Cell co-culture device with sliding combined module

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the field of biology and medicine, and discloses a cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module, which comprises a fixed bracket, the sliding combination module and an automatic clamping jaw, the sliding combination module comprises a horizontal moving mechanism, a lifting mechanism and a rotating mechanism; the horizontal moving mechanism is fixedly arranged at the upper end of the fixing support and slidably connected with the lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism is in driving connection with the rotating mechanism, and the lower end of the rotating mechanism is connected with the automatic clamping jaw. The automatic clamping jaw is used for automatically clamping a glass slide in the single cell culture dish and transferring the glass slide into the co-culture dish under the control of the sliding combination module. According to the device, the glass slides in the single cell culture dish can be automatically clamped and transferred into the co-culture dish, and the glass slides can be accurately and uniformly placed in the co-culture dish at intervals; the bad influence on the co-culture experiment caused by pollution possibly caused by manual transfer can be avoided; meanwhile, manpower resources can be greatly released, and the transfer operation efficiency is remarkably improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the fields of biology and medicine, and particularly relates to a cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module. Background Art

[0002] Cell co-culture involves culturing two or more cells (either from the same or different tissues) in the same culture system. This technique can closely mimic the in vivo environment, allowing for better observation of cell-to-cell and cell-to-culture interactions. By examining the relationships between different cytokines, it can also help explore drug mechanisms of action and potential targets.

[0003] Currently, cell co-culture is often performed manually, where a single-cell culture dish is removed from the incubator and a gripper is used to transfer the adherent cell-seeded slide to the co-culture dish for co-culture. This manual transfer method has the following drawbacks:

[0004] (1) When co-culturing a large number of cells, it is necessary to manually transfer multiple slides one by one, and it is necessary to ensure that the slides placed in the co-culture dish are evenly spaced from each other. Manual operation is time-consuming and inefficient.

[0005] (2) At the same time, during the transfer process, human hands and clamping tools can easily touch the surrounding environment and contaminate the slides or culture medium, which can affect cell growth, damage cell function, inaccurate experimental results, cell culture failure, and potential biosafety risks. Utility Model Content

[0006] The utility model aims to address the technical problems existing in the background technology and provide a cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module, which can automatically clamp and transfer glass slides from single-cell culture dishes to co-culture dishes, and accurately place the glass slides at uniform intervals in the co-culture dishes; and can avoid the adverse effects of contamination that may occur during manual transfer operations on the co-culture experiments; at the same time, it can greatly release human resources and significantly improve the efficiency of transfer operations.

[0007] In order to achieve the above technical objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] A cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module comprises a fixed support, a sliding combination module and an automatic clamp;

[0009] The sliding assembly module includes a horizontal moving mechanism, a lifting mechanism and a rotating mechanism; the horizontal moving mechanism is fixedly arranged on the upper end of the fixed bracket, the horizontal moving mechanism is driven and connected to the lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism is driven and connected to the rotating mechanism, and the lower end of the rotating mechanism is fixedly connected to the automatic clamp;

[0010] The automatic gripper is used to automatically grip the glass slide in the single cell culture dish and transfer the glass slide to the co-culture dish under the control of the sliding combination module.

[0011] Furthermore, the horizontal movement mechanism includes a horizontal drive device, a horizontal slide rail and a sliding seat;

[0012] The horizontal slide rail is arranged at the upper end of the fixed bracket, and the sliding seat is slidably arranged on the horizontal slide rail, and the sliding seat is fixedly connected to the lifting mechanism; a horizontal driving device is fixedly arranged on one side of the horizontal slide rail, and the horizontal driving device is drivingly connected to the sliding seat and can drive the sliding seat to drive the lifting mechanism to move left and right along the horizontal slide rail;

[0013] The horizontal driving device adopts a servo motor, and the servo motor is driven and connected to the sliding seat through a screw rod.

[0014] Furthermore, the lifting mechanism includes a lifting drive device, and the lifting drive device is a vertically arranged cylinder;

[0015] The driving end at the lower end of the cylinder is fixedly connected to the rotating mechanism and can control the rotating mechanism to rise or fall.

[0016] Furthermore, the rotating mechanism includes a rotating fixed seat and a rotating disk;

[0017] The upper end of the rotating fixed seat is fixedly connected to the lifting mechanism, and the rotating fixed seat has a built-in rotating motor. The rotating motor is rotatably connected to the rotating disk through a coupling, and the lower end of the rotating disk is fixedly connected to the automatic clamping claw;

[0018] The rotating disk can be rotated to a set angle under the drive of a rotating motor, thereby adjusting the azimuth angle of the automatic clamping claw.

