Observation and Culture Device

Abstract

To provide an observation culture apparatus capable of stably maintaining an environment of a culture space.SOLUTION: An observation culture apparatus 1 comprises: an observation vessel 10 which has a housing part housing a sample; an observation device 20 which observes the housing part; an XY stage unit 30 which moves while supporting the observation vessel 10, and allows the housing part and the observation device 20 to face each other; a top heater unit 40 and a bottom heater unit 50 which are arranged so as to sandwich the XY stage unit 30 from above and below, and forms a culture space 100 surrounding the observation vessel 10; and a humidifying unit 60 which supplies humidified gas to the culture space 100. The humidifying unit 60 comprises: a filling region into which water for humidifying is filled; and a hollow fiber which is formed of a membrane for allowing water molecules to pass, and in which the membrane is provided so as to contact the filling region, where gas humidified by water molecules having passed through a membrane of the hollow fiber is supplied as the humidified gas to the culture space 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an observation and culture device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses a microscope observation culture device for performing microscope observation while culturing living cells. This microscope observation culture device is provided with a top heater unit and a bottom heater unit that sandwich an XY stage unit from above and below, the XY stage unit is provided with a plate holder that holds a well plate containing a sample being cultured, and the bottom heater unit has a flow path formed of a heater holder and a metal plate on one side and a heater on the other side. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6201647 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above conventional technology, the temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration of the culture space in which the well plate is placed are adjusted in order to culture live cells and observe them under a microscope. Specifically, the humidity of the culture space is adjusted by supplying steam from microholes in the metal plate of the bottom heater unit. The CO2 concentration of the culture space is adjusted by supplying a mixed gas containing CO2 from a CO2 port provided in the plate holder.

[0005] However, when a mixed gas containing CO2 is supplied to the culture space, the humidity in the culture space decreases accordingly, making it difficult to maintain a stable environment in the culture space.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an observation and culture device capable of stably maintaining the environment of the culture space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, an observation culture apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises an observation container having a storage section for storing a sample, an observation device for observing the storage section, an XY stage unit for supporting and moving the observation container and opposing the storage section to the observation device, a top heater unit and a bottom heater unit arranged to sandwich the XY stage unit from above and below and form a culture space surrounding the observation container, and a humidification unit for supplying a humidified gas to the culture space, the humidification unit comprising a filling area filled with water for humidification, and hollow fibers formed by a membrane that allows water molecules to pass through, the hollow fibers being arranged so that the membrane is in contact with the filling area, and gas humidified by water molecules that have passed through the membrane of the hollow fibers is supplied to the culture space as the humidified gas.

[0008] An observation culture device according to a second aspect of the present invention is an observation culture device according to the first aspect of the present invention, which is provided with a supply flow path that supplies the humidified gas from the humidification unit to the culture space, and the supply flow path is formed through a first through hole formed in a wall of the humidification unit and a second through hole formed in a wall of the XY stage unit.

[0009] An observation culture apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is an observation culture apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, in which the wall of the humidification unit and the wall of the XY stage unit abut each other so that the first through hole and the second through hole are connected.

[0010] An observation culture apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the observation culture apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, in which a heater unit is provided in the XY stage unit, and the humidification unit is heated by thermal conduction from a wall of the XY stage unit heated by the heater unit.

[0011] An observation culture device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is an observation culture device according to any one of the second to fourth aspects of the present invention, wherein the filling area is outside the hollow fibers, and the inside of the hollow fibers is connected to the supply flow path.

[0012] An observation culture device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is an observation culture device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, in which the humidification unit is arranged within an area sandwiched between the top heater unit and the bottom heater unit.

[0013] An observation culture device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is an observation culture device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, which is provided with a water supply flow path connected to the humidification unit and which supplies water for humidification to the filling area. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the above aspect of the present invention, an observation and culture device capable of stably maintaining the environment of the culture space is obtained. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an observation and culture device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a view taken along the arrow A in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a view taken along the arrow B shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a view taken along line C in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line D shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state when the objective lens according to the embodiment of the present invention is raised. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a humidification unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, an observation culture device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, an overview of the embodiment of the present invention will be described, and then each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0017] 〔overview〕 In the configuration described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a means for humidifying the culture space and a means for supplying a mixed gas containing CO2 to the culture space are provided separately.

