is composed of an upper cover 101, a carrier seat 102a, and a base 103. The carrier seat 102a blocks the biological material from falling into the base 103, and also needs to make the culture medium in the base 103 fully contact the biological material through the carrier seat 102a. Therefore, the structure of the carrier seat 102a is not particularly limited. As shown in FIG. 6, the carrier seat 102a can be as shown in a of FIG. 6, which is internally provided with a substrate 1021a for containing biological material, and the substrate 1021a is provided with a partition component 1022a on the side adjacent to the upper cover 101. The substrate 1021a can be a combination of a filter screen and a filter membrane, or any one of a filter screen or a filter membrane. The carrier seat 102a can also be as shown in b and c of FIG. 6, which is composed of a substrate 1021a with a frame part without a partition component 1022a. The substrate 1021a can be any one of a filter screen or a filter membrane, and the structure of the carrier seat 102a includes any one of a columnar structure, a long / square structure, and a circular truncated cone structure.

[0100] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat 102a is a filter screen structure, or the base 1021a of the carrier seat 102a is a filter membrane or a mesh structure, or the bottom or side of the carrier seat 102a is provided with small holes.

[0101] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture device, which comprises an upper cover 101, a carrier seat 102a, and a base 103, as shown in FIG. 5, the outer wall of the carrier seat 102a is provided with a threaded structure at the upper end, the outer side of the side wall of the carrier seat 102a is provided with an outwardly extending protrusion 1023, and the lower end of the outer wall is provided with a sealing ring, and the bottom and / or side of the carrier seat 102a is made of a material or structure with a displacement function, wherein,

[0102] The carrier seat 102a is suspended between the upper cover 101 and the base 103 through the protrusion 1023, which does not have a specific shape and size, and can be a circular ring, or only partially protrude from the carrier seat 102a, and can be a cuboid or an ear. In the automated device, the protrusion 1023 can provide a force point for a mechanical hand, and when the culture solution needs to be replaced, the mechanical hand provides an upward force to the protrusion 1023 or rotates the protrusion 1023, so that the base 103 is separated from the upper cover 101 and the carrier seat 102a;

[0103] The carrier seat 102a is connected with the inner wall of the upper cover 101 through the threaded structure;

[0104] The carrier seat 102a is connected with the inner wall of the base 103 through the sealing ring.

[0105] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture device, which comprises an upper cover 101, a carrier seat 102a, and a base 103, wherein the outer wall of the base 103 is provided with a threaded structure, and in the absence of the carrier seat 102a, the base 103 can be connected with the inner wall of the upper cover 101 through the threaded structure, so that the culture solution in the base 103 is not contaminated.

[0106] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure can place the tissue to be cultured in the carrier seat 102a, cover the upper cover 101, and then place it in the base 103 containing the culture solution for culture. When the culture solution needs to be replaced after a certain period of time, the base 103 is removed, and a new culture solution is replaced for continuous culture. When the tissue needs to be extracted, the upper cover 101 can be directly opened for extraction.

[0107] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the structure of the carrier seat 102 is a carrier seat 102b, the carrier seat 102b further comprises a container 1021b, and the base 1022b is arranged at the bottom of the container 1021b,

[0108] The bottom of the carrier seat 102b is provided with a carrier hole 1024 for inserting the container 1021b.

[0109] The side wall of the container 1021b is arranged in steps to form an abutting surface 1022 towards the bottom of the carrier seat 102b. When the container 1021b is inserted into the carrier seat 102b, the abutting surface 1022 abuts the periphery of the bottom of the carrier hole 1024, and the container 1021b divides the bottom of the carrier seat 102b into multiple storage spaces.

[0110] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture device, which is composed of an upper cover 101, a carrier seat 102b and a base 103, as shown in FIG. 7. The carrier seat 102b further comprises a container 1021b, in which the tissue to be cultured is placed. The container 1021b is inserted into the carrier hole 1024 at the bottom of the carrier seat 102b. The base 1022b of the container 1021b is one or more layers of filter screen or permeable membrane. After the container 1021b is inserted into the carrier seat 102b, the base 1022b can contact the culture medium in the base 103 through the carrier hole 1024, allowing the culture medium in the base 103 to enter the container 1021b, and thus enabling the culture tissue in the container 1021b to be fully contacted with the culture medium. The upper cover 101 has no material exchange property and is used to cover the carrier seat 102b to ensure that the tissue in the container 1021b inserted into the bottom of the carrier seat 102b is not contaminated. The culture solution is contained in the base 103 part, and the culture is replaced by replacing the base 103.

