Deacylated Gellan Gum Culture Medium for Low-Viscosity Cell Suspension

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing cell and tissue culture methods face challenges in maintaining the functionality and functionality of cells and tissues in a three-dimensional or suspended state, particularly for cancer and hepatocyte cultures, due to issues such as high viscosity, complex operations, and limited scalability, which affect the accuracy and reproducibility of evaluations.

Innovation Solution

A medium composition containing deacylated gellan gum or its salts, along with other polysaccharides, maintains cells and tissues in a suspended state with low viscosity, allowing easy recovery and evaluation, promoting cancer cell proliferation and suppressing hepatocyte loss.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If gel substrate methods (embedded culture) are used to maintain cells in three-dimensional state, then cell function and proliferation are improved, but medium viscosity increases and cell recovery becomes complicated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecell function maintenanceVSAvoidcell recovery operation
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts cells from the gel substrate by treating the culture medium with a specific enzyme (collagenase or dispase) that degrades the gel matrix, allowing cells to be released and recovered without complex procedures. This resolves the contradiction by enabling easy cell recovery while maintaining the benefits of three-dimensional culture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the chemical composition parameters of the culture medium by adding specific enzymes (collagenase or dispase) that alter the gel substrate properties. This enables controlled degradation of the gel matrix, facilitating cell recovery while maintaining cell function during culture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Quantity of substance

If conventional gel substrate methods are used, then cell density can be increased, but medium exchange becomes difficult due to high viscosity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecell densityVSAvoidmedium exchange operation
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The invention enables continuous culture by allowing medium exchange without removing the gel substrate. The gel matrix remains in place providing structural support, while spent medium can be removed and fresh medium added, maintaining continuous nutrient supply to high-density cell cultures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Productivity

If single layer culture is used for mass production, then cell number per area is limited, but three-dimensional culture methods increase complexity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecell mass productionVSAvoidculture system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention transitions from two-dimensional single layer culture to three-dimensional culture by embedding cells in a gel substrate. This dimensional change increases the available culture volume and surface area, enabling mass production of cells while maintaining a relatively simple culture system using standard culture vessels.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

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 medium composition enables uniform dispersion and high survival rates of cell aggregates, facilitating efficient evaluation of anticancer drugs and maintaining hepatocyte function, with improved scalability and operability.

Implementation Method 1

a medium composition containing deacylated gellan gum or a salt thereof and a polysaccharide other than deacylated gellan gum or a salt thereof... capable of culturing cells or tissues by suspending them

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSuspension: Suspension

Implementation Method 2

a medium composition with a viscosity of not more than 8 mPa·s at 37 °C containing a structure... capable of culturing cells or tissues by suspending them

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectViscosification:

Data Source

PatentEP3409761B1Culture medium composition, and method for culturing cell or tissue using said composition
Publication Date: 2025.09.03 NISSAN CHEM CORP
  • EP3409761B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3409761B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3409761B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The present invention provides a culture method of cells and/or tissues including culturing cells and/or tissues in a suspended state by using a medium composition wherein indeterminate structures are formed in a liquid medium, the structures are uniformly dispersed in the solution and substantially retain the cells and/or tissues without substantially increasing the viscosity of the solution, thus affording an effect of preventing sedimentation thereof, and the like.