[0019] Furthermore, at least one of the automatic grippers is fixedly connected to the lower end of the rotating disk, located on one side of the axis of the rotating disk;

[0020] A configuration block is correspondingly provided at the lower end of the rotating disk and on a side opposite to the automatic clamping claw, for balancing the rotating disk.

[0021] Furthermore, two automatic clamping claws are symmetrically provided at the lower end of the rotating disk; or;

[0022] The lower end of the rotating disk is provided with n automatic clamping claws in a circular array.

[0023] Furthermore, at the gripping station, the center of the automatic gripper coincides with the center of the single-cell culture dish, and the glass slide is rectangular;

[0024] At the transfer station, the center of the rotating disk coincides with the center of the culture dish, and the automatic gripper places the slides in an array along the central circumference of the co-culture dish, and controls the angle between the two adjacent slides to be a set angle α through the rotation of the rotating disk.

[0025] Furthermore, the distance between the clamping center of the automatic gripper and the center of the rotating disk is d, the radius of the co-culture dish is D, and d=1 / 3D-2 / 3D.

[0026] Furthermore, the clamping parts of the left and right clamping jaws of the automatic clamping jaw are in a side V-shape with a transition arc.

[0027] Furthermore, it also includes a loading platform, which is provided with a first limiting groove and a second limiting groove, which are respectively used to position and place the single cell culture dish and the co-culture dish; the first limiting groove is provided corresponding to the bottom of the automatic gripper.

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects produced by the present invention are:

[0029] (1) The present invention can realize the automatic gripper to automatically pick up the slide from the single cell culture dish, rise, translate, rotate to the appropriate azimuth angle, and then descend and release the slide to the co-culture dish through the control of the sliding combination module and the cooperation of the automatic gripper, thereby realizing the automatic transfer operation of cells during co-culture and accurately placing the slides at uniform intervals in the co-culture dish; at the same time, it can greatly release human resources, and facilitate the operator to remove the next single cell culture dish while the device is running automatically, and the human-machine cooperation improves the efficiency of the transfer operation; in addition, it can avoid the adverse effects of contamination caused by manual transfer operation on the co-culture experiment. The entire device has a simple structure, is easy to implement, and is convenient, accurate, efficient, and practical;

[0030] (2) The clamping parts of the left and right clamping jaws of the automatic clamping jaws are in a side V-shape with a transition arc, which facilitates the left and right sides of the slide to move smoothly along the edge of the transition arc to the innermost side of the side V-shape when clamping the slide, thereby achieving clamping positioning, which is conducive to stably clamping the slide for subsequent transfer operations;

[0031] (3) Two automatic grippers are symmetrically arranged at the lower end of the rotating disk. This not only eliminates the need for a counterweight, thus achieving automatic balancing of the rotating disk and ensuring smooth and reliable rotation, but also enables the simultaneous gripping of two glass slides, enabling the simultaneous transfer of two adherent cells, further improving the efficiency of the automatic transfer operation.

[0032] (4) The lower end of the rotating disk is provided with n automatic grippers in a circular array, which can simultaneously grip n slides at most, thus realizing the synchronous transfer operation of n types of adherent cells; the efficiency of the automatic transfer operation is significantly improved, especially when a large number of cell types need to be co-cultured. This setting has a significant effect in reducing manpower and time occupation and improving efficiency; it is also possible to use only some of the automatic grippers, such as a single or symmetrical two or symmetrical four, etc., which is more flexible to use, has a wider range of applications, and is more convenient to operate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to Example 1 of the present utility model;

[0034] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic gripper of Example 1 of the present utility model at the gripping station, descending to grip a glass slide;

[0035] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A magnified schematic diagram of point A in the middle;

[0036] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic gripper of Example 1 of the present invention gripping a glass slide from a single cell culture dish;

[0037] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic gripper of Example 1 of the present utility model at the transfer station when it is rising after placing the slide;

[0038] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the glass slides of Example 1 of the present invention arranged in a circular array in a co-culture dish;

[0039] Figure 7 This is a schematic structural diagram of a cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to Example 2 of the present utility model;

[0040] Description of the marks in the figure:

