Air guide mechanism, air path system and organ chip culture device

Abstract

This application provides a gas guiding mechanism, a gas path system, and an organ-on-a-chip culture device. The gas guiding mechanism is used to guide gas into the culture box of the organ-on-a-chip culture device. The culture box is provided with a gas guiding interface. The gas guiding mechanism includes: a gas guiding component with a gas guiding cavity; a control valve located outside the gas guiding component, the control valve being connectable to and disconnectable from the gas guiding interface; and a gas guiding tube passing through the gas guiding cavity and communicating with the control valve, the gas guiding tube also communicating with an external pressure supply device. The gas guiding mechanism of this application connects the gas guiding tube to the gas guiding interface. During the culture process, the control valve controls the connection state between the gas guiding tube and the gas guiding interface on the culture box, precisely adjusting the gas pressure inside the culture box, compared to traditional culture methods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of organ-on-a-chip culture technology, and in particular to a gas delivery mechanism, a gas path system, and an organ-on-a-chip culture device. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional preclinical models (including two-dimensional cell models, three-dimensional spherical cells, and various experimental animal models) have limitations in realistically simulating human physiological structures and functions, leading to significant challenges in predicting drug responses. Organ-on-a-chip technology can differentiate cells into organoid-specific cell types, highly mimicking the development of human organs in vitro and reconstructing human organ structures to replace animal models, thus providing more possibilities for research on human diseases.

[0003] Existing culture equipment typically consists of a series of microfluidic channels and culture chambers, which are used to simulate blood flow and cell growth environment in vivo.

[0004] To cultivate organ-on-a-chip in a differentiated manner, the culture conditions are usually changed by adjusting the pressure of the culture environment. In the existing technology, the pressure conditions in the culture environment are controlled by gas diffusion or other complex external devices, which are complex in structure, have low pressure regulation accuracy, and have poor culture results. Utility Model Content

[0005] This application provides a gas delivery mechanism, a gas path system, and an organ-on-a-chip culture device. By setting a control valve to control the connection state between the gas delivery tube and the gas delivery interface on the culture box, the culture pressure inside the culture box can be precisely controlled by the control valve, resulting in good culture effect.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a gas guiding mechanism for guiding gas into the culture box of an organ-on-a-chip culture device. The culture box is provided with a gas guiding interface. The gas guiding mechanism includes: a gas guiding component with a gas guiding cavity; a control valve located on the outside of the gas guiding component, the control valve being responsively connected to the gas guiding interface; and a gas guiding pipe passing through the gas guiding cavity and communicating with the control valve, the gas guiding pipe also being connected to an external pressure supply device.

[0007] This invention's gas guiding mechanism connects a gas guiding tube to a gas guiding interface. During the culture process, a control valve regulates the connection between the gas guiding tube and the gas guiding interface on the culture box, precisely adjusting the gas pressure within the culture box. Compared to traditional culture methods, this invention's gas guiding mechanism, through its rational component design and layout, achieves precise control of the gas environment within the organ-on-a-chip culture device. Its structure is relatively simple, easy to operate, and effectively improves the accuracy and stability of pressure regulation, thereby enhancing the culture effect.

[0008] In some embodiments, the culture boxes are a plurality of those arranged along the length of the gas guide, the gas guide tube includes a main line and branch lines, the main line extends along the length of the gas guide, and the branch lines are a plurality of those corresponding to the culture boxes, and the gas guide interface of each culture box is connected to the corresponding branch line through the control valve.

[0009] By setting up multiple incubators, multiple sets of experiments can be conducted simultaneously, improving experimental efficiency and equipment utilization. Each branch is connected to the gas inlet of a culture chamber via a control valve, allowing gas to be precisely introduced into a specific culture chamber to meet the specific needs of different experiments.

[0010] In some embodiments, each culture box is provided with multiple gas inlets, multiple gas inlets corresponding to the gas inlets, and multiple control valves corresponding to the gas inlets. Each gas inlet is connected to a corresponding gas inlet via a corresponding control valve.