[0018] Regarding CO2, the CO2 concentration in the culture space is set to 5% by supplying a gas mixture with a CO2 concentration adjusted to, for example, 5% from an external CO2 port (not shown) on the plate holder. As for humidity, the culture space is kept in a high humidity environment by evaporating water from many tiny holes provided in the metal plate of the bottom heater unit.

[0019] In order to stabilize the CO2 concentration in the culture space, it is necessary to increase the flow rate of the mixed gas supplied from outside the culture space. However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, the mixed gas is not humidified, so increasing the flow rate of the mixed gas reduces the humidity in the culture space.

[0020] In order to raise the humidity, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the bottom heater unit that supplies steam, but this will cause the temperature distribution in the culture space to be disrupted. Thus, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, in order to keep the environment in the culture space stable, it was necessary to set the temperature of each heater unit and the CO2 concentration and flow rate of the mixed gas very strictly.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present invention, a humidified gas (humidified gas) is supplied to the culture space by a humidification unit equipped with hollow fibers. The hollow fibers are formed by a membrane that allows water molecules to pass through, and are in contact with the water-filled region over a wide area, so that the mixed gas supplied to the culture space can be sufficiently humidified. This reduces the dependency of temperature control on humidification compared to the above-mentioned conventional technology, making it easier to control the temperature in the culture space. Therefore, a stable culture environment can be formed without requiring strict settings of the heater unit temperature, or the CO2 concentration and flow rate of the mixed gas.

[0022] [Embodiment] Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of an observation culture device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a view taken along an arrow A in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view taken along an arrow B in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view taken along an arrow C in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view taken along an arrow D in Fig. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the observation incubation device 1 includes an observation container 10, an observation device 20, an XY stage unit 30, a top heater unit 40, a bottom heater unit 50, and a humidification unit 60.

[0023] In the following description, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is set, and the positional relationship of each member may be described with reference to this XYZ Cartesian coordinate system. The X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are two orthogonal directions (horizontal directions) that are mutually orthogonal on a horizontal plane. The Z-axis direction is a vertical direction that is orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 5, the observation container 10 has a storage section 11 that stores a sample such as a cell. The observation container 10 of this embodiment is a multi-well plate having a plurality of storage sections 11 (wells). It is to be noted that there may be only one storage section 11. The observation container 10 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from above. The entire observation container 10, or at least the bottom of the storage section 11, may be formed from a transparent material.

[0025] 1, the observation device 20 observes the storage section 11 from the bottom side of the observation container 10. The observation device 20 of this embodiment includes an imaging device 21, an objective lens 22, and an illumination device 23. The imaging device 21 and the objective lens 22 are disposed on the lower side (-Z side) of the observation container 10. The illumination device 23 is disposed on the upper side (+Z side) of the observation container 10.

[0026] The imaging device 21 images the inside of the storage unit 11 through the objective lens 22. The objective lens 22 is configured to be movable in the Z-axis direction by an actuator (not shown). The illumination device 23 illuminates the inside of the storage unit 11 through a window 42 provided in the top heater unit 40. Note that although the observation device 20 of this embodiment has the configuration of an inverted microscope, it may have the configuration of an upright microscope.

[0027] The XY stage unit 30 supports the observation container 10 and moves along the XY plane, and faces the container part 11 and the observation device 20. The XY stage unit 30 is formed in a rectangular frame shape in a plan view, and has an opening 31 that houses the observation container 10. A support part 32 that supports the observation container 10 is formed on the opening periphery of the opening 31.

[0028] A heater unit 33 that heats the observation container 10 to a predetermined temperature (for example, about 37° C.) is provided inside the XY stage unit 30. An annular seal material 34 (see FIG. 5) that keeps the space between the XY stage unit 30 and the top heater unit 40 airtight is provided on the upper surface of the XY stage unit 30. In addition, an annular seal material 35 (see FIG. 3) that keeps the space between the XY stage unit 30 and the bottom heater unit 50 airtight is provided on the lower surface of the XY stage unit 30.