[0041] 1-fixed bracket; 2-horizontal drive device; 3-horizontal slide rail; 4-sliding seat; 5-lifting drive device; 6-rotating fixed seat; 7-rotating disk; 8-automatic clamp; 9-counterweight block; 11-first limiting groove; 12-single culture dish; 13-co-culture dish; 14-cover plate; 15-slide; 16-culture medium; 17-second limiting groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0043] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "coaxial", "bottom", "one end", "top", "middle", "the other end", "upper", "one side", "top", "inside", "front", "center", "two ends", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0044] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly stipulated and limited, the terms "install", "set", "connect", "fix", "screw" and the like should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. Unless otherwise clearly defined, ordinary technicians in this field can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0045] Example 1

[0046] Combine Figure 1-6 As shown, an embodiment of the present utility model provides a cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module, comprising a fixed support 1, a sliding combination module and an automatic clamp 8;

[0047] The sliding assembly module includes a horizontal moving mechanism, a lifting mechanism and a rotating mechanism; the horizontal moving mechanism is fixedly arranged on the upper end of the fixed bracket 1, the horizontal moving mechanism is slidably connected to the lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism is driven to connect to the rotating mechanism, and the lower end of the rotating mechanism is connected to the automatic clamping claw 8;

[0048] The automatic gripper 8 is used to automatically grip the glass slide in the single cell culture dish 12 and transfer the glass slide to the co-culture dish 13 under the control of the sliding assembly module.

[0049] Specifically, the fixed bracket 1 includes two left and right side brackets and a horizontal bracket, and the horizontal moving mechanism includes a horizontal driving device 2, a horizontal slide rail 3 and a sliding seat 4; the horizontal slide rail 3 is arranged on the horizontal bracket, and the sliding seat 4 is slidingly arranged on the horizontal slide rail 3, and the sliding seat 4 is fixedly connected to the lifting mechanism; a horizontal driving device 2 is fixedly arranged on one side of the horizontal slide rail 3, and the horizontal driving device 2 drives the sliding seat 4, and can drive the sliding seat 4 to drive the lifting mechanism to move left and right along the horizontal slide rail 3.

[0050] In some embodiments, the horizontal driving device 2 uses a servo motor, and the servo motor is connected to the sliding seat 4 through a screw drive, which can achieve long-distance horizontal movement and precise movement position control.

[0051] The lifting mechanism includes a lifting drive device 5. In the embodiment of the present utility model, the lifting drive device 5 is a vertically arranged cylinder. The driving end of the lower end of the cylinder is fixedly connected to the rotating mechanism and can control the rotating mechanism to rise or fall.

[0052] The rotating mechanism includes a rotating fixed seat 6 and a rotating disk 7. The upper end of the rotating fixed seat 6 is fixedly connected to the lifting mechanism. The rotating fixed seat 6 has a built-in rotating motor (not shown). The rotating motor is connected to the rotating disk 7 through a coupling. The lower end of the rotating disk 7 is fixedly connected to an automatic clamp 8 on one side of the axis of the rotating disk 7. The rotating disk 7 can rotate to a set angle under the drive of the rotating motor, thereby adjusting the azimuth angle of the automatic clamp 8.

[0053] In some embodiments, preferably, a configuration block 8 is provided at the lower end of the rotating disk 7 and on the side opposite to the automatic clamping claw 8, for balancing the rotating disk 7 to ensure smooth and reliable rotation.

[0054] In some other embodiments, 2-3 automatic grippers 8 are fixedly connected to the lower end of the rotating disk 7, located on one side of the axis of the rotating disk 7, for grabbing 2-3 glass slides 15 at the same time, further improving the efficiency of the transfer operation; accordingly, the number of configuration blocks 8 is also adaptively adjusted.

[0055] The automatic gripper 8 adopts a mechanical arm gripper of the prior art, and is preferably an electric gripper.

[0056] like Figure 3 As shown, in order to better clamp the glass slide 15, the clamping parts of the left and right clamping jaws of the automatic clamp 8 are formed into a side V-shape with a transition arc, so that when clamping the glass slide 15, the left and right side edges of the glass slide 15 can be smoothly moved along the edge of the transition arc to the innermost side of the side V-shape to achieve clamping positioning, which is conducive to smoothly clamping the glass slide 15 for subsequent transfer operations.

[0057] In addition, the cell co-culture device further comprises a stage 10 (see Figure 1 ), the stage 10 is provided with a first limiting groove 11 and a second limiting groove 17, which are used to position and place the single cell culture dish 12 and the co-culture dish 13, respectively. The position of the first limiting groove 11 corresponds to the position directly below the automatic gripper 8, and the number of the first limiting grooves 11 is also matched with the number of the automatic grippers 8.