[0111] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture device, which is composed of an upper cover 101, a carrier seat 102b and a base 103, wherein the structure of the carrier seat 102b is shown in FIG. 8, wherein A in FIG. 8 represents a top view of the main frame of the carrier seat 102b, the carrier seat 102b is provided with a carrier hole 1024, and the outer side of the side wall of the carrier seat 102b is provided with outwardly extending protrusions 1023 in the circumferential direction, and the outer side of the protrusions 1023 is provided with a lug 1023b and / or a gripping plate 1023c for gripping; B in FIG. 8 represents a front view of the holder 1021b further contained in the carrier seat 102b, the inside of the holder 1021b is provided with a substrate 1022b for containing biological materials, and a plurality of holders 1021b can be inserted on the carrier seat 102b, and one holder 1021b can contain one biological material, which is equivalent to isolating each biological material, avoiding the internal organization from rolling and combining into a ball during the movement or replacement of the culture solution, and at the same time, when a specific biological material needs to be extracted, only the holder 1021b containing the biological material needs to be taken out, so that the biological material can be quickly taken out and the pollution can be reduced.

[0112] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the carrier seat 102b is limited between the upper cover 101 and the base 103 by the protrusions 1023, which on the one hand plays a limiting role, i.e. fixes the carrier seat 102b between the upper cover 101 and the base 103, and on the other hand, the carrier seat 102b is suspended at the opening of the base 103 by the protrusions 1023, which plays a role of sealing the base 103, and can prevent some of the pollution sources in the air from entering the base 103, thereby polluting the culture medium in the base 103.

[0113] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the end of the lug 1023b away from the protrusion 1023 can be bent towards the base 103, so that the end close to the protrusion 1023 forms an angle with the end away from the protrusion 1023, which changes the force direction of the mechanical hand, i.e. when the mechanical hand grabs the carrier seat 102b, it does not need to apply a transverse extrusion force to the lug 1023b to hold the carrier seat 102b, but can hold the lug 1023b by the angle presented by the lug 1023b, and apply a pulling force towards the upper cover 101, which on the one hand is conducive to the mechanical hand to more stably grab the carrier seat 102b, and on the other hand can reduce the risk of deformation caused by the long use time of the culture device and the excessive extrusion times of the mechanical hand on the carrier seat 102b.

[0114] According to some specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the convex part 1023 is externally provided with a gripping plate 1023c for gripping, and the size of the gripping plate 1023c is externally set to be suitable for gripping by adult fingers, so as to facilitate manual separation of the carrier seat 102b without the use of a mechanical hand, for example, only a small number of culture instruments need to be operated, and the operation includes replacing the base 103, taking biological materials, replacing the container 1021b, etc.

[0115] According to some specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the distribution of the carrier holes 1024 is not particularly limited, and can be regularly distributed on the carrier seat 102b or irregularly distributed.

[0116] According to some specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the container 1021b is a columnar structure, as shown in FIG. 8B, and has a displacement function. The container 1021b is internally provided with a substrate 1022b for containing biological materials. The substrate 1022b allows the culture medium contained in the base 103 to pass through and blocks the biological materials in the container 1021b from passing through. A plurality of containers 1021b can be inserted into the same carrier seat 102b, and the containers 1021b can ensure that each biological material has a separate culture space, and do not affect each other during the culture process and the later material taking process.

[0117] According to some specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the caliber of the container 1021b can be set to different specifications according to the size of the biological materials. For example, when the biological materials are Arabidopsis thaliana seeds, the caliber of the container 1021b can be smaller than when the biological materials are potato tubers.

[0118] According to some specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the substrate 1022b is a filter screen, which includes a plastic, metal or glass with holes, or a wire with a segmented shape, such as a nylon mesh. The substrate 1022b is used to block the biological materials from falling into the base 103, and allows the culture medium contained in the base 103 to pass through. The caliber of the substrate 1022b can be set to different specifications according to the size of the biological materials, or can be set to different shapes according to different culture purposes. For example, when the culture purpose is root culture of callus, the density of the holes of the substrate 1022b can be set to be sparse, so as to better adapt to the growth of roots.

