A multifunctional sterile feed, take material shake flask

Abstract

The utility model relates to a kind of multifunctional sterile feeding, taking material shake flask, including bottle body and bottle plug, the bottle body upper portion is fixedly connected feeding pipe and taking material pipe;The one end of feeding pipe is located in bottle body and is equipped with feeding diffuser, the other end is located outside bottle body and is sequentially equipped with first water stop clamp and sterile filter;The sterile filter is connected feeding syringe;The one end of taking material pipe extends to bottle body bottom along the inner side wall of bottle body, the other end is located outside bottle body and is sequentially equipped with second water stop clamp and third water stop clamp.The utility model is fixed with the feeding pipe and taking material pipe of water stop clamp by being set on bottle body, to facilitate feeding operation and taking material operation in bottle body without opening bottle;Feeding pipe of the utility model adopts feeding diffuser to feed in bottle body middle part to ensure uniform feeding each time, prevent material liquid local over-acid over-alkali in feeding process;Sterile filter is used to sterilize and filter feeding, further reduce the risk of bottle contamination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the technical field of microbial fermentation experimental equipment, specifically an improved shake flask structure, and particularly relates to a multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask. Background Technology

[0002] Shake-flask fermentation is the most fundamental and widely used experimental method in the field of microbial technology, playing an irreplaceable role in key research stages such as strain screening, fermentation condition optimization, preliminary process exploration, and culture medium formulation selection. However, the traditional shake-flask fermentation method has many significant drawbacks, which seriously limit experimental efficiency and the reliability of results.

[0003] Currently, glass Erlenmeyer flasks are commonly used as fermentation containers in laboratories. To ensure aseptic conditions during fermentation, the flask opening is usually sealed with cotton plugs, silicone stoppers, multiple layers of gauze, or special sealing film. This sealing method is effective in preventing contamination during static culture, but it has fundamental limitations when necessary material removal (such as sampling for testing) or feed replenishment (such as adding inducers or nutrients) is required during fermentation.

[0004] 1. High risk of contamination: Each material handling or replenishment operation requires opening the bottle cap or removing the seal in a clean bench. Frequent opening operations greatly increase the risk of external microbial contamination of the fermentation broth inside the bottle, which may lead to the failure of the entire experimental batch. This risk increases exponentially, especially in long-term cultivation or multi-round replenishment experiments.

[0005] 2. Cumbersome operation and heavy workload: Experimenters must transfer each shake flask to the laminar flow hood one by one, and perform the steps of opening the cap, operating (sampling / adding materials), and then resealing. When conducting large-scale batch experiments (usually involving dozens or even hundreds of shake flasks) or when multiple material replenishments are required, this repetitive and high-intensity manual operation consumes a lot of time and energy and is inefficient.

[0006] 3. Issues with uniformity of feed and transient stimulation: Traditional feed methods (such as direct pouring or syringe injection) cannot guarantee rapid and uniform dispersion of additives in the shake flask. This can easily lead to excessively high concentrations in localized areas. Especially for sensitive cells, the transient stimulation from high concentrations of inducers or certain nutrients / inhibitors may cause irreversible damage to cell activity, affecting the accuracy and reproducibility of fermentation results.

[0007] 4. Inability to achieve in-situ non-destructive sampling: Existing conventional shake flasks do not have the capability to directly extract small amounts of fermentation broth for real-time analysis (such as detecting biomass, pH, product concentration, etc.) under closed, sterile conditions. Sampling still relies on opening the flask, which also faces the problems of contamination risk and heavy workload.

[0008] To address the problems associated with traditional bottle-opening feeding methods, some improvements have emerged in existing technologies. For example, Chinese utility model patent CN 220413361U (authorization announcement number CN 220413361U, patent number 202321611329.2), entitled "A Feeding Device for Shake Flask Fermentation," discloses a specialized feeding device designed to eliminate the need for bottle opening during feeding. This solution reduces the risk of contamination and operational complexity to some extent. However, this technical solution still has significant shortcomings: For instance, its functionality is limited: the patent primarily focuses on addressing the need for bottle-opening feeding, without addressing or resolving the equally crucial need for "sampling without opening the bottle." For experiments requiring real-time monitoring of the fermentation process, frequent sampling is essential, which this device cannot handle. Researchers still need to use traditional bottle-opening methods for sampling, and the risks of contamination and workload remain. Furthermore, the patent's structure is external and an add-on device: this solution typically involves an external device attached to the shake flask, potentially increasing system complexity and affecting the balance or placement of the shake flask in the shaker.

