Stabilizing Lid for Porous Membrane Inserts in Cell Culture Plates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Porous membrane inserts in multi-well cell culture plates often shift during manipulations, leading to accidental damage, contamination, and inconsistent measurements, which can result in costly reiterations and health risks due to the use of biohazardous materials.
Innovation Solution
A lid designed to stabilize the porous membrane insert within the multi-well cell culture plate, featuring a planar body with holes that span the plate's surface, allowing unobstructed access while preventing movement, compatible with various plate sizes and designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If porous membrane inserts are used in multi-well cell culture plates, then cell culture experiments can be conducted with separation of compartments, but the inserts shift and move during manipulations causing damage and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing a stabilizing lid that is placed on the multi-well plate before manipulations are performed. This lid pre-establishes mechanical constraints on the porous membrane inserts, preventing them from shifting during subsequent pipetting and handling operations. The lid's design with sidewalls extending into wells creates preliminary physical barriers that keep inserts stable throughout the experiment.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizing lid serves as an intermediary device between the researcher's manipulations and the porous membrane inserts. Rather than directly handling inserts or risking their movement during pipetting, the lid mediates by providing a stable structure that transmits minimal disturbance to the inserts while allowing necessary access through openings for pipette tips.
2Reliability
If the lid completely covers the plate to stabilize inserts, then insert stability is improved, but access to PMI contents is obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is segmented with multiple openings corresponding to individual wells or groups of wells. This segmentation allows researchers to access specific PMI contents through designated openings while the remaining portions of the lid continue to provide stabilization. The segmented design enables selective access without compromising overall insert stability in uncovered areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid exhibits local quality by having different regions with different properties: covered regions provide stabilization while opening regions provide access. The sidewalls are positioned to provide local mechanical support where needed, while openings are strategically placed to allow local access to specific wells. This spatial variation in structure and function resolves the contradiction between stability and accessibility.
3Productivity
If smaller format PMIs are used to increase plate capacity, then productivity is improved, but the inserts are more prone to shifting and moving
Solution Approach 1:
The lid provides a counterbalancing mechanical constraint system that compensates for the inherent instability of smaller format inserts. The sidewalls extending into wells create opposing forces that prevent insert movement in multiple directions. This counter-constraint system effectively neutralizes the shifting tendency of high-capacity small-format inserts during manipulations.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves from addressing insert stability in the horizontal plane to adding a vertical dimension of stabilization. The lid introduces vertical constraints through sidewalls that extend downward into wells, creating three-dimensional mechanical support. This dimensional addition prevents lateral shifting of small inserts without interfering with their function.
4Ease of operation
If PMIs are manipulated frequently for maintenance and treatment, then experimental control is improved, but the frequency of shifting and damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing lid provides beforehand cushioning by establishing mechanical protection before manipulations occur. The sidewalls create a protective structure that cushions inserts against accidental impacts, spills, and excessive movement during frequent handling. This pre-established protection reduces the harmful effects that would otherwise accumulate with repeated manipulations.
Data Source
AI summary
A lid and a method of testing a test substance in a porous membrane insert (PMI) are dis closed, the lid including a body, sidewalls positioned along an outer perimeter of the body and configured to be seated on a shoulder of a multi-well cell culture plate, and at least one hole through the body and/or at least one knockout, wherein the lid is configured to provide the at least one hole over a corresponding well of the multi-well cell culture plate which contains the porous membrane insert. The method is a method of testing a test substance in a PMI, the method includes the steps of providing a multi-well plate with PMIs, providing the lid, removing the cover from the multi-well plate, adding the test substance, placing the lid on the multi-well cell culture plate, and conducting a manipulation of the test substance.