[0011] Thus, the multiple gas inlets allow for independent adjustment of the gas environment in different areas within the incubator, enabling more complex experimental conditions and more precise environmental control within a single incubator. Furthermore, by configuring an independent control valve for each gas inlet, each gas channel can be independently controlled, achieving precise gas regulation in different areas of the incubator. This design provides greater experimental flexibility and accuracy, allowing for multi-region, multi-condition experiments within the same incubator.

[0012] In some embodiments, the plurality of gas delivery ports include a positive pressure port and a negative pressure port, the positive pressure port being connected to the culture chamber of the organ-on-a-chip in the culture box, and the negative pressure port being connected to the breathing chamber of the organ-on-a-chip in the culture box; the plurality of gas delivery tubes include a positive pressure gas delivery tube and a negative pressure gas delivery tube, the positive pressure gas delivery tube being connected to the positive pressure port, and the negative pressure gas delivery tube being connected to the negative pressure port.

[0013] In this way, the positive and negative pressure interfaces enable the separation and independent control of the positive and negative pressures within the gas delivery mechanism. This facilitates the precise adjustment of the organ-on-a-chip culture environment, thereby meeting the simulation conditions for various physiological conditions, improving the diversity and accuracy of experiments, and making it particularly suitable for research scenarios that require the simulation of complex physiological processes.

[0014] In some embodiments, at least one of the positive pressure air guide tube and the negative pressure air guide tube may be multiple.

[0015] The use of multiple positive pressure air tubes allows for independent adjustment of the positive pressure environment in different culture chambers. This design enables experiments under multiple positive pressure conditions within the same culture chamber, improving experimental flexibility and diversity. Similarly, the configuration of multiple negative pressure air tubes allows for independent control of the negative pressure environment in different respiration chambers. This design allows for experiments under multiple negative pressure conditions within the same culture chamber, supporting more complex physiological simulations and studies. By using multiple positive and negative pressure air tubes, a high degree of controllability and flexibility in the organ-on-a-chip culture environment can be achieved, thus meeting complex experimental needs and making it suitable for various research scenarios.

[0016] In some embodiments, the gas guide is provided with a gasket on the side facing the culture box, the gasket has a through hole, the through hole is connected to the gas guide tube; the gas guide interface is provided with a plug, the plug is inserted into the through hole.

[0017] The use of through holes and connectors on the gaskets enables an efficient and stable connection between the gas delivery tube and the culture box, improving the sealing and connection stability between the gas delivery mechanism and the culture box, reducing the risk of gas leakage, and helping to ensure precise control of the experimental environment pressure.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the connector is a tapered component, and the outer diameter of the connector gradually decreases in the direction from the culture box toward the air guide.

[0019] The tapered design allows the connector to create a gradually tightening seal as it is inserted into the through-hole of the gasket. As the insertion depth increases, the contact area between the tapered component and the through-hole wall increases, thereby improving the sealing of the connection between the gas delivery mechanism and the culture box and reducing the risk of gas leakage.

[0020] Secondly, this embodiment provides a gas path system, including: a pressure supply device; and the aforementioned gas guiding mechanism, wherein the gas guiding pipe of the gas guiding mechanism is connected to the pressure supply device.

[0021] The gas path system of this invention provides a stable and adjustable gas pressure via a pressure supply device, ensuring precise pressure regulation of the gas delivery system according to experimental requirements. The design of the gas delivery mechanism ensures efficient gas delivery to all areas within the culture chamber. Through connection with the pressure supply device, the gas delivery mechanism enables precise control of the culture environment, ensuring the stability and reproducibility of experimental conditions. The effective combination of the pressure supply device and the gas delivery mechanism achieves comprehensive control of the organ-on-a-chip culture environment, facilitating the simulation of various experimental conditions and making it suitable for complex physiological research scenarios.

[0022] In some embodiments, the pressure supply device is provided with a plurality of gas supply pipes, the number of which is less than the number of gas guide pipes, and at least one of the gas supply pipes is connected to two of the gas guide pipes.

[0023] By designing at least one gas supply pipe connected to two gas delivery pipes, the system can supply gas to multiple culture boxes or multiple areas without increasing the number of gas supply pipes. This design improves the system's resource utilization efficiency and reduces equipment complexity and cost.

