A cryogenic transport device for cells
By employing a three-layer isolation design and a PCM module-based cryogenic transport device, the problems of large size, unstable temperature, and leakage risk in existing cell cryopreservation transport devices have been solved, achieving efficient and safe cell transport.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ZHEJIANG LINGWEI BIOTECHNOLOGY CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-10-22
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-31
AI Technical Summary
Existing cell cryopreservation and transport devices suffer from problems such as large size, unstable temperature, high cost, and leakage risk under deep cryogenic conditions, making it difficult to meet the high-quality transport requirements of cells.
The cryogenic transport device, which adopts a three-layer isolation design, includes an aerospace aluminum shell, an aerogel composite material, and a polyurethane foam liner. It has an internal PCM module and a stainless steel bracket, combined with an LED display and a temperature sensing module, to achieve real-time temperature monitoring and sealing, and adapt to different temperature requirements.
It achieves miniaturized, highly adaptable, and leak-free cryogenic transport, ensuring cell temperature stability within the range of -196℃ to -80℃, protecting cell quality, and enabling real-time monitoring and management of the transport process via mobile devices.
Smart Images
Figure CN224577169U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to cell cryogenic transport technology, specifically to a cell cryogenic transport device. Background Technology
[0002] Cells play a vital role in medical fields such as cell therapy and tissue engineering. In recent years, cell research has developed rapidly, production processes have been continuously optimized, and new products and dosage forms have emerged one after another. In particular, dosage forms that are cryopreserved in COP material vials after mass production have advantages such as minimal changes in production processes, controllable production cycles, low production quality control costs, no quality control delays, and the on-demand availability of ready-to-use preparations. These advantages make ready-to-use cell preparations an inevitable path for the future development of the cell industry. However, the corresponding cryopreservation cell transport devices have not developed in tandem, especially in the field of cryogenic transport.
[0003] Unlike older methods that involve removing cryovials from liquid nitrogen tanks, thawing them, filling them into vials, and transporting them at 2-8°C, cells filled in COP material vials are stored long-term in liquid nitrogen at -196°C. They can be directly removed and thawed for use. In-stock cell formulations require transport temperatures between -196°C and -80°C, which effectively preserves cell quality and performance. Currently, most laboratories and companies use conventional foam boxes or insulated boxes with dry ice or liquid nitrogen to transport cryopreserved cells. This method has significant drawbacks:
[0004] 1. The chamber is too large (≥50L due to the large amount of dry ice filling the chamber), the temperature can only be maintained above -70℃, and the lid needs to be opened frequently to add ice, which leads to temperature fluctuations of the frozen cells and repeated freeze-thaw cycles, which seriously affects cell quality and performance.
[0005] 2. If liquid nitrogen is used, the cost is high (more than 500 RMB per shipment) and there is a risk of leakage (causing personal injury or endangering public safety). Utility Model Content
[0006] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned technical problems by providing a cryogenic transport device for cells. This cryogenic transport device is miniaturized, highly adaptable, has no leakage risk, provides real-time temperature monitoring, and is suitable for cryogenic transport.
[0007] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution of this utility model for a cryogenic transport device for cells is as follows:
[0008] It includes an insulated shell and a cover module that covers the insulated shell; a low-temperature module is placed at the bottom of the insulated shell; and a bracket for placing vials is placed above the low-temperature module.
[0009] The cryogenic module is a PCM module.
[0010] The thermal insulation shell includes an outermost aviation aluminum shell layer, a first aerogel composite material layer in the middle layer, and a first polyurethane foam liner in the innermost layer.
[0011] The bracket is a stainless steel bracket; multiple silicone limiters are connected to the bracket; the vial is placed inside the silicone limiters.
[0012] The cover module includes a cover body with an aviation aluminum shell, an LED display module mounted on top of the cover body, and a second polyurethane foam liner mounted below the cover body; a temperature sensing module is also mounted below the cover body; a second aerogel composite material layer connects the second polyurethane foam liner and the cover body; an automatic locking module is mounted on the side of the cover body, and a battery module and a smart module with a SIM card slot are connected to the cover body; the smart module is connected to the battery module, the LED display module, the temperature sensing module, and the automatic locking module respectively.
[0013] The smart module is wirelessly connected to the mobile device.
[0014] The PCM module is pie-shaped.
[0015] A sealing gasket connects the cover module to the insulation shell.