[0009] Therefore, there is an urgent need to make innovative improvements to the existing shake flask structure itself and design an integrated, built-in solution that can safely and conveniently perform the two core operations of aseptic sampling and aseptic feeding without disrupting the sterile environment inside the flask or requiring frequent opening of the flask, thereby significantly improving the efficiency and reliability of shake flask fermentation experiments. Summary of the Invention

[0010] This invention provides a multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art, which simplifies the experimental operation steps, improves the experimental efficiency, and reduces the risk of bacterial contamination in the shake flask.

[0011] This utility model includes the following technical solution: a multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shaker, comprising a bottle body and a stopper, wherein a feeding tube and a dispensing tube are fixedly connected to the upper part of the bottle body; one end of the feeding tube is located inside the bottle body and is provided with a feeding diffuser, and the other end is located outside the bottle body and is provided with a first water-stopping clamp and a sterile filter in sequence; the sterile filter is connected to a feeding syringe; one end of the dispensing tube extends along the inner sidewall of the bottle body to the bottom of the bottle body, and the other end is located outside the bottle body and is provided with a second water-stopping clamp and a third water-stopping clamp in sequence.

[0012] Furthermore, the bottom surface of the feed diffuser has several small circular holes evenly distributed.

[0013] Furthermore, the feed diffuser is located directly below the bottle stopper to ensure uniform feeding each time and prevent the feed liquid from becoming excessively acidic or alkaline in certain areas during the feeding process.

[0014] Furthermore, the sterile filter is directly connected to the outlet of the feeding syringe.

[0015] Furthermore, both connection ends of the sterile filter protrude from the main body shell, one connection end matches the size of the inlet of the feed diffuser, and the other connection end matches the size of the outlet of the feed syringe.

[0016] Furthermore, the sterile filter is connected to the outlet of one or more feeding syringes via a silicone tubing.

[0017] Furthermore, both connection ends of the sterile filter protrude from the main body shell, one connection end matches the size of the liquid inlet of the feed diffuser, and the other connection end matches the size of the liquid outlet of the silicone tube.

[0018] Furthermore, the sampling tube located inside the bottle is made of hard glass or soft silicone; when a hard glass tube is used, the sampling position is fixed, and when a silicone sampling tube is used, the sampling position is adjustable.

[0019] Furthermore, the soft silicone sampling tube has a metal ring at the inlet, which is wrapped inside the silicone. The operator can mark the sampling point on the outside of the shake flask (usually at the bottom) and move the inlet to the marked point using a magnet, thereby achieving multi-point fixed-point sampling.

[0020] Furthermore, the filter element of the sterile filter is made of polyethersulfone (PES) sheet membrane folded into an accordion shape and then formed into a cylinder. Polyethersulfone (PES) has a fast flow rate and low protein adsorption, and is widely used in the biopharmaceutical industry, especially for the sterilization filtration of serum and culture media.

[0021] The advantages and positive effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0022] 1. This utility model provides a fixed feeding tube and a dispensing tube with a water-stop clamp on the bottle body, which facilitates feeding and dispensing operations inside the bottle without opening it, making the operation more convenient and improving experimental efficiency.

[0023] 2. The feeding tube of this utility model uses a feeding diffuser to feed the material in the middle of the bottle to ensure uniform feeding each time and prevent the material liquid from being too acidic or alkaline in some areas during the feeding process.

[0024] 3. This utility model uses a sterile filter to sterilize the replenishing material, further reducing the risk of contamination inside the bottle. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a front view schematic diagram of Embodiment 1;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a front view schematic diagram of Embodiment 2;

[0027] In the diagram, 1-bottle body; 2-bottle stopper; 3-feeding tube; 4-feeding tube; 5-feeding diffuser; 6-first water stop clamp; 7-sterile filter; 8-feeding syringe; 9-second water stop clamp; 10-third water stop clamp; 11-silicone tubing; 12-silicone feeding tube; 13-metal ring. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To further disclose the invention content, features, and effects of this utility model, the following examples are provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings for detailed description. In the following description of the embodiments, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise," 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 patent and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the device or component 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 patent.

[0029] In the following description of the embodiments, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "setting" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection or setting, a detachable connection or setting, or an integral connection or setting. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this patent according to the specific circumstances.