[0058] In some embodiments, the opening area of ​​the first limiting groove 11 and the second limiting groove 17 is larger than the bottom area of ​​the groove. This arrangement makes it easier to place the culture dish and avoids the edge of the culture dish from colliding with the edge of the limiting groove.

[0059] In an embodiment of the present invention, the single-cell culture dish 12 and the co-culture dish 13 both include a vessel and a cover 14. The upper end of the vessel is open and covered by the cover 14. At the same time, a gap is left between the cover 14 and the upper end of the vessel for gas circulation during cell culture.

[0060] The cell co-culture device further includes a control system (not shown), which is electrically connected to control the operation of the sliding assembly module and the automatic gripper 8 to automatically grip and transfer the glass slide 15 in the single cell culture dish 12 to the co-culture dish 13.

[0061] When in use, the inoculated single cell culture dish 12 is taken out from the incubator and placed in the first limiting groove 11, the co-culture dish 13 is placed in the second limiting groove 13, and the cover plates 14 of the single cell culture dish 12 and the co-culture dish 13 are removed; the automatic gripper 8 is controlled to move to Figure 1 At the clamping station shown, the lifting drive device 5 drives the automatic gripper 8 to descend into the single cell culture dish 12, and the automatic gripper 8 moves to clamp the slide 15 from the culture medium 16 of the single cell culture dish 12. At this time, the slide 15 is attached with the inoculated adherent cells A; then, the lifting drive device 5 drives the automatic gripper 8 to rise to the set height, and then the horizontal drive device 2 drives the lifting drive device 5 to move horizontally to the upper end of the co-culture dish 13 to reach the transfer station; then, the rotating mechanism controls the rotating disk 7 to rotate to the set azimuth angle, and then the lifting drive device 5 drives the automatic gripper 8 to descend into the culture medium of the co-culture dish 13, and the jaws of the automatic gripper 8 open to both sides, releasing the slide 15, so that the slide 15 is suspended at the set position of the co-culture dish 13, completing an automatic transfer operation of the adherent cells A; then, the entire device is controlled to perform reverse operation, reset to the gripping station, and perform the next automatic transfer operation of the adherent cells B.

[0062] During operation, at the gripping station, the center of the automatic gripper 8 coincides with the center of the single cell culture dish 12. Figure 4 As shown, in order to facilitate clamping and to enable the transferred glass slide 15 to better utilize the volume space of the co-culture dish 13, the glass slide 15 is preferably rectangular. When the single-cell culture dish 12 is placed in the first limiting groove 11, ensure that the long side of the glass slide 15 is perpendicular to the line connecting the left and right jaws of the automatic gripper 8, and make the left and right jaws of the automatic gripper 8 located near both sides of the center position of the glass slide 15, so that it is convenient to clamp the glass slide 15 smoothly and steadily.

[0063] At the same time, at the transfer station, the center of the rotating disk 7 coincides with the center of the culture dish 13, see Figure 6 As shown, the automatic gripper 8 places the glass slides 15 in an array along the central circumference of the co-culture dish 13, and accurately controls the angle between two adjacent glass slides 15 to be a set angle α through the rotation of the rotating disk 7, thereby accurately achieving uniform spacing of the glass slides 15. The glass slides 15 are rectangular glass slides, which can make greater use of the circular storage space of the co-culture dish 13 than square glass slides, thereby maximizing the utilization of the culture medium therein and saving resources.

[0064] In addition, when the cell co-culture device automatically performs the transfer operation, the operator can take advantage of this time to remove a single-cell culture dish. The cooperation between man and machine releases some human resources, saves operation time, and improves operation efficiency.

[0065] Preferably, the distance between the gripping center of the automatic gripper 8 and the center of the rotating disk 7 is d, and the radius of the co-culture dish 13 is D. The setting of d = 1 / 3D = 2 / 3D ensures that after transfer, the outer sides of the arrayed slides 15 remain a certain distance from the sidewalls of the co-culture dish 13, and that sufficient spacing is left between the inner slides 15, thereby preventing overly dense arrangement that may affect experimental results. Furthermore, d = 1 / 2D is preferably used.

[0066] Example 2

[0067] The present invention has made the following improvements on the basis of Example 1:

[0068] like Figure 7 As shown, two automatic grippers 8 are symmetrically provided at the lower end of the rotating disk 7; correspondingly, two first limiting grooves 11 are provided on the stage 10 to respectively position and place two single cell culture dishes 12.