[0016] The technical effects that this utility model can achieve are:
[0017] 1. This utility model is equipped with an insulated shell, and a PCM module is placed inside the insulated shell. Utilizing the energy storage characteristics of PCM material (i.e., phase change material), the temperature of the PCM module is cooled to a temperature suitable for preserving frozen cells. Then, a vial containing frozen cells is placed inside. The insulated shell keeps the module warm, maximizing the temperature inside the shell and creating an environment conducive to cooling and insulation of the PCM module. Furthermore, this utility model has a small overall size, high adaptability, and the PCM material (i.e., phase change material) of the PCM module can be reused.
[0018] 2. This utility model has a sealing gasket connecting the cover module and the insulation shell to ensure its airtightness and eliminate the risk of leakage;
[0019] 3. This utility model is equipped with an LED display module and a temperature sensing module. The temperature sensing module monitors the temperature inside the insulation shell in real time and displays it on the LED display module. The smart module is wirelessly connected to a mobile terminal, and the temperature monitored by the temperature sensing module can be transmitted to the mobile terminal in real time. The mobile terminal can be a mobile phone, computer, etc. Attached Figure Description
[0020] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments:
[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cryogenic transport device for cells according to the present invention;
[0022] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the cover module;
[0023] Figure 3 This is a top view of the cover module;
[0024] Figure 4 This is a top view of the support frame;
[0025] Figure 5 This is a side view of the bracket;
[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the PCM module. Detailed Implementation
[0027] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0028] See Figures 1 to 6 .
[0029] A cryogenic transport device for cells includes an insulated shell and a cover module 1 covering the insulated shell; the insulated shell includes an outermost aerospace aluminum shell layer 4, a middle layer of a first aerogel composite material layer 5, and an innermost layer of a first polyurethane foam liner 6; preferably, a sealing gasket 8 is connected between the cover module 1 and the insulated shell.
[0030] The cover module 1 includes a cover body 11 with an aviation aluminum shell, an LED display module 12 mounted on top of the cover body 11, and a second polyurethane foam liner 13 mounted below the cover body 11. A temperature sensing module 14 is also mounted below the cover body 11. A second aerogel composite material layer 18 is connected between the second polyurethane foam liner 13 and the cover body 11. An automatic locking module 17 is mounted on the side of the cover body 11. A battery module 15 and a smart module 16 with a SIM card slot are connected to the cover body 11. The smart module 16 is connected to the battery module 15, the LED display module 12, the temperature sensing module 14, and the automatic locking module 17. Preferably, the smart module 16 is wirelessly connected to a mobile device, such as a mobile phone or a computer.
[0031] A low-temperature module is placed at the bottom of the insulation shell. Specifically, the low-temperature module is a PCM module 2, which is disc-shaped. A bracket 3 for placing vials is placed above the PCM module 2. The bracket 3 is a stainless steel bracket, and multiple silicone limiters 7 are connected to the bracket 3. Preferably, ten silicone limiters 7 are connected to the bracket 3. The vials are placed inside the silicone limiters 7.
[0032] This utility model's isolation system adopts a three-layer isolation design. The outer layer of the insulation shell (i.e., the aviation aluminum outer shell layer 4) and the outer shell of the cover body 11 are made of 8mm thick 7075 aviation aluminum material, which is lightweight and can deform and collapse to absorb energy under heavy impact, minimizing the risk of leakage of contents. The inner contact surface of the shell is lined with a 5mm aerogel composite material layer (i.e., the first aerogel composite material layer 5 and the second aerogel composite material layer 18), with a thermal conductivity of only 0.015 W / m·K at -196℃, which isolates the device from external heat. A storage space is formed between the first polyurethane foam liner 6 and the second polyurethane foam liner 13 for placing vials and the support 3. The polyurethane foam material is shockproof, pressure-resistant, non-corrosive, non-shedding, insulating, and moisture-proof, which can effectively protect cells from physical damage. The aerogel composite material has an ultra-low thermal conductivity, which can effectively keep the external heat isolated and maintain the internal temperature to the maximum extent, creating an environment for cooling and insulation of the PCM module 2.
[0033] PCM module 2 is a phase change material. Phase change materials (PCMs) are materials that absorb or release a large amount of energy during phase transitions (such as solid-liquid or liquid-gas phase transitions), providing energy storage support for system heating or cooling. In this invention, a custom-shaped (disc-shaped) PCM refrigeration module from KraftBoxx is used, which is laid under the support 3. The phase change temperature is -196℃, and it can maintain -196℃ for more than 3 days and maintain a temperature range of -196℃ to -80℃ for more than 7 days. The disc-shaped PCM module 2 is in direct contact with the bottom of the vial containing the frozen cells (the vial is a COP vial), maximizing the maintenance of cell temperature and preventing cell temperature fluctuations. At the same time, the low temperature module can also be set as an ice pack or other material with the same appearance as PCM module 2 according to the cell transport temperature requirements, adapting to different transport temperatures (such as 2-8℃).