[0030] Example 1: See Appendix Figure 1 A multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask includes a flask body 1 and a stopper 2. A feeding tube 3 and a dispensing tube 4 are fixedly connected to the upper part of the flask body 1. One end of the feeding tube 3 is located inside the flask body 1 and is equipped with a feeding diffuser 5, while the other end is located outside the flask body 1 and is sequentially equipped with a first water-stop clamp 6 and a sterile filter 7. The sterile filter 7 is connected to a feeding syringe 8. One end of the dispensing tube 4 extends along the inner wall of the flask body 1 to the bottom of the flask body 1, while the other end is located outside the flask body 1 and is sequentially equipped with a second water-stop clamp 9 and a third water-stop clamp 10. The end of the dispensing tube 4 located inside the flask body 1 is made of hard glass, and the sampling position is fixed.

[0031] The bottom surface of the feed diffuser 5 has several small circular holes evenly distributed. The feed diffuser 5 is located directly below the bottle stopper 2 to ensure uniform feeding each time and to prevent the liquid from becoming too acidic or too alkaline in certain areas during the feeding process.

[0032] The filter element of the sterile filter 7 is made of polyethersulfone (PES) sheet membrane folded into an accordion shape and then formed into a cylinder. PES has a high flow rate and low protein adsorption, and is widely used in the biopharmaceutical industry, especially for the sterilization and filtration of serum and culture media. The sterile filter 7 is directly connected to the outlet of the feed injector 8. Both connection ends of the sterile filter 7 protrude from the main body shell; one connection end matches the size of the inlet of the feed diffuser 5, and the other connection end matches the size of the outlet of the feed injector 8.

[0033] Working process: When performing the feeding operation, first keep the first water stop clamp 6 closed and sterilize the external pipeline; after sterilization, add culture medium into the feeding syringe 8, open the first water stop clamp 6 and push the feeding syringe 8 so that the culture medium passes through the sterile filter 7 and reaches the feeding diffuser 5, and then adds it evenly into the bottle 1; when performing the material removal operation, connect the suction device to the end of the material removal tube 4 through the hose, open the second water stop clamp 9 and the third water stop clamp 10, and start the suction device to extract the material in the bottle.

[0034] Example 2: See Appendix Figure 2 A multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask is disclosed, wherein the aseptic filter 7 is connected to the outlet of two feeding syringes 8 via a silicone tubing 11. Both connecting ends of the aseptic filter 7 protrude from the main body shell; one connecting end matches the inlet size of the feeding diffuser 5, and the other connecting end matches the outlet size of the silicone tubing 11. The dispensing tube 4, located inside the flask body 1, is a soft silicone dispensing tube 12; the sampling position is adjustable when using the silicone dispensing tube 12. A metal ring 13 is provided at the inlet of the soft silicone dispensing tube 12, encased in silicone. The operator can mark sampling points on the outside of the shake flask (usually at the bottom) and use a magnet to move the inlet with the metal ring to the marked location before starting dispensing, thus achieving multi-point fixed-point dispensing.

[0035] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other modifications under the guidance of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. These modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-functional sterile feed, retrieve shake flask comprising a flask body and a stopper, characterized in that: The upper part of the bottle is fixedly connected to a feeding tube and a receiving tube; one end of the feeding tube is located inside the bottle and is provided with a feeding diffuser, and the other end is located outside the bottle and is provided with a first water-stopping clamp and a sterile filter in sequence; the sterile filter is connected to a feeding syringe; one end of the receiving tube extends along the inner side wall of the bottle to the bottom of the bottle, and the other end is located outside the bottle and is provided with a second water-stopping clamp and a third water-stopping clamp in sequence.

2. A multi-functional sterile feeding, retrieving and shaking flask as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The bottom surface of the feed diffuser has several small circular holes evenly distributed.

3. The multi-functional sterile feeding, retrieving and shaking flask as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The feed diffuser is located directly below the bottle stopper.

4. The multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sterile filter is directly connected to the outlet of the feeding syringe.

5. A multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask according to claim 4, characterized in that: Both connection ends of the sterile filter protrude from the main body shell. One connection end matches the size of the inlet of the feed diffuser, and the other connection end matches the size of the outlet of the feed syringe.

6. The multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sterile filter is connected to the outlet of one or more feeding syringes via a silicone tubing.

7. A multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask according to claim 6, characterized in that: Both connection ends of the sterile filter protrude from the main body shell. One connection end matches the size of the liquid inlet of the feed diffuser, and the other connection end matches the size of the liquid outlet of the silicone tube.

8. The multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end of the feeding tube located inside the bottle body is made of hard glass or soft silicone.

9. A multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask according to claim 8, characterized in that: The soft silicone feeding tube has a metal ring at its inlet, which is enclosed within the silicone.

10. A multifunctional aseptic feeding and dispensing shake flask according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that: The filter element of the sterile filter is made of polyethersulfone flat sheet membrane folded into an accordion shape and then formed into a cylinder.

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