[0119] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture apparatus, which comprises an upper cover 101, a bearing seat 102b, and a base 103, as shown in FIG. 9. The bearing seat 102b further comprises a storage device 1021b, which divides the bearing seat 102b into multiple storage spaces. The outer wall of the bearing seat 102b is threaded at one end facing the upper cover 101. The outer side of the side wall of the bearing seat 102b is provided with an outwardly extending protrusion 1023. The outer wall is provided with a sealing ring at one end facing the base 103.

[0120] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the bearing seat 102b is at least partially convex towards the base 103, as shown in FIG. 9. The outer side of the side wall of the convex portion is provided with a sealing ring, and the bearing seat 102b is connected to the base 103 through the sealing ring. In order to prevent the sealing ring from easily sliding off the bearing seat 102b, the outer side of the side wall of the end of the bearing seat 102b close to the base 103 extends circumferentially, limiting the sealing ring to the outer side of the side wall of the convex portion of the bearing seat 102b facing the base 103.

[0121] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture apparatus, which comprises an upper cover 101, a bearing seat 102b, and a base 103. The outer wall of the bearing seat 102b is provided with a sealing ring, which can tightly connect the bearing seat 102b to the base 103, seal the base 103, isolate air, and protect the culture medium in the base 103 from external pollution. The bearing seat 102b is provided with an extended lug 1023b on the side. By applying an external force to the lug 1023b, the bearing seat 102b can be separated from the base 103, achieving the purpose of replacing the base 103 to replace the culture medium.

[0122] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture apparatus, which comprises an upper cover 101, a bearing seat 102b, and a base 103. The outer wall of the base 103 is provided with a threaded structure. Without placing the bearing seat 102b, the base 103 can be screwed with the inner wall of the upper cover 101 through the threaded structure, so that the culture medium in the base 103 is not contaminated.

[0123] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an automated culture apparatus, which comprises an upper cover 101, a bearing seat 102b, and a base 103. The outer side of the side wall of the bearing seat 102b close to the upper cover 101 is provided with a threaded structure, and the inner side of the side wall of the upper cover 101 is also provided with a threaded structure. The bearing seat 102b is screwed with the upper cover 101 through the threaded structure.

[0124] The container 1021b is hung between the upper cover 101 and the base 103 by being inserted into the bottom of the carrier 102b. In an automated device, the lug 1023b or the grab plate 1023c of the carrier 102b can provide a point of force for a robot arm, which can separate the base 103 from the upper cover 101 and the carrier 102b by applying force to the lug 1023b upwardly toward the upper cover 101 or by rotating the lug 1023b;

[0125] The carrier 102b is connected to the inner wall of the upper cover 101 by the threaded structure;

[0126] The carrier 102b is connected to the inner wall of the base 103 by the sealing ring.

[0127] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the tissue to be cultured can be placed in the container 1021b, and after the container 1021b is inserted into the bottom of the carrier 102b, the upper cover 101 is placed on, and then placed in the base 103 containing the culture medium for culture. When the culture medium needs to be replaced after a certain period of time, the base 103 is removed, and the new culture medium is replaced for continued culture. When the tissue needs to be extracted, the upper cover 101 can be opened, and the carrier 102b or the container 1021b on the carrier 102b can be removed.

[0128] The present disclosure adds a carrier 102 for placing the culture between the cover and the bottom of the conventional culture device. The frame of the carrier 102 itself can be used as a container, as shown in the carrier 102a in FIG. 2A. The carrier 102 can also be inserted into a container, and the whole carrier 102 is used as a carrier, as shown in the carrier 102b in FIG. 2B. The function of the carrier 102 is mainly to pass the culture medium contained in the base 103 and to block the biological material in the carrier 102 from falling into the base 103. Any change to the carrier 102 based on the main function is within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0129] In some optimization schemes, the carrier 102 can be divided, such as the base 1021a in the carrier 102a, which is provided with a dividing component 1022a near the side of the upper cover 101. The dividing component 1022a divides the carrier 102a into multiple relatively independent storage spaces. For example, the container 1021b inserted into the carrier 102b serves to place biological materials and also divides the carrier 102b into multiple storage spaces. These division treatments are to prevent the movement and mixing of biological materials when the culture medium is replaced, and also to make each biological material relatively independent when the material is taken, so that the taking of the material does not affect the growth of other biological materials.

