Suspension cell culture bottle

Abstract

A suspension cell culture bottle includes a container body, multiple guide vanes, and a cap. The container body extends upward from the bottom to form a body portion and a receiving opening. The bottom of the container is equipped with multiple cylindrical structures serving as fixed bases. The base blocks of the guide vanes are inserted into the fixing holes of these cylindrical structures, and the guide vanes are arranged in a helical configuration along the inner wall of the body portion, enhancing internal liquid flow. The cap is fitted onto the receiving opening. When the container is shaken, the guide vanes direct the culture medium upward, thereby improving the shaking effect. This structure enhances cell culture efficiency and improves external air supply for suspension cells, making it suitable for large-scale and customized cell culture applications.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a suspended cell culture flask, and more particularly to one that enables rapid assembly, reduces costs, and provides liquid disturbance, significantly improving the efficiency and ease of operation of the cell culture flask in the cell culture process. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Note that cell culture plays a crucial role in the application of biotechnology, covering fields such as regenerative medicine, vaccine production, and drug development. Currently, conventional cell culture flasks have significant technical limitations when culturing suspension cells. The main limitation is that the culture flasks need to be shaken by external force to promote the flow of the culture medium. The main purpose is to prevent cell clumping and increase the contact between cells and the outside air. However, due to the simple structure of the culture flask, shaking can only create horizontal liquid flow and cannot effectively achieve vertical disturbance, resulting in uneven cell distribution and low culture efficiency.

[0003] To address the aforementioned shortcomings, existing technologies have attempted to modify the internal structure of culture flasks, such as designing specially curved inner walls to guide the flow of the culture medium, aiming to achieve a more uniform fluid agitation effect. However, such modifications require sophisticated mold design and processing techniques, and the complex structure of the flask may increase the difficulty of the manufacturing process, leading to a significant increase in the production cost of the culture flask. Although these modifications help improve fluid circulation to some extent, their widespread application is limited due to cost considerations, especially in large-scale cell culture applications, where high-cost culture flasks cannot completely replace traditional designs. This necessitates technological development seeking a solution that strikes a balance between performance improvement and cost control. Therefore, this invention proposes a cell culture flask with innovative structural and functional designs, thereby effectively reducing production costs and optimizing the shaking effect.

[0004] In view of this, based on the inventor’s many years of experience in manufacturing, developing and designing related products, and after detailed design and careful evaluation of the above objectives, the inventor has finally obtained an invention that is indeed practical. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a suspension cell culture flask in view of the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art.

[0006] A can body extends upward from the bottom of the can body and a receiving opening. The bottom of the can body has a plurality of columns protruding inward. Each of the plurality of guide vanes has a base block at one end, and the base block has a fixing hole. The guide vanes are inserted and fixed to the columns through the fixing hole. The guide vanes extend from the base block toward the receiving opening. The plurality of guide vanes are spirally arranged along the inner wall of the can body. A cover is closed onto the receiving opening. A cover opening is opened in the center of the cover, and a cover plate is pivotally connected to the cover opening.

[0007] The cover is equipped with a damper at the cover plate, and the cover has at least one window at the periphery of the cover opening. A breathable and water-blocking membrane is attached to the window, and the breathable properties of the breathable and water-blocking membrane allow air to flow into the interior of the tank.

[0008] A detection port is provided at the cover, and an acid-base value sensor is fixed on the outside of the cover. The acid-base value sensor includes a sensing rod, which is inserted into the detection port and extends into the inside of the tank.

[0009] The pH sensor is internally electrically connected to a processor, a power supply and a WiFi communicator. The power supply provides the processor with the power required, and the processor is used to interpret the pH value data of the sensor rod, and the WiFi communicator forms a wireless transmission.

[0010] The can body is transparent, and a plurality of positioning recesses are formed in the concave bottom of the can body.

[0011] The can body has a clamping part formed between the can body and the receiving opening, and the clamping part is planar to provide clamping movement of external appliances.

[0012] The tank body has a connecting member protruding at the center of the bottom of the tank, and the connecting member is fitted with a flow guide, so that the fluid inside the tank body can be guided from the center to the direction of the flow guide.

[0013] The connecting member is provided with a plurality of elastic pillars in a circular shape, and the top of the elastic pillar is formed with an outwardly protruding blocking block. The guide member includes a ring body and a plurality of blades surrounding the ring body. The guide member covers all the elastic pillars with the ring body and blocks the ring body with the blocking block to limit the guide member.

