Aseptic Fluid Connector Housing for Sterile Tube Mating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aseptic fluid connections in biological production processes are challenging due to the risk of contamination when making connections outside a clean-room environment, as existing solutions do not adequately prevent exposure to airborne contaminants during the connection process.
Innovation Solution
The use of matable housings with hinged doors and serrated leaves that pierce a hermetic seal to establish fluid communication between fluid conduits, allowing for flexible and aseptic connections while minimizing exposure risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If connectors are packaged in sealed containers with removable seals, then connectors can be protected during storage, but connectors are exposed to airborne contaminants during the connection process
Solution Approach 1:
The first housing is nested within the second housing, with the first housing containing a sealed chamber that houses the fluid connectors. The second housing contains the first housing and provides an outer protective shell. This nested structure allows the connectors to remain sealed within the inner housing while the outer housing provides additional protection and structural support, enabling sterile connections without requiring clean-room environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The fluid connectors are pre-assembled within the sealed chamber of the first housing before use. The seals are pre-positioned and the connectors are pre-sterilized within the closed housing structure. This preliminary assembly and sealing action ensures that the fluid path is established in a sterile state before the housing is opened for connection, eliminating the need for clean-room conditions during the actual connection process.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple independent connections are made between fluid conduits, then each connection can be optimized individually, but the risk of contamination increases with each additional connection point
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple fluid connectors are combined within a single integrated housing structure. The first housing contains multiple fluid connectors (e.g., first, second, third connectors) that are all housed together in one sealed chamber. When the housings are mated, all connections are established simultaneously through a single opening action, reducing the number of separate sterile barrier breaches required and thereby reducing overall contamination risk while maintaining configuration flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure serves multiple functions: it provides a sealed chamber for housing multiple connectors, acts as a sterile barrier, provides structural support, and enables simultaneous connection of multiple fluid conduits. The single housing design allows multiple connectors to be activated together through one opening action, providing both versatility in configuration and reliability in maintaining sterility.
3Ease of operation
If connectors are exposed to air for extended periods during connection, then connection flexibility is improved, but contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection process is accelerated by designing the housing opening mechanism to quickly transition from sealed to open state. The hinged door or removable cap design allows the sealed chamber to be opened rapidly, minimizing the time that fluid connectors are exposed to airborne contaminants. The connection action itself is designed to be swift, rushing through the potential contamination window while still allowing sufficient flexibility for proper alignment and connection of multiple conduits.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables aseptic and flexible fluid conduit connections, reducing the risk of contamination by ensuring that fluid pathways remain sterile during the connection process, even when made outside a clean-room environment.
Implementation Method 1
mating of the first and second housings force the door leaves to swing open, breaking a seal between the two doors. The serrated leaves then pierce the seal of the second housings, enabling connection between the complementary fluid connectors within the housings.
Data Source
AI summary
An aseptic connector includes first and second matable housings each comprising a plurality of connectors for fluid conduits. The fluid conduits enter the housings and may be force-fitted onto barbs or flanges on one side of the connectors, or may instead be molded directly onto the connectors. When the housings are joined, the opposite sides of the connectors mate to form fluid seals, thereby establishing fluid pathways between now-connected sets of tubes.