Cryo-preservation Dish with Conical Wells and Integral Passages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Petri dishes are not well-suited for multi-step preparation and cryo-preservation of mammalian cells and tissues, as they lack sufficient wells, require frequent specimen handling, and are not designed for sequential media changes, leading to increased risk of damage and inefficiency in procedures.
Innovation Solution
A dish with conical or pyramidal wells and integral adjunct passages allows for sequential media infusion and withdrawal without disturbing specimens, reducing handling and enabling consistent treatment protocols for cryo-preservation and thawing processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If common Petri dishes with limited wells are used for multi-step preparation, then the device complexity is reduced, but the productivity decreases due to frequent specimen handling and inability to perform sequential media changes
Solution Approach 1:
The dish is divided into multiple wells (at least three wells per specimen) that are spatially segmented but functionally connected through internal passages. Each well serves a specific step in the multi-step preparation protocol, allowing sequential media changes without specimen transfer. This segmentation enables parallel processing of multiple specimens simultaneously, dramatically improving productivity while the integrated passage system prevents the need for frequent handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The dish design nests multiple functional elements within a single structure: multiple wells are nested within the dish body, and internal passages are nested within the dish walls connecting the wells. This nesting allows the complex multi-step preparation process to occur within a single device rather than requiring multiple separate dishes and repeated specimen transfers, thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing external device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If specimens are frequently moved among solutions in common Petri dishes, then media changes can be performed, but the reliability decreases due to increased risk of specimen damage
Solution Approach 1:
The preparation process is segmented into discrete steps occurring in separate wells, with specimens remaining stationary in one well while media is changed in that well through internal passages. This segmentation allows adaptability for sequential media changes while eliminating the need to physically move specimens between wells, thereby maintaining specimen integrity and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Internal passages act as intermediaries that allow media to be introduced and withdrawn from wells without direct manipulation of specimens. The passages serve as a mediator between the external media reservoir and the specimen-containing well, enabling media changes while keeping specimens protected and stationary, thus maintaining reliability while achieving adaptability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple vials and manual handling are used for sequential media preparation, then media changes can be performed, but the loss of time increases due to extended setup and procedure time
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple media preparation functions that would normally require separate vials and manual handling steps are merged into a single integrated dish structure with internal passages. The dish combines multiple wells and passage systems into one device, allowing sequential media changes to occur without the time-consuming process of setting up multiple separate vials and repeatedly picking up and transferring specimens, thereby reducing loss of time while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The dish is pre-configured with multiple wells and internal passages during manufacturing, preparing the structure in advance for sequential media changes. This preliminary action eliminates the need for time-consuming setup of multiple separate vials and handling protocols during the actual procedure, allowing media changes to proceed efficiently while maintaining the adaptability for sequential preparation steps.
4Productivity
If common Petri dishes without sufficient wells are used, then the device complexity is minimized, but the productivity decreases due to inability to complete desired tasks in single dish
Solution Approach 1:
The dish is segmented into multiple wells (at least three per specimen) to accommodate different steps of the preparation protocol, with each well serving a specific function. This segmentation allows multiple tasks to be completed simultaneously within a single dish, improving productivity. The internal passages connect these segmented wells, enabling media flow without specimen transfer, thereby achieving high task completion efficiency without requiring multiple separate dishes.
Solution Approach 2:
The dish is designed as a universal platform that can perform multiple functions: housing multiple specimens, accommodating sequential media changes, and facilitating cryo-preservation and thawing processes. The multi-well structure with internal passages provides multi-functionality, allowing a single dish to complete entire preparation protocols for multiple specimens without requiring additional dishes or complex external equipment, thus improving productivity while keeping the device self-contained.
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 minimizes specimen damage and improves procedural efficiency by allowing for sequential media changes and consistent treatment protocols, reducing the need for multiple vials and handling, thus enhancing the survival and growth of cells during cryo-preservation and thawing processes.
Implementation Method 1
The wells can be conical or pyramidal in shape. This shape allows the infusion of sequential media solutions, as described above, beneath the overlying oil layer, without disturbing the specimen
Implementation Method 2
The specimens can be protected against media solution evaporation either by an oil layer, or by a physical cover
Implementation Method 3
The side wall 14 of the well 4 is tapered inwardly and downwardly so as to ensure that the specimen placed in the well 4 will migrate by gravity to the area 6 in the well 4
Data Source
AI summary
A tray assembly which may include a single well or a plurality of wells that will contain specimens for cryo-preservation, freezing, thawing, or warming. The assembly will include a structure whereby a sequence of different media solutions can be introduced into a well or wells in the assembly without the need to move the specimens and without disturbing an overlying oil layer which floats on top of the media solutions. The media solutions will be introduced into the specimen wells through adjunct passages which communicate with the interior of the wells. The adjunct passages will preferably be integral with the wells and will be formed at the same time the wells are formed. Thus manufacturing the assembly of this invention will be inexpensive and repetitive. The adjunct passages can be used to infuse different media solutions into the wells at different stages of the protocols in question. The wells can be inverted cones or pyramids in shape. This shape allows the infusion of sequential media solutions beneath the overlying oil layer, without disturbing the specimen and without significantly elevating the solution level in the wells. The conical or pyramidal shapes also enable the user to readily locate and handle the specimens because the specimens will always gravitate to the nadir of the conical or pyramidal bottom of the wells. This shape also allows the user to see any media level indices placed on the side walls of the wells.