[0029] 1 is configured to be able to move the observation container 10 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction by an actuator (not shown). It is preferable that the sealant 34 and the top heater unit 40, and the sealant 35 and the bottom heater unit 50 are in contact with each other, but if the operation of the XY stage unit 30 is affected, some gaps may be allowed as long as sufficient airtightness is maintained.

[0030] The XY stage unit 30 is configured to be able to move the observation container 10 to the outside of the position covered by the top heater unit 40 by, for example, driving it largely in at least one of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, thereby enabling attachment and detachment of the observation container 10. A through-hole 36 penetrating the wall 30a in the horizontal direction is formed in the wall 30a of the XY stage unit 30. The through-hole 36 forms a supply flow path 90 of a humidified gas, which will be described later.

[0031] The top heater unit 40 is disposed above (on the +Z side of) the XY stage unit 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the top heater unit 40 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate in a plan view. An opening 41 is formed in the center of the top heater unit 40. A window 42 made of a transparent material is fitted in the opening 41, allowing illumination light from the illumination device 23 (see FIG. 1) to pass through. Note that the window 42 is preferably a transparent panel heater to prevent condensation.

[0032] The bottom heater unit 50 is disposed below (on the -Z side) of the XY stage unit 30, as shown in Fig. 1. The bottom heater unit 50 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate when viewed from the bottom, as shown in Fig. 2. An opening 51 is formed in the center of the bottom heater unit 50. A bellows 52 is attached to the opening 51, and is capable of expanding and contracting in the Z-axis direction together with the objective lens 22.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state when the objective lens 22 according to an embodiment of the present invention is raised. As shown in FIG. 6, when the objective lens 22 is in the raised position, the bellows 52 is pushed up by the objective lens 22, and the objective lens 22 and the bellows 52 seal the opening 51 of the bottom heater unit 50.

[0034] The top heater unit 40 and the bottom heater unit 50 are arranged so as to sandwich the XY stage unit 30 from above and below, and form a culture space 100 surrounding the observation container 10. The culture space 100 is an environment suitable for culturing a sample, and for example, humidity, temperature, CO2 concentration, etc. are adjusted.

[0035] The top heater unit 40 and the bottom heater unit 50 heat the culture space 100 to a predetermined temperature (for example, about 37° C.). Note that the objective lens 22 inserted into the culture space 100 may also be provided with a heater to stabilize the temperature of the culture space 100.

[0036] 1, the humidification unit 60 is attached to the outside of the XY stage unit 30, and supplies humidified gas to the culture space 100. The size of the humidification unit 60 can be designed independently of the XY stage unit 30 and the observation container 10. For example, the humidification unit 60 can be made smaller in size without depending on the size of the observation container 10. This humidification unit 60 is disposed in the area sandwiched between the top heater unit 40 and the bottom heater unit 50.

[0037] The humidifying unit 60 is connected to an air supply unit 70 and a water supply unit 80. The air supply unit 70 is connected to the humidifying unit 60 via an air supply passage 71. The air supply unit 70 generates a mixed gas whose CO2 concentration is adjusted to, for example, 5%. The air supply unit 70 may include a gas cylinder that contains a mixed gas whose composition has been adjusted in advance.

[0038] The water supply unit 80 includes a bottle 81 that contains water for humidification, and a water supply flow path 82 and a water drainage flow path 83 that connect the bottle 81 to the humidification unit 60. One end of the water supply flow path 82 is disposed in the liquid in the bottle 81. The other end of the water supply flow path 82 is connected to the humidification unit 60.

[0039] One end of the drainage flow path 83 is connected to the humidification unit 60. The other end of the drainage flow path 83 is disposed in the air inside the bottle 81. A pump 84 is provided in the drainage flow path 83. When the pump 84 is driven, the water inside the bottle 81 is sucked up from one end of the water supply flow path 82 and supplied from the other end of the water supply flow path 82 to the humidification unit 60. In addition, the water inside the humidification unit 60 is sucked out from one end of the drainage flow path 83 and drained from the other end of the drainage flow path 83 to the bottle 81.

