An organoid culture device

Abstract

The utility model provides an organoid culture device, including incubator, horizontal fixed bearing plate between the inner wall of incubator, a plurality of bearing platform fixedly connected on bearing plate, the top of bearing platform detachably installs micro -fluidic chip, bearing platform side wall slidingly arranged has the sliding block, the upper end fixedly connected with base piece of sliding block, the clamping groove is located to the top of base piece, the top of base piece still is provided with elastic clamping subassembly, and the one end end of pipe is inserted to the inside of the passageway of micro -fluidic chip surface, the other end of pipe is located in the inside of clamping groove, and elastic clamping subassembly is used for clamping fixed to pipe. In the utility model, the pipe is fixed in the inside of clamping groove by elastic clamping subassembly, and a certain clamping force is generated to the pipe, prevents the pipe from falling off from micro -fluidic chip due to accidental pulling and the like, avoids leading to culture medium leakage, pollution or fluid interruption, prevents from influencing organoid growth stability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of organoid culture technology, and in particular to an organoid culture device. Background Technology

[0002] Organoids are three-dimensional cell clusters formed in vitro by culturing stem cells or pluripotent stem cells, mimicking specific features of human organs in structure and function. Microfluidic chip culture devices (also known as "organoid chips" or "organ-on-a-chip") are miniaturized culture platforms based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. By constructing micrometer-level channels, chambers, and functional modules on the chip, they precisely simulate the in vivo tissue microenvironment (such as nutrient gradients, fluid dynamics, and intercellular interactions), providing organoids with growth conditions close to physiological states.

[0003] The applicant filed a patent application prior to the filing date, with patent application number 202411405268.3, entitled "A Microfluidic Chip, System and Method for Osteochondrial Organoids". The prior art based on the aforementioned patent document has the following defects.

[0004] Existing microfluidic chip organoid culture devices require connecting the catheter to the channel port of the microfluidic chip during operation (the catheter is inserted into the channel port without any other fixing device). Accidental detachment of the connection between the microfluidic chip and the catheter is a common problem in the operation of organoid culture devices (especially during long-term culture, frequent medium changes, or device movement). Detachment may lead to culture medium leakage, contamination, or fluid interruption, affecting the growth stability of organoids. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an organoid culture device to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this utility model provides an organoid culture device, including an incubator, a support plate horizontally fixed between the inner walls of the incubator, and multiple support platforms fixedly connected to the support plate. A microfluidic chip is detachably installed on the top of the support platform, and a slider is slidably arranged on the side wall of the support platform. A base block is fixedly connected to the upper end of the slider, and a clamping groove is opened on the top of the base block. An elastic clamping component is also provided on the top of the base block. One end of the conduit is inserted into the channel opening on the surface of the microfluidic chip, and the other end of the conduit is located inside the clamping groove. The elastic clamping component is used to clamp and fix the conduit.

[0007] Preferably, the elastic clamping assembly includes a clamping block located inside the clamping groove, two guide rods fixed to the end of the clamping block, two symmetrically distributed guide rings fixedly connected to the top of the base block, the guide rods passing through the guide rings, a pull block fixedly connected to the other end of the guide rods, a spring fixedly connected between the clamping block and the guide rings, the springs being sleeved on the guide rods, and the clamping block and the clamping groove cooperating to clamp the guide tube.

[0008] Preferably, the side wall of the support platform is provided with a sliding groove, the slider is slidably disposed inside the sliding groove, and a bolt is threaded inside the slider, the end of the bolt abutting against the side wall of the support platform.

[0009] Preferably, the top of the support platform has a groove, and the microfluidic chip is located inside the groove.

[0010] Preferably, the groove is provided with a laterally movable clamping plate and two limiting rods fixed to the side wall of the clamping plate. The limiting rods are movably inserted through the support platform. The side wall of the support platform is also threaded with a screw rod, one end of which is rotatably connected to the clamping plate through a bearing.

[0011] Preferably, the incubator has a door on its front side wall that is rotatably mounted via a hinge.

[0012] Preferably, the groove is a T-groove and the slider is a T-block.

[0013] Preferably, the width and length of the groove are greater than the width and length of the corresponding microfluidic chip.

[0014] By adopting the above technical solution, this utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] 1. In this utility model, an elastic clamping component is used to fix the catheter inside the clamping groove, which generates a certain clamping force on the catheter to prevent the catheter from falling off the microfluidic chip due to accidental pulling or other reasons, thereby avoiding culture medium leakage, contamination or fluid interruption and preventing the impact on the growth stability of organoids.