[0024] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an organ-on-a-chip culture device, including the aforementioned gas path system.

[0025] The organ-on-a-chip culture device of this invention achieves comprehensive control of the organ-on-a-chip culture environment through the effective combination of pressure supply device and gas delivery mechanism, which is conducive to meeting the simulation of various experimental conditions and thus applicable to complex physiological research scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0027] Figure 1 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of the air guiding mechanism in an embodiment of this utility model;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a second schematic diagram of the air guiding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the air guiding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a simplified logic diagram of the gas path system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the organ-on-a-chip culture device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is an exploded view of the culture box of the organ-on-a-chip culture device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0034] 100. Air guiding mechanism;

[0035] 110. Air guide; 111. Gasket; 1111. Through hole;

[0036] 120. Control valve;

[0037] 130. Air duct; 131. Main pipe; 132. Branch pipe;

[0038] 200. Gas system;

[0039] 210. Pressure supply device; 211. Gas supply pipeline;

[0040] 300. Organ-on-a-chip culture device; 310. Culture box; 311. Gas inlet; 311a. Positive pressure inlet; 311b. Negative pressure inlet; 312. Culture chamber; 313. Respiration chamber; 314. Connector.

[0041] The accompanying drawings illustrate specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept in any way, but rather to illustrate the concept of this application to those skilled in the art through reference to particular embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0042] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0043] Existing culture equipment typically consists of a series of microfluidic channels and culture chambers, which are used to simulate blood flow and cell growth environment in vivo.

[0044] To cultivate organ-on-a-chip in a differentiated manner, the culture conditions are usually changed by adjusting the pressure of the culture environment. In the existing technology, the pressure conditions in the culture environment are controlled by gas diffusion or other complex external devices, which are complex in structure, have low pressure regulation accuracy, and have poor culture results.

[0045] In view of this, this application provides a gas delivery mechanism, a gas path system, and an organ-on-a-chip culture device. By setting a control valve to control the connection state between the gas delivery tube and the gas delivery interface on the culture box, the culture pressure inside the culture box can be precisely controlled by the control valve, resulting in good culture effect.

[0046] The technical solution of this application and how the technical solution of this application solves the above-mentioned technical problems are described in detail below with specific embodiments. These specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described again in some embodiments. The embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] refer to Figures 1 to 6 In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a gas guiding mechanism 100, which is used to guide gas to the culture box 310 of the organ-on-a-chip culture device 300. The culture box 310 is provided with a gas guiding interface 311. The gas guiding mechanism 100 may include a gas guiding component 110, a control valve 120 and a gas guiding pipe 130.

[0048] The gas guide 110 is provided with a gas guide cavity, through which the gas guide 110 guides the air pressure input by the external pressure supply device 210 to act on the organ-on-a-chip inside the culture box 310.

[0049] The control valve 120 is located outside the air guide 110. The control valve 120 is connected to the air guide port 311 in an on / off manner. For example, the control valve 120 may be provided with a connection port. The air guide port 311 can be directly connected to the control valve 120 through an adapter (such as the plug described below), or the air guide port 311 can also be connected to the control valve 120 through a pipe (such as branch 132 described below). When the control valve 120 is open, it is connected to the air guide port 311. When the control valve 120 is closed, the seal between it and the air guide structure is broken.

[0050] A gas delivery tube 130 passes through the gas delivery chamber and is connected to the control valve 120. The gas delivery tube 130 is also connected to an external pressure supply device 210. Exemplarily, the pressure supply device 210 can be a pneumatic pump or other composite device with a pneumatic pump. The pressure input from the external pressure supply device 210 is input into the gas delivery tube 130 and transmitted to the gas delivery interface 311 via the control valve 120. In this way, the user can precisely adjust the gas pressure inside the culture box 310 according to experimental needs by controlling the control valve 120, thereby improving the stability and controllability of the culture environment and ultimately enhancing the reliability of experimental results.