[0130] The present disclosure adds a carrier 102 for placing the culture between the cover and the bottom of the conventional culture device, and optimizes the structure of the carrier 102. The culture device provided by the present disclosure has the following advantages: first, it can ensure the sealing of tissue culture; second, it can greatly improve the efficiency of the application process without manually transplanting the tissue one by one when replacing the culture solution, and can also solve the problem of damaging the tissue during transplantation; third, it can select specific biological materials for subsequent experiments without affecting other biological materials in the culture medium; and fourth, it can achieve the purpose of automated culture.

[0131] In order to achieve automated culture, the present disclosure makes a series of improvements to the automated culture device. Those skilled in the art can easily design an appropriate automated device by using the automated culture device provided by the present disclosure.

[0132] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the automated culture device is a culture dish, which, in combination with an appropriate automated device, can automatically replace the culture medium, thereby achieving semi-automated culture of tissue materials, greatly reducing the contamination rate and culture time during the culture process, and improving the culture efficiency.

[0133] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the automated device includes a transmission device for transporting the culture dish and a clamping groove for fixing the culture dish when replacing the culture medium. The transmission device can be any device with specific transmission functions, such as a conveyor belt or a windmill wheel that can hold the culture dish. The automated device contains at least two transportation channels, one for transporting unused configured culture medium placed in the culture dish, and the other for transporting the culture dish carrier 103 after replacement.

[0134] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the automated device includes a mechanical hand and a mechanical arm. The mechanical hand can control the hand strength by controlling the current intensity, and further can achieve a series of operations such as transportation, opening and closing of the culture dish, clamping, etc. by adjusting the force direction. These operations can be completed by the same mechanical hand or different mechanical hands.

[0135] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the mechanical hand is connected to the mechanical arm, and the movement of the mechanical hand is controlled by controlling the movement direction of the mechanical arm, thereby achieving the purpose of tracking the culture device.

[0136] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the automated device includes a base 103 temperature control device, which can be loaded on the transportation channel of the automated device, such as a conveyor belt, to control the temperature of the culture environment during the entire transportation process.

[0137] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the automated device comprises a culture medium infusion device, which can encapsulate the prepared culture medium into each culture vessel.

[0138] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the automated device comprises a sterilization device, which comprises a nozzle for sterilization liquid and a UV lamp attached inside the device.

[0139] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the automated device comprises an automatic detection device, which is used to detect the parameter indicators of the biological material, including the survival status and growth of the biological material.

[0140] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for automatically culturing biological material is provided, which comprises placing culture medium and biological material in an automated culture vessel, and specifically comprises the following steps:

[0141] removing the upper cover 101 by the automated device;

[0142] lifting the carrier 102 containing at least part of the biological material by the automated device;

[0143] automatically detecting the biological material, or transferring the carrier 102 to another base 103 or replacing the culture medium in the base 103, and then reloading the carrier 102;

[0144] wherein the automated culture vessel has a base 103, a carrier 102 detachably loaded on the base 103, and an upper cover 101 for sealing the carrier 102.

[0145] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the experimenter can control the robotic arm of the automated device to move the carrier 102 containing the biological material to the automatic detection device to detect the parameter indicators of the biological material, or observe the growth of the biological material through a microscope, so as to select the part of the biological material with expected growth status and / or parameter indicators for further culture or subsequent research.

[0146] The present disclosure provides a method for automatically culturing biological materials. By using the method provided by the present disclosure, on one hand, the biological materials can be automatically detected, for example, the biological materials to be detected in the carrier seat 102 are moved to the optical detection device connected thereto by using an automatic device, so as to realize semi-automation of the culture and detection of the biological materials to a certain extent and reduce the pollution caused by human operation; on the other hand, the biological materials with a growth condition more in line with the expectation in the carrier seat 102 can be selectively selected for further culture, or part of the biological materials not in line with the expectation can be removed, so as to save the later culture cost; on the other hand, the culture medium can be automatically replaced.

[0147] In the description of the present specification, the description of the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "an example", "a specific example", or "some examples" and the like means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In the present specification, the illustrative description of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any appropriate manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, different embodiments or examples described in the present specification and the features of different embodiments or examples can be combined and combined by those skilled in the art without contradiction.