[0034] The utility model's support 3 is a 304 stainless steel COP vial support with a disc-shaped honeycomb-like arrangement of holes. While rationally arranging the holes to reduce the device's volume, it is equipped with a silicone limiter 7 (ring-shaped sleeve) which provides shock absorption for cell transport while isolating external vibrations in the isolation system. The silicone limiter 7 solves the drawback of the traditional vial support's non-adjustable hole diameter, and can adapt to changes in the vial's hole diameter within a certain range, effectively solving the problem of stress fracture caused by low-temperature deformation of COP vials. At the same time, the support 3 can also be customized with different hole diameters and heights according to changes in cell containers, or different sizes of silicone limiters 7 can be replaced to match other types of containers.
[0035] This invention differs from ordinary medical insulated boxes. The LED display module 12 of the lid-locking module 1 is a customized circular color LED display module. A mobile device, such as a mobile phone, can connect to the smart module 16 via Bluetooth and view the data fed back by the smart module 16. For example, the temperature sensing module 14 can monitor the temperature inside the insulated shell in real time, and the monitored data is fed back to the smart module 16. The smart module 16 then sends the data to the mobile phone and the LED display module 12. Both the mobile phone and the LED display module 12 can display the real-time temperature inside the insulated shell. In terms of control, the mobile phone case sends a control signal to the smart module 16, and the smart module 16 opens or closes the automatic locking module 17 after receiving the signal.
[0036] Of course, the locking principle of the automatic locking module 17 of this utility model can also be described as follows: After the cover module 1 is closed, the temperature sensing module 14 directly contacts the bracket 3. When the temperature reaches the set range, the intelligent module 16 controls the automatic locking module 17 to lock. When the locking action is completed, the device automatically enters the "transportation mode". The automatic locking module 17 will not be opened during transportation until the recipient opens the cover module 1 via mobile phone (to ensure transportation safety, prevent loss, leakage or contamination, and comply with GMP and biosafety regulations). In the transportation mode, the LED display module 12 displays the real-time temperature, device power, the time point of the last temperature / location information transmission, and signal strength information throughout the process (this information is backed up in the cloud to form a travel chart and temperature curve for the recipient to view or for the sender to trace). In the cover module 1, the battery module 15 provides continuous and stable power for no less than 72 hours in the transportation mode and no less than 168 hours in the low-energy mode.
Claims
1. A device for the cryogenic transport of cells, characterized in that: It includes an insulation shell and a cover module (1) covering the insulation shell; a low temperature module is placed at the bottom of the insulation shell; and a bracket (3) for placing vials is placed on top of the low temperature module.
2. A device for the cryogenic transport of cells according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cryogenic module is a PCM module (2).
3. A device for cryogenic transport of cells according to claim 1, wherein: The thermal insulation shell includes an outermost aviation aluminum shell layer (4), a first aerogel composite material layer (5) in the middle layer, and a first polyurethane foam liner (6) in the innermost layer.
4. The device for cryogenic transport of cells according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bracket (3) is a stainless steel bracket; multiple silicone limiters (7) are connected to the bracket (3); the vial is placed inside the silicone limiter (7).
5. A device for cryogenic transport of cells according to claim 1, wherein: The cover module (1) includes a cover body (11) with an aviation aluminum shell, an LED display module (12) installed on top of the cover body (11), and a second polyurethane foam liner (13) installed below the cover body (11); a temperature sensing module (14) is also installed below the cover body (11); a second aerogel composite material layer (18) is connected between the second polyurethane foam liner (13) and the cover body (11); an automatic locking module (17) is installed on the side of the cover body (11), and a battery module (15) and a smart module (16) with a SIM card slot are connected to the cover body (11); the smart module (16) is connected to the battery module (15), the LED display module (12), the temperature sensing module (14), and the automatic locking module (17) respectively.
6. A device for the cryogenic transport of cells according to claim 5, wherein: The smart module (16) is wirelessly connected to the mobile terminal.
7. A device for the cryogenic transport of cells according to claim 2, wherein: The PCM module (2) is in the shape of a pie.
8. A device for cryogenic transport of cells according to claim 1, wherein: A sealing gasket (8) is connected between the cover module (1) and the insulation shell.