[0051] The gas guiding mechanism 100 of this invention connects the gas guiding tube 130 to the gas guiding interface 311. During the culture process, the connection between the gas guiding tube 130 and the gas guiding interface 311 on the culture box 310 is controlled by the control valve 120, precisely adjusting the gas pressure inside the culture box 310. Compared with traditional culture methods, the gas guiding mechanism 100 of this invention, through reasonable component design and layout, achieves precise control of the gas environment inside the organ-on-a-chip culture device 300. Its structure is relatively simple, easy to operate, and can effectively improve the accuracy and stability of pressure regulation, thereby improving the culture effect.

[0052] Understandably, the control valve 120 of the gas guiding mechanism 100 of this utility model is located outside the culture box 310. When adjusting the pressure of the culture environment, it will not be affected by the temperature, humidity and other conditions inside the culture box 310, so the adjustment is accurate and the adjustment effect is good.

[0053] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 In some embodiments, multiple culture boxes 310 are arranged along the length of the gas guide 110. By setting multiple culture boxes 310, multiple sets of experiments can be carried out simultaneously, improving experimental efficiency and space utilization on the gas guide 110. In addition, this arrangement facilitates unified management and operation.

[0054] refer to Figure 3 The gas conduit 130 may include a main conduit 131 and branch conduits 132. The main conduit 131 extends along the length of the gas conduit 110. The arrangement of the main conduit 131 ensures that the gas can be evenly distributed along the length of the gas conduit 110, providing a stable gas source for each branch conduit 132, thereby ensuring a stable gas supply for each culture box 310.

[0055] refer to Figure 5 Branches 132 are multiple and correspond to culture boxes 310. The gas inlet 311 of each culture box 310 is connected to the corresponding branch 132 via a control valve 120. By connecting each branch 132 to the gas inlet 311 of a culture box 310 via the control valve 120, gas can be precisely introduced into a specific culture box 310 to meet the specific needs of different experiments.

[0056] Thus, each culture box 310 can have a corresponding control valve 120 to adjust the gas pressure inside the culture box 310. In this way, during the culture process, the pressure conditions of the culture environment of each culture box 310 can be set according to specific needs, which is beneficial to meet different experimental requirements.

[0057] In other embodiments, when it is necessary to produce a large number of identical organ-on-a-chips, the control valve 120 can also be set on the main pipeline 131. By controlling the opening and closing of the main pipeline 131, the pressure environment inside the culture box 310 can be controlled. At this time, the air pressure inside all culture boxes 310 is synchronously regulated, resulting in high consistency of the produced organ-on-a-chips. At the same time, the number of control valves 120 is reduced, which helps to save equipment costs.

[0058] Understandably, a main channel 131 may have multiple branch channels 132 corresponding to a culture box 310. For example, if there are four culture boxes 310, then there are four branch channels 132 on a main channel 131; or, if there are three culture boxes 310, then there are three branch channels 132 on a main channel 131. If the main channel 131 is blocked or damaged within the gas guide 110, the regulating function of all culture boxes 310 corresponding to that main channel 131 will fail. Therefore, to improve the structural reliability of the gas guide 110, multiple main channels 131 can be provided, and the number of main channels 131 can correspond to the number of gas guide ports 311 on the culture box 310. Thus, when the gas guiding function of one main channel 131 fails, the culture pressure within the culture box 310 can still be adjusted by the control valves 120 within other main channels 131, improving the structural reliability of the organ-on-a-chip culture device 300.

[0059] refer to Figure 6 In some embodiments, each culture chamber 310 may be provided with multiple gas inlets 311. The arrangement of multiple gas inlets 311 allows for independent adjustment of the gas environment in different areas within the culture chamber 310, thereby enabling more complex experimental conditions and more precise environmental control within the same culture chamber 310. Simultaneously, it avoids the failure of pressure regulation within the culture chamber 310 due to blockage of one gas inlet 311, thus improving the reliability of pressure regulation.

[0060] Multiple gas delivery tubes 130 correspond to multiple gas delivery ports 311, and multiple control valves 120 correspond to multiple gas delivery ports 311. Each gas delivery port 311 is connected to its corresponding gas delivery tube 130 via a corresponding control valve. Thus, by configuring an independent control valve 120 for each gas delivery port 311, each gas channel can be independently controlled, achieving precise gas regulation in different areas within the culture chamber 310. This design provides greater experimental flexibility and accuracy, allowing for multi-region, multi-condition experiments within the same culture chamber 310.

