Cell Culture Equipment With Sealed Membrane-Based Medium Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a demand for devices capable of efficiently culturing a variety of cells, including iPS cells, while addressing issues such as immune rejection reactions and ethical concerns associated with embryonic stem cells, and ensuring controlled environmental conditions for cell culture.
Innovation Solution
A cell culture equipment comprising a culture component permeable member, a culture vessel, and a medium holding vessel, with features such as semipermeable membranes, detachable vessels, and sealed connections to maintain controlled environments and efficient component exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sealed culture system is used to prevent contamination and maintain controlled environmental conditions, then reliability and purity are improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for permeable members and sealed connections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a culture component permeable member (semipermeable membrane) that acts as a flexible barrier between the culture vessel and medium holding vessel. This thin film structure allows selective permeation of culture components while maintaining sealed connections, preventing contamination without requiring complex rigid sealing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The culture component permeable member serves as an intermediary element between the culture vessel and medium holding vessel. It mediates the exchange of culture components (nutrients, waste products) while maintaining the sealed environment, allowing the system to achieve reliability through this intermediate barrier rather than direct connection.
2Manufacturing precision
If a semipermeable membrane is used as the culture component permeable member to enable selective exchange of culture components, then manufacturing precision and purity are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies using a semipermeable membrane as the culture component permeable member, which is a type of porous material with controlled pore sizes. This allows selective exchange of culture components based on molecular weight or size, achieving manufacturing precision in component selection while the membrane's inherent structure simplifies the overall device design compared to active separation systems.
3Ease of operation
If detachable culture vessels and medium holding vessels are used to facilitate medium exchange and cleaning, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability may worsen due to potential leakage at connection points
Solution Approach 1:
The culture equipment is divided into detachable segments: a culture vessel and a medium holding vessel that can be separated and reconnected. This segmentation allows easy removal for cleaning and medium exchange while the design incorporates sealed connections with permeable members that maintain reliability when properly assembled, balancing operability with containment integrity.
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 equipment enables efficient cell culture by maintaining controlled environmental conditions, preventing contamination and leakage, and facilitating effective medium exchange, thereby supporting the growth of various cell types including iPS cells.
Implementation Method 1
the culture component permeable member may be a semipermeable membrane
Data Source
AI summary
A cell culture equipment comprising a culture component permeable member 10 that is permeable to culture components, a culture vessel 30 that covers one side of the culture component permeable member 10 and holds a cell-containing medium, and a medium holding vessel 40 that covers the other side of the culture component permeable member 10 and holds a medium.