[0016] 2. In this utility model, the microfluidic chip can be clamped and fixed by the laterally movable clamping plate to prevent the microfluidic chip from falling out of the carrier platform and ensure its stability. The surface of the clamping plate in contact with the chip should be made of soft material (such as silicone pad or rubber sheet) or smooth hard material (such as polytetrafluoroethylene) to avoid scratching the chip surface; and it can adapt to the width of the microfluidic chip within a certain range. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of this utility model or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 A front view structural diagram of an organoid culture device provided in an embodiment of this utility model;

[0019] Figure 2 A structural diagram of the assembly of a support platform and a microfluidic chip for an organoid culture device provided in this embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 A structural diagram of a support platform for an organoid culture device provided in an embodiment of this utility model;

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 2 Enlarged structural diagram at point A;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of an organoid culture device provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Reference numerals: 1. Incubator; 2. Support plate; 3. Support platform; 301. Groove; 302. Slide groove; 4. Clamping plate; 5. Limiting rod; 6. Screw; 7. Base block; 701. Clamping groove; 8. Elastic clamping assembly; 81. Clamping block; 82. Guide ring; 83. Guide rod; 84. Pull block; 85. Spring; 9. Bolt; 10. Guide tube; 11. Microfluidic chip; 1101. Channel opening; 12. Slider; 13. Door. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The technical solution of this utility model will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this utility model. Based on the embodiments of this utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0025] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0026] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0027] The present invention will be further explained below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0028] like Figure 1-5 As shown, this embodiment provides an organoid culture device, including a culture chamber 1, a support plate 2 horizontally fixed between the inner walls of the culture chamber 1, and multiple support platforms 3 fixedly connected to the support plate 2. A microfluidic chip 11 is detachably installed on the top of the support platform 3. A slider 12 is slidably arranged on the side wall of the support platform 3. A base block 7 is fixedly connected to the upper end of the slider 12. A clamping groove 701 is opened at the top of the base block 7. An elastic clamping component 8 is also provided at the top of the base block 7. One end of the conduit 10 is inserted into the channel opening 1101 on the surface of the microfluidic chip 11, and the other end of the conduit 10 is located inside the clamping groove 701. The elastic clamping component 8 is used to clamp and fix the conduit 10.

[0029] This solution uses an elastic clamping component 8 to fix the catheter 10 inside the clamping groove 701, generating a certain clamping force on the catheter 10 to prevent it from falling off the microfluidic chip 11 due to accidental pulling or other reasons, thus avoiding culture medium leakage, contamination or fluid interruption and preventing impact on the growth stability of organoids; and the slider 12 can be adjusted in position along the front and back direction of the support platform 3, that is, the position of the elastic clamping component 8 is adjusted to match the position of the catheter 10.

[0030] Specifically, the elastic clamping assembly 8 includes a clamping block 81 located inside the clamping groove 701, two guide rods 83 fixed to the end of the clamping block 81, two symmetrically distributed guide rings 82 fixedly connected to the top of the base block 7, the guide rods 83 passing through the guide rings 82, and a pull block 84 fixedly connected to the other end of the guide rods 83, a spring 85 fixedly connected between the clamping block 81 and the guide rings 82, the spring 85 being sleeved on the guide rods 83, and the clamping block 81 and the clamping groove 701 cooperating to clamp and fix the guide tube 10.

[0031] One end of the conduit 10 is inserted into the channel opening 1101 on the surface of the microfluidic chip 11, and the other end passes through the clamping groove 701. Then, the pull block 84 is released, the spring 85 releases its elastic force, and pushes the clamping block 81 to abut against the conduit 10, thereby fixing the conduit 10 inside the channel opening 1101.

[0032] The conduit 10 connected to the chip is a flexible tube (usually silicone, PU, ​​PTFE, etc.) and is the core link for realizing "fluid manipulation". Its function can be summarized as connecting external devices to the internal microchannels of the chip and building a closed-loop fluid system. Based on the conduit material and inner diameter, the maximum allowable clamping force is determined to ensure that the inner diameter shrinkage rate of the conduit 10 after clamping is ≤10% (usually does not affect transmission). This is existing technology and will not be elaborated further.

[0033] The side wall of the support platform 3 is provided with a sliding groove 302, and the slider 12 is slidably disposed inside the sliding groove 302. A bolt 9 is threaded inside the slider 12, and the end of the bolt 9 abuts against the side wall of the support platform 3.

[0034] The slider 12 can be adjusted in the front and back direction. The slider 12 can move inside the slide groove 302. The position of the slider 12 is locked by the bolt 9, thus completing the adjustment and locking of the position of the base block 7 and the elastic clamping assembly 8.

