Cell-Holding Container with Elastic Body for Uniform Culture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cell culture methods face challenges in maintaining undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells, causing cell damage and uneven colony sizes during subculture, and lack visibility for observing cell clusters in concave-convex containers, which affects efficiency and quality control.
Innovation Solution
A cell-holding container with an elastic body made of crosslinking silicone rubber, allowing reversible deformation to form concave-convex shapes for uniform cell cluster formation and observation, and a cell culture method that deforms the container to improve visibility and prevent air bubble mixing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional releasing means (physical or physiological methods) are used to subculture cells, then cell release is achieved, but cell damage occurs and colony size uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into multiple independent wells, each capable of holding and releasing cells separately. This segmentation allows uniform control of cell release from each well, ensuring consistent colony sizes while maintaining ease of operation through individual well access.
Solution Approach 2:
Cells are pre-seeded into the wells in a controlled manner before the releasing process. This preliminary action ensures uniform initial distribution and enables consistent colony formation, resolving the issue of colony size uniformity while maintaining operational ease.
2Productivity
If concave-convex containers are used to form cell clusters, then cell aggregation is improved, but visibility for observation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container walls are designed to be transparent and allow optical access from both sides. This dynamic design choice maintains the concave-convex structure for cell aggregation while ensuring visibility for observation, resolving the contradiction between cluster formation efficiency and observation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The container utilizes transparent materials that allow light transmission, effectively changing the optical properties to maintain visibility. This enables simultaneous observation of cell clusters in the concave-convex structure without compromising either function.
3Ease of operation
If opened-system culture is used, then operability and medium replacement are easy, but cell differentiation and contamination risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides a closed system for maintaining cell undifferentiated states, enables selective cell removal through specific wells, and allows medium replacement through the transparent bottom. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by integrating operations that would otherwise require separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
Specific wells are designed to be removable or accessible, allowing selective extraction of cells or media from individual wells while maintaining the closed system integrity of the entire container. This enables medium replacement and cell removal operations without compromising the overall closed-system protection against contamination.
4Reliability
If closed-system culture is used, then contamination risk decreases, but selective cell removal capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The closed-system container is segmented into multiple independent wells, each accessible through specific openings or removable sections. This segmentation enables selective cell removal from individual wells while maintaining the closed-system protection for the entire container, resolving the contradiction between contamination prevention and selective removal capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The container incorporates intermediate access mechanisms such as removable well sections or controlled openings that allow selective cell removal without compromising the overall closed-system integrity. This intermediary structure enables the desired operation while maintaining the reliability of contamination prevention.
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
The solution enables homogeneous subculture with minimal cell damage, maintains undifferentiated states, and enhances visibility for observing cell clusters, improving efficiency and quality control in cell culture processes.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic body for holding cells including at least any one of adherent cells and suspended cells; the elastic body is formed of a rubber material containing a rubber component including an additional crosslinking silicone rubber
Data Source
AI summary
A cell-holding container comprises: an elastic body for holding cells including at least any one of adherent cells at least one selected from the group consisting of stem cells, progenitor cells, somatic cells and germ cells, and suspended cells at least one selected from the group consisting of blood cells, T cells and B cells; and the elastic body is formed of a rubber material containing a rubber component including an additional crosslinking silicone rubber and is able to hold the cells.