Movable Magnet System for Cell Suspension Preparation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for preparing cell suspensions are inefficient and labor-intensive, requiring extensive laboratory effort and lacking in cost-effectiveness, especially for identifying specific cell types like cancer cells within heterogeneous populations.
Innovation Solution
A preparation system comprising a reactor housing with a magnet system and a distributor housing, which enables efficient and specific identification and recovery of cell types through magnetic separation and chemosensitivity testing, using established methods in an automated, decentralized, and cost-effective manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If magnetic separation and chemosensitivity testing are performed manually in a centralized laboratory, then identification precision of specific cell types is improved, but device complexity and labor requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the cell analysis process into modular functional units: a reactor housing for magnetic separation containing ferrobeads and antibodies, a distributor housing for sample distribution, and a magnet system for separation. Each module performs a specific function independently, enabling precise cell identification while maintaining system simplicity through functional segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The magnet system is received on the carrier so as to be relatively movable, with the pole face able to bear against or assume a predetermined distance relative to the channel wall. This nested, movable configuration allows the magnetic separation capability to be integrated within the compact reactor housing while maintaining operational flexibility.
2Reliability
If extensive laboratory procedures are used for cell suspension preparation, then analysis reliability is improved, but productivity decreases due to time-consuming manual operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines multiple preparation steps (cell suspension mixing, magnetic separation, and chemosensitivity testing) into a single integrated device. The reactor housing contains the reaction channel for mixing, the magnet system provides separation, and the distributor housing enables automated sample distribution, allowing reliable analysis to be performed continuously without manual intervention between steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The reaction channel is designed as a continuous tubular structure extending from inlet to outlet, enabling continuous flow of cell suspension through the magnetic separation zone. The magnet system can be moved to different positions along the channel, allowing continuous processing of cell samples without interruption, thereby maintaining high productivity while ensuring reliable separation.
3Ease of operation
If a movable magnet system is used for magnetic separation, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional drive mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
A carrier serves as an intermediary component that supports both the reactor housing and the magnet system. The magnet system is received on the carrier so as to be relatively movable, allowing the magnet to be positioned and repositioned along the reaction channel without requiring complex direct drive mechanisms integrated into the reactor housing itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier functions as a universal support structure that accommodates both the reactor housing and the movable magnet system. This multi-functional base component enables the magnet to be repositioned for different separation operations while maintaining a simple overall device architecture, balancing ease of operation with minimal added complexity.
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 system allows for the efficient preparation and analysis of cell suspensions with minimal personnel and time requirements, enabling the identification of substances that effectively target cancer cells while sparing immune cells, facilitating personalized therapeutic decisions.
Implementation Method 1
a magnet system which is configured for providing a magnetic flux to the reaction channel of the reactor housing
Implementation Method 2
wherein a rotational movement can be initiated on the reactor housing about a rotational axis with the reactor housing drive in order to transport the cell suspension in the direction of the outlet opening
Data Source
AI summary
A preparation system for preparing a cell suspension having a carrier on which a reactor housing and a magnet system are accommodated, wherein, in the reactor housing, a reaction channel is formed, which extends between an inlet opening arranged centrally on an upper side of the reactor housing and an outlet opening arranged on the outside of the reactor housing and which is bounded by a channel wall, the magnet system being received on the carrier so as to be relatively movable between a first functional position, to bear with a pole face against the channel wall of the reaction channel and a second functional position to assume with the pole face a predetermined distance relative to the channel wall, and having a reactor housing drive for initiating a rotational movement on the reactor housing.