[0035] The top of the support platform 3 has a groove 301, and the microfluidic chip 11 is located inside the groove 301.

[0036] The groove 301 is equipped with a horizontally movable clamping plate 4 and two limiting rods 5 fixed to the side wall of the clamping plate 4. The limiting rods 5 are movably inserted through the support platform 3. The side wall of the support platform 3 is also threaded with a screw rod 6. One end of the screw rod 6 is rotatably connected to the clamping plate 4 through a bearing.

[0037] Rotating screw 6 pushes clamping plate 4 to move laterally. The microfluidic chip 11 can be clamped and fixed by the laterally movable clamping plate 4 to prevent the microfluidic chip 11 from falling out of the support platform 3 and ensure its stability. The surface of clamping plate 4 in contact with the chip should be made of soft material (such as silicone pad or rubber sheet) or smooth hard material (such as polytetrafluoroethylene) to avoid scratching the chip surface; and it can adapt to the width of microfluidic chip 11 within a certain range.

[0038] The incubator 1 has a door 13 on its front side wall that is rotatably mounted on a hinge, which is used to close the incubator 1.

[0039] If the experiment only requires short-term culture (<24 hours) and the chip is small and well-sealed, it can be operated at room temperature or on a benchtop (with a portable temperature control module) without needing to be placed in incubator 1; long-term culture requires placement in incubator 1, which can provide stable temperature and humidity, which is the basis for long-term cell survival.

[0040] Avoid environmental interference: The risk of microbial contamination in the external environment is high, and the sterile environment of incubator 1 can reduce the probability of contamination.

[0041] The slide 302 is a T-slot, and the slider 12 is a T-block.

[0042] The unique structural design of the slide groove 302 and the slider 12 ensures that the slider 12 can move linearly inside the slide groove 302 to achieve the guiding purpose.

[0043] The width and length of the groove 301 are greater than the corresponding width and length of the microfluidic chip 11, ensuring that the microfluidic chip 11 can be properly placed inside the groove 301 to achieve the installation and positioning work.

[0044] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this utility model, and are not intended to limit it. Although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model.

Claims

1. An organoid culture device, characterized in that, The device includes an incubator (1), a support plate (2) horizontally fixed between the inner walls of the incubator (1), and multiple support platforms (3) fixedly connected to the support plate (2). A microfluidic chip (11) is detachably installed on the top of the support platform (3). A slider (12) is slidably provided on the side wall of the support platform (3). A base block (7) is fixedly connected to the upper end of the slider (12). A clamping groove (701) is opened at the top of the base block (7). An elastic clamping component (8) is also provided at the top of the base block (7). One end of the conduit (10) is inserted into the channel opening (1101) on the surface of the microfluidic chip (11). The other end of the conduit (10) is located inside the clamping groove (701). The elastic clamping component (8) is used to clamp and fix the conduit (10).

2. The organoid culture device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastic clamping assembly (8) includes a clamping block (81) located inside the clamping groove (701) and two guide rods (83) fixed to the end of the clamping block (81). Two symmetrically distributed guide rings (82) are fixedly connected to the top of the base block (7). The guide rods (83) pass through the guide rings (82). The other end of the guide rods (83) is fixedly connected to a pull block (84). A spring (85) is fixedly connected between the clamping block (81) and the guide rings (82). The spring (85) is sleeved on the guide rods (83). The clamping block (81) and the clamping groove (701) cooperate to clamp and fix the guide tube (10).

3. The organoid culture device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The side wall of the support platform (3) is provided with a sliding groove (302), and the slider (12) is slidably disposed inside the sliding groove (302). A bolt (9) is threaded inside the slider (12), and the end of the bolt (9) abuts against the side wall of the support platform (3).

4. The organoid culture device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The top of the support platform (3) is provided with a groove (301), and the microfluidic chip (11) is located inside the groove (301).

5. The organoid culture device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The groove (301) is provided with a horizontally movable clamping plate (4) and two limiting rods (5) fixed to the side wall of the clamping plate (4). The limiting rods (5) are movably inserted through the support platform (3). The side wall of the support platform (3) is also threaded with a screw (6). One end of the screw (6) is rotatably connected to the clamping plate (4) through a bearing.

6. The organoid culture device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The incubator (1) has a door (13) on its front side wall that is rotatably mounted on a hinge.

7. The organoid culture device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The groove (302) is a T-shaped groove, and the slider (12) is a T-shaped block.

8. The organoid culture device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The width and length of the groove (301) are greater than the width and length of the corresponding microfluidic chip (11).

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