[0014] The elastic column has a protrusion at the bottom of the tank, and the protrusion supports the ring of the guide, so that the ring and the elastic column form a plurality of flow ports.

[0015] At least one sphere is attached to the blade, the sphere abuts against the bottom of the tank, and both the blade and the sphere of the guide can rotate around the attachment.

[0016] The above structural design enables rapid assembly, reduces costs, and provides liquid disturbance function, significantly improving the efficiency and ease of operation of cell culture flasks in the cell culture process.

[0017] Other purposes, advantages and novel features of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and related drawings.

Implementation Method

[0018] To enable your review committee to have a better understanding of the purpose, features and effects of this invention, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with (brief explanation of the drawings):

[0019] Please refer to Figures 1 through 5. A suspension cell culture flask includes: a tank body 10, a plurality of guide vanes 20 and a cap 30. The tank body 10 extends upward from a bottom 11 to form a body 12 and a receiving opening 13. A plurality of pillars 111 are protruding inward from the bottom 11 of the tank body. These pillars 111 are evenly distributed on the bottom 11 of the tank body. A plurality of positioning recesses 112 are formed inward from the bottom 11 of the tank body. The positioning recesses 112 are used to securely connect the tank body 10 to a shaking mechanism (not shown in the figure) to prevent it from tipping over or detaching during shaking. The tank body 12 extends upward from the bottom 11, forming a cylindrical structure. A plurality of guide vanes 20 are arranged circumferentially on its inner wall. Each guide vane 20 has a base block 21 at one end, with a fixing hole 211 through which it is embedded in the cylinder 111 for a stable connection. The guide vanes 20 extend from the base block 21 towards the receiving port 13, and all the guide vanes 20 are arranged in a spiral pattern, thereby forming a vortex flow structure. During shaking, the culture medium flows outward under centrifugal force, is guided upward along the guide vanes 20, and flows back to the center of the tank body 10 near the receiving port 13, achieving vertical fluid disturbance. This design prevents cell clumping and improves the gas-liquid exchange efficiency of the culture medium, further promoting cell growth. The receiving port 13 is located at the top of the container 10 and is used to connect with the cover 30. A cover opening 31 is formed in the center of the cover 30, and a cover plate 32 is pivotally connected to the cover opening 31 to facilitate closing or opening the receiving port 13. A resistance device 321 is installed on the cover plate 32 of the cover 30. Through the slow-reset function of the resistance device 321, the cover plate 32 can be slowly closed after being opened, thereby reducing the adhesion of culture medium to the cover plate 32. The cover opening 31 is used for extraction and filling when changing the culture medium. At least one window 33 is formed around the perimeter of the cover 30. A breathable and water-resistant membrane 34 is attached to each window 33. The breathable and water-resistant membrane 34 allows free airflow but blocks water penetration, achieving gas exchange in the culture environment and preventing liquid spillage and bacterial contamination, thus improving the stability of the culture process.

[0020] To further explain, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6, in this embodiment, the cover 30 is provided with a detection port 35, and a pH sensor 36 is inserted inside the detection port 35. The pH sensor 36 includes a sensing rod 361, a processor 362, a power supply 363 and a WiFi communicator 364. The sensing rod 361 extends from the detection port 35 into the interior of the tank 10 for real-time monitoring of the pH value of the culture medium. The data collected by the sensing rod 361 can be analyzed by the processor 362 and transmitted to an external device through the WiFi communicator 364. This design allows users to monitor the pH changes of the culture environment without opening the tank 10 and adjust the shaking time or perform medium replacement operations based on the data.