[0061] refer to Figure 6 In some embodiments, the culture box 310 may include an end cap, a box body, and a tray. The box body defines a culture space extending along the height direction. The culture space includes a culture medium placement space and a chip culture space distributed along the height direction, with the organ-on-a-chip disposed within the chip culture space. The end cap covers the top opening of the box body, and the tray covers the bottom opening of the box body.

[0062] The gas inlet 311 can be set on the end cap. The chip culture space can be divided into multiple culture chambers by a partition. The gas inlet 311 corresponds to each culture chamber. Among them, culture medium is set in some culture chambers to form culture room 312. The organ chip seals the lower end of another part of the culture chamber to form a breathing chamber 313.

[0063] The multiple air inlets 311 may include a positive pressure inlet 311a and a negative pressure inlet 311b. The positive pressure inlet 311a is connected to the culture chamber 312 of the organ-on-a-chip in the culture box 310, and the negative pressure inlet 311b is connected to the breathing chamber 313 of the organ-on-a-chip in the culture box 310.

[0064] It should be noted that on the organ-on-a-chip, the flow of the culture medium is unidirectional. Positive pressure is output to the culture medium through the positive pressure interface 311a to drive the flow of the culture medium. The organ-on-a-chip is equipped with a breathing chamber 313 connected to a negative pressure interface 311b. The breathing chamber 313 can be made of an elastic material. When negative pressure is output to the breathing chamber 313 through the negative pressure interface 311b, the breathing chamber 313 contracts to simulate the breathing process of an organ (such as the lungs) or other physiological processes that require a negative pressure environment. This allows researchers to more realistically simulate complex physiological phenomena in vivo in an in vitro environment.

[0065] Accordingly, the multiple air tubes 130 may include positive pressure air tubes and negative pressure air tubes, with the positive pressure air tubes connected to the positive pressure interface 311a and the negative pressure air tubes connected to the negative pressure interface 311b.

[0066] Thus, through the positive pressure interface 311a and the negative pressure interface 311b, the positive and negative pressures within the gas delivery mechanism 100 are separated and independently controlled, which is beneficial for the precise adjustment of the organ-on-a-chip culture environment, thereby meeting the simulation conditions of various physiological conditions, improving the diversity and accuracy of experiments, and is particularly suitable for research scenarios that require the simulation of complex physiological processes.

[0067] In some embodiments, at least one of the positive pressure air tubes and negative pressure air tubes may be multiple. For example, multiple positive pressure air tubes can be configured, allowing independent adjustment of the positive pressure environment in different culture chambers 312. This design supports experiments under multiple positive pressure conditions within the same culture chamber 310, improving experimental flexibility and diversity. Alternatively, multiple negative pressure air tubes can be configured, allowing independent control of the negative pressure environment in different breathing chambers 313. This design allows experiments under multiple negative pressure conditions within the same culture chamber 310, supporting more complex physiological simulations and studies. Alternatively, multiple positive and negative pressure air tubes can be configured, thus providing greater culture flexibility for the organ-on-a-chip culture device 300, allowing researchers to conduct multi-region, multi-condition experimental setups within the same experimental apparatus. By independently controlling the gas environment in each region, complex physiological processes can be simulated more accurately, improving the precision and reliability of the experiments.

[0068] In this way, by having at least one of the positive pressure air tubes and negative pressure air tubes as multiple, it is beneficial to achieve a high degree of controllability and flexibility of the organ-on-a-chip culture environment, thereby meeting complex experimental needs and being applicable to a variety of research scenarios.

[0069] refer to Figure 2 In some embodiments, a gasket 111 is provided on the side of the air guide 110 facing the culture box 310. By providing the gasket 111, a buffer interface is provided between the air guide 110 and the culture box 310 to reduce the impact between the air guide 110 and the culture box 310 and improve the reliability of the culture environment.