[0148] Although the specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and cannot be understood as limiting the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, replacements and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

An automated culture apparatus, wherein, The culture device comprises an upper cover, a bearing seat and a base, one end of the bearing seat is detachably connected with the upper cover, and the other end is detachably connected with the base; a base is arranged inside the bearing seat, the base allows the culture medium contained in the base to pass through and blocks the biological material in the bearing seat from passing through; and the bearing seat is at least partially protruded towards the base. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The outer side of the sidewall of the upper cover is provided with an anti-skid structure. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The structure of the bearing seat is any one of a columnar structure, a long / cubic structure or a circular truncated cone structure. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The base is used for containing biological material. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The base is a filter screen or a permeable membrane. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The base is arranged at the bottom of the bearing seat, and a partition component is arranged on the side of the base close to the upper cover, which divides the bearing seat into multiple storage spaces. The automated culture vessel of claim 6, wherein, The partition component is arranged along the radial direction of the automatic culture device. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The bearing seat further comprises a storage device, and a bearing hole is arranged at the bottom of the bearing seat for inserting the storage device. The automated culture vessel of claim 8, wherein, The sidewall of the storage device is arranged in steps to form an abutting surface towards the bottom of the bearing seat, and the abutting surface abuts against the periphery of the bottom of the bearing hole when the storage device is inserted into the bearing hole. The automated culture vessel of claim 8, wherein, The base is arranged at the bottom of the storage device, and the base is a filter screen or a permeable membrane, and the storage device divides the bottom of the bearing seat into multiple storage spaces. The automated culture vessel of claim 8, wherein, The structure of the storage device comprises at least one of a columnar structure, a polyhedral structure or a circular truncated cone structure. The automated culture vessel of claim 8, wherein, The outer side of the sidewall of the storage device is provided with an anti-skid structure. The automated culture vessel of claim 8, wherein, The shape of the bearing hole comprises at least one of a circle or a polygon. The automated culture vessel of claim 13, wherein, The polygon comprises at least one of a triangle, a square, a prism or a trapezoid. The automated culture vessel of claim 8, wherein, The bearing holes are regularly or irregularly arranged at the bottom of the bearing seat. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The outer side of the sidewall of the bearing seat is provided with a protrusion extending outward, and the bearing seat is limited between the upper cover and the base by the protrusion. The automated culture vessel of claim 16, wherein, The outer edge of the protrusion is provided with a lug and / or a gripping plate for gripping. The automated culture vessel of claim 17, wherein, The lug is at least partially bent towards the base at the end away from the protrusion. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein The detachable connection comprises at least one of a threaded connection, a buckle connection or a sealing ring connection. The automated culture vessel of claim 19, wherein, The bearing seat is connected with the upper cover through a threaded connection, the bearing seat is connected with the base through a sealing ring connection, or the bearing seat is connected with the upper cover through a sealing ring connection, and the bearing seat is connected with the base through a threaded connection. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, A sealing ring is arranged at the connection between the bearing seat and the base. The automated culture vessel of claim 19, wherein, The sealing ring comprises any one of a U-shaped sealing ring, an O-shaped sealing ring or a Y-shaped sealing ring. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The outer edge of the bottom of the base is provided with a protrusion in the circumferential direction. The automated culture vessel of claim 1, wherein, The material of the culture device is any one of glass or plastic. A method of automated culturing of biological material, wherein, The method comprises holding culture medium and biological material in the automated culture apparatus of any one of claims 1-24, and specifically comprises the following steps: removing the upper cover by the automated device; lifting the carrier seat holding at least part of the biological material by the automated device; automatically detecting the biological material or re-loading the carrier seat after transferring the carrier seat to another base or replacing the culture medium in the base; wherein the automated culture apparatus has a base, a carrier seat detachably loaded on the base, and an upper cover for sealing the carrier seat. The method of claim 25, wherein, Detecting the biological material by optical detection means. The method of claim 25, wherein, Detecting the biological material by a microscope and recording parameter indicators of the biological material, the parameter indicators comprising survival status and growth of the biological material. The method of claim 25, wherein, Transferring the carrier seat holding the biological material to another base by the automated device before detecting the biological material. The method of claim 25, wherein Further comprising the following steps: Picking the biological material in the carrier seat by the automated device. The method of claim 25, wherein, The carrier seat comprises a plurality of holders, and further comprising the following steps: picking the holders in the carrier seat by the automated device. The method of claim 25, wherein, The automated device comprises a mechanical arm. An automated device for automated medium exchange, wherein The automated device comprises the automated culture apparatus of any one of claims 1-24. Use of the automated culture apparatus of any one of claims 1-24 in an automated device for automatically replacing culture medium.

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