[0040] Pump 84 may be a syringe pump, a peristaltic pump, a bellows pump, etc. Pump 84 may be provided in water supply flow path 82, or in both water supply flow path 82 and drainage flow path 83. Although one bottle 81 is shown for water supply and drainage, separate bottles may be provided for water supply and drainage, or tanks may be used.

[0041] The humidified gas generated in the humidification unit 60 is supplied from the humidification unit 60 to the culture space 100 via a supply flow path 90. The supply flow path 90 is formed through a through hole 61 formed in a wall 60a of the humidification unit 60 and a through hole 36 formed in a wall 30a of the XY stage unit 30.

[0042] In this embodiment, the wall 60a of the humidifying unit 60 and the wall 30a of the XY stage unit 30 are in contact with each other so that the through-hole 61 communicates with the through-hole 36. In other words, the humidifying unit 60 is sufficiently thermally connected to the XY stage unit 30, and is configured so that the temperature can be controlled by the heater unit 33 attached to the XY stage unit 30.

[0043] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a humidification unit 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 7, the humidification unit 60 includes a case 62 and hollow fibers 63. The case 62 in this embodiment is formed in a rectangular box shape. The above-mentioned air supply flow path 71, water supply flow path 82, and drainage flow path 83 are connected to the case 62. Further, a through hole 61 forming a humidified gas supply flow path 90 is formed in a wall 60a of the case 62.

[0044] The hollow fibers 63 are disposed in the case 62, one end of which is connected to the air intake passage 71, and the other end of which is connected to the through-hole 61 (supply passage 90). Although the hollow fibers 63 are illustrated in Fig. 7 only diagrammatically, there may be a plurality of hollow fibers 63, or the hollow fibers 63 may be bundled together. The hollow fibers 63 may not only extend linearly within the case 62, but may also be curved or serpentine.

[0045] The case 62 forms a filling area 60A that is filled with water for humidification. A water supply flow path 82 and a drainage flow path 83 are connected to the filling area 60A. The hollow fiber 63 is composed of a cylindrical membrane 63a and a hollow portion 60B that is the internal space thereof. The membrane 63a is in contact with the filling area 60A. A plurality of micropores 63b are formed in the membrane 63a. Liquid water cannot pass through the micropores 63b, but gaseous water molecules can pass through. Such a membrane 63a is also called a semipermeable membrane or the like.

[0046] Next, the operation of the observation and culture device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described.

[0047] First, the XY stage unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 is moved to the outside from the position covered by the top heater unit 40, and the observation container 10 is placed on the XY stage unit 30 by a user or a robot or the like.

[0048] Next, the observation container 10 is moved between the top heater unit 40 and the bottom heater unit 50 by the XY stage unit 30, and the objective lens 22 is raised. As a result, the culture space 100 in which the observation container 10 is placed becomes airtight from the outside.

[0049] Next, the temperature of the culture space 100 is maintained at a suitable condition for culturing a sample such as a cell (for example, about 37° C.) by controlling the temperatures of the top heater unit 40, the bottom heater unit 50, and the heater unit 33 attached to the XY stage unit 30. Note that by performing the above-mentioned temperature control in advance before placing the observation container 10, the culture state of the sample can be maintained even better.

[0050] The pump 84 supplies the water in the bottle 81 to the filling area 60A of the humidifying unit 60 through the water supply flow path 82. Meanwhile, the pump 84 drains excess water in the filling area 60A into the bottle 81 through the drainage flow path 83. Since the humidifying unit 60 is provided outside the XY stage unit 30, the impact (temperature change, humidity change, etc.) on the environment of the culture space 100 due to the supply of water to the filling area 60A and the drainage of water from the filling area 60A is extremely small.

[0051] The mixed gas whose composition has been adjusted by the air supply unit 70 is supplied to the culture space 100 via the hollow fibers 63 and the supply flow path 90 in the humidification unit 60. The mixed gas is humidified when passing through the hollow portion 60B of the hollow fibers 63, as shown in Fig. 7. The membrane 63a of the hollow fibers 63 has a plurality of micropores 63b. Although liquid water cannot pass through the micropores 63b, gaseous water molecules can pass through the micropores 63b.