[0021] Please refer to Figures 7, 8, and 9 in conjunction with Figure 2. A connecting member 15 is protruding from the center of the bottom 11 of the tank. The connecting member 15 has a plurality of elastic pillars 151 arranged in a circle. The top of each elastic pillar 151 forms an outwardly protruding blocking block 152. A flow guide 16 is fitted on the connecting member 15. The flow guide 16 includes a ring body 161 and a plurality of blades 162 arranged around the ring body 161. The ring body 161 is fitted on the elastic pillars 151 and is limited by the blocking block 152 to prevent it from detaching, but still maintains the self-rotating function of the flow guide 16. The blades 162 and the ring body 161 together constitute a fluid guiding structure. This design realizes the rapid assembly of the flow guide 16 and allows the flow guide 16 to rotate freely within the limited range, thereby improving the flow performance of the cell culture medium. Furthermore, a protrusion 153 is formed on the elastic column 151 adjacent to the bottom 11 of the tank. The protrusion 153 supports the ring 161 of the flow guide 16, so that a plurality of flow ports 154 are formed between the ring 161 and the elastic column 151. When changing the medium, the culture medium can be drawn out through the middle of the connector 15, and the culture medium deposited at the bottom 11 of the tank can flow through the flow ports 154 to the central position of the connector 15 and be drawn out. This design ensures that the culture medium at the bottom 11 of the tank can be effectively replaced, avoiding residues from affecting the quality of subsequent cell culture. In addition, at least one sphere 163 is attached to the blade 162. The sphere 163 abuts against the bottom 11 of the tank and can slide along the bottom 11 of the tank. When the guide 16 rotates, the blade 162 pushes the ball 163 to slide on the bottom 11 of the tank, thereby effectively disturbing the sediment deposited on the bottom 11 of the tank and resuspending it in the culture medium. This design combines the fluid guiding function of the blade 162 with the movement characteristics of the ball 163, further improving the uniformity of the culture medium and the fluid dynamic efficiency.

[0022] To further achieve automated operation, a clamping part 14 is formed between the tank body 12 and the receiving port 13 of the tank body 10. The clamping part 14 is planar and is used to cooperate with an external clamping device to allow the tank body 10 to be clamped for precise movement and placement.

[0023] The above description is only one preferred embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention; that is, all equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims of the present invention should still fall within the scope of the present invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0024] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention. Figure 3 is a bottom view of the cover of the present invention. Figure 4 is a side view of the present invention. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the present invention in a shaking state. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the component relationship of the pH sensor of the present invention. Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the connecting member and the flow guide member of the present invention. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the flow guide member of the present invention in a shaking state. Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the present invention performing a liquid changing operation.

Claims

1. A suspension cell culture flask, comprising: A can body extends upward from the bottom of the can body and has a receiving opening. The bottom of the can body has a plurality of protruding pillars facing inward. A plurality of guide vanes are provided, each with a base block at one end and a fixing hole on the base block. The guide vanes are inserted and fixed to the pillars through the fixing holes. The guide vanes extend from the base block towards the receiving opening, and the plurality of guide vanes are spirally arranged along the inner wall of the can body. A lid is also provided, which covers the receiving opening. The lid has a central opening. A cover plate is pivotally connected to the opening of the can; a connecting member is protruding at the center of the bottom of the can, and a flow guide is fitted on the connecting member, so that the fluid inside the can can be guided from the center to the direction of the flow guide. The connecting member has a plurality of elastic pillars protruding in a circular shape, and the top of the elastic pillars forms an outwardly protruding blocking block. The flow guide includes a ring body and a plurality of blades surrounding the ring body. The flow guide is fitted with the ring body and all the elastic pillars are covered by the ring body. The blocking block blocks the ring body and limits the flow guide.

2. The suspension cell culture flask as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover is provided with a damper at the cover plate, the cover is provided with at least one window at the periphery of the cover opening, and a breathable and water-resistant membrane is attached to the window, and the breathable properties of the breathable and water-resistant membrane allow air to flow into the interior of the flask.

3. The suspension cell culture flask as claimed in claim 1, wherein a detection port is provided at the cap, and a pH sensor is fixed to the outside of the cap, the pH sensor including a sensing rod, the sensing rod being inserted into the detection port and extending into the interior of the flask.

4. The suspended cell culture flask as described in claim 3, wherein the pH sensor is internally electrically connected to a processor, a power supply and a WiFi communicator, the power supply providing the processor with the necessary power, and the processor being used to interpret the pH data of the sensing rod, and the WiFi communicator forming a wireless transmission.

5. The suspension cell culture flask as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flask body is transparent and a plurality of positioning recesses are formed in the concave bottom of the flask body.

6. The suspension cell culture flask as claimed in claim 1, wherein a clamping portion is formed between the flask body and the receiving port, and the clamping portion is planar for providing clamping movement of external instruments.

7. The suspended cell culture flask as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic column has a protrusion formed adjacent to the bottom of the flask, and the protrusion supports the annular body of the flow guide, such that a plurality of flow ports are formed between the annular body and the elastic column.

8. The suspension cell culture flask as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one sphere is attached to the blade, the sphere abutting against the bottom of the flask, and both the blade and the sphere of the flow guide are rotatable around the attachment.

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