[0070] The gasket 111 has a through hole 1111, which is connected to the gas duct 130. The gas duct interface 311 is provided with a connector 314, which is inserted into the through hole 1111. The connector 314 can extend toward the through hole 1111 and defines a connecting channel that extends radially through the through hole 1111. The connecting channel is connected to the gas duct interface 311. The connector 314 is inserted into the through hole 1111, and the connecting channel is connected to the gas duct 130 to adjust the pressure environment inside the culture box 310.

[0071] Since the connector 314 is inserted into the through hole 1111 to connect the air guide 110 and the culture box 310, the gasket 111 can be made of a flexible material (such as rubber, plastic, etc.). The outer wall of the connector 314 and the gasket 111 can be connected by interference fit to improve the sealing performance of the connection between the air guide 110 and the culture box 310.

[0072] Thus, through the cooperation of the through hole 1111 on the gasket 111 and the connector 314, an efficient and stable connection between the gas duct 130 and the culture box 310 is achieved, which improves the sealing between the gas duct mechanism 100 and the culture box 310, reduces the risk of gas leakage, and helps to ensure the precise control of the pressure of the experimental environment.

[0073] Understandably, when the organ-on-a-chip culture device 300 of this utility model is used to replace the culture box 310 for culture, the drive mechanism of the organ-on-a-chip culture device 300 drives the air guide 110 to move in a direction toward (away from) the culture box 310, so that the plug 314 is inserted into the through hole 1111 (and comes out of the through hole 1111), so that the air guide 110 and the culture box 310 are connected (and disconnected), thereby realizing the replacement of the culture box 310. The operation is simple and convenient.

[0074] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the connector 314 can be a conical part. In the direction from the culture box 310 toward the gas guide 110, the outer diameter of the connector 314 gradually decreases. When the connector 314 is inserted into the through hole 1111, the smaller end of the connector 314 enters the through hole 1111 first, which is convenient for positioning and installation. Then, as the insertion depth increases, the contact area between the conical part and the wall of the through hole 1111 increases, thereby improving the sealing performance of the connection between the gas guide mechanism 100 and the culture box 310 and reducing the risk of gas leakage.

[0075] In a reliable location, a connecting section can also be provided on the side of the plug-in 314 away from the air guide 110. The outer diameter of the connecting section is equal to the outer diameter of the tapered part of the plug-in 314 away from the air guide 110, and the outer diameter of the connecting section slightly exceeds the outer diameter of the through hole 1111. In this way, the sealing fit between the gasket 111 and the plug-in 314 is good.

[0076] refer to Figure 5 Secondly, this embodiment provides a gas path system 200, which may include a pressure supply device 210 and the aforementioned gas guiding mechanism 100, wherein the gas guiding pipe 130 of the gas guiding mechanism 100 is connected to the pressure supply device 210.

[0077] The gas path system 200 of this invention, with its pressure supply device 210 providing stable and adjustable gas pressure, ensures that the gas delivery system can precisely adjust the pressure according to experimental requirements. The design of the gas delivery mechanism 100 ensures that the gas can be efficiently delivered to all areas within the culture chamber 310. Through its connection with the pressure supply device 210, the gas delivery mechanism 100 enables precise control of the culture environment, ensuring the stability and repeatability of experimental conditions. The effective combination of the pressure supply device 210 and the gas delivery mechanism 100 achieves comprehensive control of the organ-on-a-chip culture environment, facilitating the simulation of various experimental conditions and making it suitable for complex physiological research scenarios.

[0078] In some embodiments, the pressure supply device 210 is provided with a plurality of gas supply pipes 211, the number of which is less than the number of gas guide pipes 130. At least one gas supply pipe 211 is connected to two gas guide pipes 130. For example, one gas supply pipe 211 may be connected to two gas guide pipes 130, in which case the number of gas supply pipes 211 is one less than the number of gas guide pipes 130. Alternatively, two gas supply pipes 211 may each be connected to two gas guide pipes 130, in which case the number of gas supply pipes 211 is two less than the number of gas guide pipes 130. By designing at least one gas supply pipe 211 to be connected to two gas guide pipes 130, the gas path system 200 can supply gas to multiple culture boxes 310 or multiple regions without increasing the number of gas supply pipes 211. This design improves the resource utilization efficiency of the gas path system 200 and reduces the complexity and cost of the equipment.