[0052] That is, water molecules enter the hollow portion 60B from the filling region 60A through the micropores 63b and humidify the mixed gas passing through the hollow portion 60B. Moreover, liquid water does not enter the hollow portion 60B of the hollow fiber 63 from the filling region 60A, so that the risk of water leakage into the culture space 100 can be reduced.

[0053] Even if bacteria or the like grow in the filling area 60A, they cannot pass through the fine holes 63b. Such bacteria or the like are not included in the mixed gas, so they do not mix with the sample in the observation container 10, reducing the risk of contamination.

[0054] The larger the surface area of ​​the hollow fibers 63 (the area of ​​the membrane 63a), the easier it is to obtain a humidifying function. Since the hollow fibers 63 are threads and have a small cross-sectional area, the ratio of the surface area to the volume of the hollow fibers 63 becomes very large. By using the hollow fibers 63, it is possible to obtain a sufficient humidifying function even with a small volume.

[0055] 1, when imaging the sample cultured in the observation container 10, the observation container 10 is moved along the XY plane by the XY stage unit 30 so that the container part 11 faces the observation device 20. In addition, the objective lens 22 is moved in the Z-axis direction to a position where it is focused on the container part 11.

[0056] The sample is illuminated by transmitted illumination from the illumination device 23 or by epi-illumination (not shown) via the objective lens 22, and an image of the sample is captured by the imaging device 21.

[0057] In addition, the movement of the XY stage unit 30 described above, the movement of the objective lens 22, the temperature control of the top heater unit 40, the bottom heater unit 50, and the heater unit 33 attached to the XY stage unit 30, the gas supply by the air supply unit 70, the water supply and drainage by the pump 84, the operation of the illumination device 23 or the epi-illumination not shown, and the imaging device 21 may be performed automatically by a controller not shown.

[0058] In the observation culture device 1 having the above configuration, a mixed gas (humidified gas) that has been humidified in advance is supplied to the culture space by the humidification unit including the hollow fibers 63. By supplying the mixed gas to the culture space 100 in a state where it has been sufficiently humidified by the humidification unit 60, the gas components (e.g., CO2 concentration) and humidity in the culture space 100 are stabilized.

[0059] The hollow fibers 63 are formed by a membrane 63a that allows water molecules to pass through, and are in contact with the filling area 60A filled with water over a wide area, so that the mixed gas supplied to the culture space 100 can be sufficiently humidified. This reduces the dependency of temperature control on humidification compared to conventional methods, making it easier to control the temperature of the culture space 100. Due to the above two points, a stable culture space 100 can be formed without requiring strict settings of heater temperature, CO2 concentration of the mixed gas, and flow rate.

[0060] Thus, the observation culture device 1 according to this embodiment includes an observation container 10 having a storage section 11 for storing a sample, an observation device 20 for observing the storage section 11, an XY stage unit 30 for supporting and moving the observation container 10 and opposing the storage section 11 and the observation device 20, a top heater unit 40 and a bottom heater unit 50 arranged to sandwich the XY stage unit 30 from above and below and form a culture space 100 surrounding the observation container 10, and a humidification unit 60 for supplying a humidified gas to the culture space 100, the humidification unit 60 including a filling area 60A filled with water for humidification and a hollow fiber 63 formed by a membrane 63a that allows water molecules to pass through and arranged so that the membrane 63a is in contact with the filling area 60A, and the gas humidified by the water molecules that have passed through the membrane 63a of the hollow fiber 63 is supplied to the culture space 100 as a humidified gas. According to this configuration, a stable culture space 100 can be formed without requiring strict settings of the heater unit temperature, or the CO2 concentration and flow rate of the mixed gas.

[0061] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a supply flow path 90 is provided for supplying humidified gas from the humidification unit 60 to the culture space 100, and the supply flow path 90 is formed through a through hole 61 (first through hole) formed in the wall 60a of the humidification unit 60 and a through hole 36 (second through hole) formed in the wall 30a of the XY stage unit 30. According to this configuration, humidified gas can be supplied from the humidification unit 60 disposed outside the XY stage unit 30 to the culture space 100 via the supply flow path 90.