[0069] This not only eliminates the need for the counterweight 9 and achieves automatic balancing of the rotating disk, ensuring smooth and reliable rotation, but also enables simultaneous clamping of two glass slides 15 to achieve synchronous transfer of two adherent cells, further improving the efficiency of the automatic transfer operation.

[0070] Example 3

[0071] The present invention has made the following improvements on the basis of Example 1:

[0072] The lower end of the rotating disk 7 is provided with n automatic grippers 8 in a circular array; correspondingly, the stage 10 is provided with n first limiting grooves 11 for positioning and placing n single cell culture dishes 12 respectively.

[0073] In this way, up to n glass slides 15 can be clamped at the same time, realizing the synchronous transfer operation of n types of adherent cells, which significantly improves the efficiency of the automatic transfer operation. Especially when a large number of cell types need to be co-cultured, this setting has a significant effect in reducing manpower and time occupation and improving efficiency; it is also possible to use only some of the automatic grippers, such as a single or symmetrical two or symmetrical four, etc., which is more flexible to use, has a wider range of applications, and is more convenient to operate.

[0074] The above description is only an embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, and improvements made within the scope of application of the present invention shall be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module, characterized in that: It includes a fixed bracket, a sliding combination module and an automatic gripper; The sliding assembly module includes a horizontal moving mechanism, a lifting mechanism and a rotating mechanism; the horizontal moving mechanism is fixedly arranged on the upper end of the fixed bracket, the horizontal moving mechanism is driven and connected to the lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism is driven and connected to the rotating mechanism, and the lower end of the rotating mechanism is fixedly connected to the automatic clamp; The automatic gripper is used to automatically grip the glass slide in the single cell culture dish and transfer the glass slide to the co-culture dish under the control of the sliding combination module.

2. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The horizontal movement mechanism includes a horizontal drive device, a horizontal slide rail and a slide seat; The horizontal slide rail is arranged at the upper end of the fixed bracket, and the sliding seat is slidably arranged on the horizontal slide rail, and the sliding seat is fixedly connected to the lifting mechanism; a horizontal driving device is fixedly arranged on one side of the horizontal slide rail, and the horizontal driving device is drivingly connected to the sliding seat and can drive the sliding seat to drive the lifting mechanism to move left and right along the horizontal slide rail; The horizontal driving device adopts a servo motor, and the servo motor is driven and connected to the sliding seat through a screw rod.

3. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting mechanism includes a lifting drive device, which is a vertically arranged cylinder; The driving end at the lower end of the cylinder is fixedly connected to the rotating mechanism and can control the rotating mechanism to rise or fall.

4. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating mechanism includes a rotating fixed seat and a rotating disk; The upper end of the rotating fixed seat is fixedly connected to the lifting mechanism, and the rotating fixed seat has a built-in rotating motor. The rotating motor is rotatably connected to the rotating disk through a coupling, and the lower end of the rotating disk is fixedly connected to the automatic clamping claw; The rotating disk can be rotated to a set angle under the drive of a rotating motor, thereby adjusting the azimuth angle of the automatic clamping claw.

5. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The lower end of the rotating disk is located on one side of the axis of the rotating disk and is fixedly connected to at least one automatic clamping claw; A configuration block is correspondingly provided at the lower end of the rotating disk and on a side opposite to the automatic clamping claw, for balancing the rotating disk.

6. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to claim 4, characterized in that: Two automatic clamping claws are symmetrically provided at the lower end of the rotating disk; or; The lower end of the rotating disk is provided with n automatic clamping claws in a circular array.

7. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: At the gripping station, the center of the automatic gripper coincides with the center of the single-cell culture dish, and the glass slide is rectangular; At the transfer station, the center of the rotating disk coincides with the center of the culture dish, and the automatic gripper places the slides in an array along the central circumference of the co-culture dish, and controls the angle between the two adjacent slides to be a set angle α through the rotation of the rotating disk.

8. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to claim 7, characterized in that: The distance between the clamping center of the automatic gripper and the center of the rotating disk is d, the radius of the co-culture dish is D, and d is set to 1 / 3D-2 / 3D.

9. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The clamping parts of the left and right clamping jaws of the automatic clamping jaw are in a side V shape with a transition arc.

10. The cell co-culture device with a sliding combination module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: It also includes a loading platform, which is provided with a first limiting groove and a second limiting groove, which are respectively used to position and place the single cell culture dish and the co-culture dish; the first limiting groove is provided corresponding to the bottom of the automatic gripper.

Images