[0079] The gas supply pipe 211 is connected to the two gas guide pipes 130 through a tee joint. The gas supply pipe 211 is connected to one of the joints of the tee joint, and the two gas guide pipes 130 are connected to the other two joints of the tee joint through pipelines.

[0080] Alternatively, in other embodiments, two or more gas supply pipes 130 may be connected to a gas supply pipe 211 to further optimize the spatial arrangement of the gas path system 200.

[0081] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an organ-on-a-chip culture device 300, which may include the aforementioned gas path system 200.

[0082] The organ-on-a-chip culture device 300 of this invention, through the effective combination of the pressure supply device 210 and the gas delivery mechanism 100, achieves comprehensive control over the organ-on-a-chip culture environment, which is conducive to simulating various experimental conditions and is therefore suitable for complex physiological research scenarios.

[0083] Other embodiments of this application will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the utility models disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this application that follow the general principles of this application and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this application are indicated by the following claims.

[0084] It should be understood that this application is not limited to the precise structure described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An air guiding mechanism (100), characterized in that, A culture box (310) for guiding gas into an organ-on-a-chip culture device (300), the culture box (310) being provided with a gas guiding interface (311), and the gas guiding mechanism (100) comprising: The air guide (110) is provided with an air guide cavity; A control valve (120) is located on the outside of the air guide (110), and the control valve (120) is connected to the air guide port (311) in a way that can be switched on and off. A duct (130) is inserted through the duct cavity and connected to the control valve (120). The duct (130) is also connected to an external pressure supply device (210).

2. The air guiding mechanism (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The culture boxes (310) are multiple units arranged along the length of the air guide (110). The gas guide tube (130) includes a main pipeline (131) and branch pipelines (132). The main pipeline (131) extends along the length of the gas guide component (110). There are multiple branch pipelines (132) corresponding to the culture box (310). The gas guide port (311) of each culture box (310) is connected to the corresponding branch pipeline (132) through the control valve (120).

3. The air guiding mechanism (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the culture boxes (310) is provided with a plurality of gas inlets (311). The air guide tubes (130) are multiple, each corresponding to an air guide port (311). The control valve (120) consists of multiple valves corresponding to the air inlet (311). Each of the air inlets (311) is connected to the corresponding air pipe (130) via the corresponding control valve (120).

4. The air guiding mechanism (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that, The plurality of gas delivery ports (311) include a positive pressure port (311a) and a negative pressure port (311b). The positive pressure port (311a) is connected to the culture chamber (312) of the organ-on-a-chip in the culture box (310), and the negative pressure port (311b) is connected to the breathing chamber (313) of the organ-on-a-chip in the culture box (310). The plurality of air tubes (130) include positive pressure air tubes and negative pressure air tubes, the positive pressure air tubes being connected to the positive pressure interface (311a) and the negative pressure air tubes being connected to the negative pressure interface (311b).

5. The air guiding mechanism (100) according to claim 4, characterized in that, There are multiple positive pressure air guide tubes and negative pressure air guide tubes.

6. The air guiding mechanism (100) according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The gas guide (110) is provided with a gasket (111) on the side facing the culture box (310). The gasket (111) has a through hole (1111) and the through hole (1111) is connected to the gas guide tube (130). The air inlet (311) is provided with a connector (314), which is inserted into the through hole (1111).

7. The air guiding mechanism (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that, The connector (314) is a tapered component, and its outer diameter gradually decreases in the direction from the culture box (310) toward the air guide (110).

8. A pneumatic system (200), characterized in that, include: Pressure supply device (210); The air guiding mechanism (100) according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the air guiding pipe (130) of the air guiding mechanism (100) is connected to the pressure supply device (210).

9. The pneumatic system (200) according to claim 8, characterized in that, The pressure supply device (210) is provided with a plurality of gas supply pipes (211), the number of which is less than the number of gas guide pipes (130), and at least one of the gas supply pipes (211) is connected to two of the gas guide pipes (130).

10. An organ-on-a-chip culture device (300), characterized in that, include: The pneumatic system (200) as described in claim 8 or 9.

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