[0062] In this embodiment, the wall 60a of the humidifying unit 60 and the wall 30a of the XY stage unit 30 are in contact with each other so that the through-hole 61 and the through-hole 36 communicate with each other. With this configuration, the humidified gas can be supplied to the culture space 100 in the shortest distance. In addition, since the XY stage unit 30 and the humidifying unit 60 are arranged together, the observation culture device 1 can be made smaller in size.

[0063] In this embodiment, the XY stage unit 30 is provided with a heater unit 33, and the humidifying unit 60 is heated by thermal conduction from the wall 30a of the XY stage unit 30 heated by the heater unit 33. According to this configuration, the temperature of the humidifying unit 60 can be controlled by the heater unit 33 attached to the XY stage unit 30.

[0064] In this embodiment, the humidifying unit 60 is disposed in a region sandwiched between the top heater unit 40 and the bottom heater unit 50. According to this configuration, the temperature of the humidifying unit 60 can be further controlled by the top heater unit 40 and the bottom heater unit 50.

[0065] In this embodiment, the water supply passage 82 is connected to the humidification unit 60 and supplies water for humidification to the filling area 60A. With this configuration, water consumed by humidifying the mixed gas can be replenished to the filling area 60A.

[0066] In this embodiment, the filling region 60A is outside the hollow fibers 63, and the inside of the hollow fibers 63 is in communication with the supply flow path 90. With this configuration, supplying water to the outside of the hollow fibers 63 can reduce the load on the pump 84 (power consumption due to flow path resistance) more than supplying water to the inside of the hollow fibers 63.

[0067] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The shapes and combinations of the components shown in the above embodiment are merely examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements, etc., without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1...observation culture device, 10...observation container, 11...container, 20...observation device, 21...imaging device, 22...objective lens, 23...illumination device, 30...XY stage unit, 30a...wall, 31...opening, 32...support, 33...heater unit, 34...sealing material, 35...sealing material, 36...through hole (second through hole), 40...top heater unit, 41...opening, 42...window, 50...bottom heater Unit, 51...opening, 52...bellows, 60...humidification unit, 60a...wall, 60A...filling area, 60B...hollow portion, 61...through hole (first through hole), 62...case, 63...hollow fiber, 63a...membrane, 63b...micropore, 70...air supply unit, 71...air supply flow path, 80...water supply unit, 81...bottle, 82...water supply flow path, 83...drainage flow path, 84...pump, 90...supply flow path, 100...culture space

Claims

1. an observation container having a container portion for containing a sample; An observation device for observing the storage section; an XY stage unit that supports and moves the observation container and makes the container unit and the observation device face each other; a top heater unit and a bottom heater unit that are arranged so as to sandwich the XY stage unit from above and below and form a culture space surrounding the observation container; A humidification unit that supplies a humidified gas to the culture space, The humidification unit includes: a filling area filled with water for humidification; A hollow fiber formed by a membrane that allows water molecules to pass through, the membrane being provided so as to be in contact with the filling region; The gas humidified by the water molecules that have passed through the membrane of the hollow fiber is supplied to the culture space as the humidified gas, a wall of the humidification unit and a wall of the XY stage unit abut against each other, The XY stage unit is provided with a heater unit, the humidification unit is heated by thermal conduction from a wall of the XY stage unit heated by the heater unit; Observation and culture device.

2. a supply flow path for supplying the humidified gas from the humidification unit to the culture space; the supply flow path is formed through a first through hole formed in a wall of the humidification unit and a second through hole formed in a wall of the XY stage unit; The observation and culture device according to claim 1.

3. a wall of the humidification unit and a wall of the XY stage unit abut against each other so that the first through hole and the second through hole communicate with each other; The observation and culture device according to claim 2.

4. the packed region is outside the hollow fibers, The inside of the hollow fiber is in communication with the supply flow path. The observation and culture device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. the humidification unit is disposed in a region sandwiched between the top heater unit and the bottom heater unit; The observation and culture device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. a water supply flow path connected to the humidification unit and supplying water for humidification to the filling area; The observation and culture device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

Images