Cell culturing system for culturing adherent cells and liquid supply interface comprising a cell culture container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10907128-B2
Application number	US-201816119002-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2018
Priority date	Jan 23, 2013
Publication date	Feb 2, 2021
Grant date	Feb 2, 2021

Abstract

The invention relates to a liquid supply interface for a cell culture system for supplying cell cultures found in different cell culture containers with a nutrient medium, wherein the liquid supply interface comprises: a housing defining a flow area; a first connection formation for the liquid-transferring connection of a first fluid line to the housing; a second connection formation formed separately from the first for the liquid-transferring connection of a second fluid line to the housing; a third connection formation formed separately from the first two for the liquid-transferring connection of the housing to a third fluid line; a coupling formation formed separately from the connection formations, which is formed for the producible and detachable liquid-transferring coupling contact according to the operation, with a corresponding counter-coupling formation of a cell culture container.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cell culture container for a cell culture system as well as for producible and detachable coupling contact with a liquid supply interface comprising:
a container body enclosing a culture volume, said container body including a fill opening, through which gas, liquid, paste, and solid bodies can be filled into the container body and removed from said container body; and
at least one counter-coupling formation formed separately from the fill opening, which is formed for establishing and detaching a coupling contact with a corresponding coupling formation of the liquid supply interface, wherein the at least one counter-coupling formation has a counter-coupling formation housing defining a delivery liquid flow path extending through the at least one counter-coupling formation and between an outer environment of the cell culture container and the culture volume, in order to introduce a liquid into the culture volume and/or to remove liquid from said culture volume via the delivery liquid flow path,
wherein the at least one counter-coupling formation has a container valve configuration;
wherein the container valve configuration can be switched, between a blocked position, in which the container valve configuration interrupts a liquid flow in the delivery liquid flow path, and an outlet position, in which the container valve configuration enables a liquid flow, by a control configuration with a signaling means generating an electric and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic field, the field of which acts upon a correspondingly field-sensitive valve body of the container valve configuration without contact, said valve body being seated on a valve seat when the container valve configuration is in its blocked position, and being removed from the valve seat when the container valve configuration is in its outlet position.

2. The cell culture container according to claim 1 , wherein the fill opening and the at least one separately formed counter-coupling formation are provided at opposite ends of the cell culture container.

3. The cell culture container according to claim 1 , wherein the field generated by the signaling means is the magnetic field, and wherein the container valve configuration is pretensioned magnetically into the blocked position and adjustable into the outlet position by the magnetic field generated by the signaling means.

4. The cell culture container according to claim 3 , wherein the container valve configuration has a permanently magnetic or a ferromagnetic tension component, such that an attracting magnetic tension force acts between the tension component and the valve body, which tensions the valve body for sealing contact with the valve seat.

5. A cell culture system comprising the cell culture container according to claim 1 and a liquid supply interface, wherein:
the liquid supply interface comprises:
a housing defining a flow area;
a first connection formation for the liquid-transferring connection of a first fluid line to the housing;
a second connection formation formed separately from the first connection formation and for the liquid-transferring connection of a second fluid line with the housing;
a third connection formation formed separately from the first and second connection formations and for the liquid-transferring connection of the housing with a third fluid line;
a coupling formation formed separately from the first, second and third connection formations, which is formed for the producible and detachable liquid-transferring coupling contact with the at least one corresponding counter-coupling formation of the cell culture container;
a first liquid flow path, which extends between the flow area and the first connection formation for introducing a first liquid from outside into the flow area;
a second liquid flow path, which extends between the flow area and the second connection formation for introducing a second liquid different from the first from the outside into the flow area;
a third liquid flow path, which extends between the flow area and the third connection formation for removing a liquid from the flow area; and
a coupling flow path, which extends between the flow area and the coupling formation in order to remove a liquid from the flow area and/or to introduce it to said flow area via the coupling formation,

wherein:
the first, the second, and the third liquid flow paths each have a valve configuration, which is completely surrounded, except for the respective liquid flow path, by the housing, incorporated in it, without a continuous signal- and/or power-transferring physical connection surrounded by the valve configuration up to the outside of the housing;
a control configuration with a signaling means generating an electric and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic field is assigned to each valve configuration, the field of which acts upon a valve body of the valve configuration without contact,
each valve configuration can be switched off via the field, acting upon its valve body, between a blocked position, in which the valve configuration interrupts a liquid flow in the liquid flow path in which it is arranged, and an outlet position in which the valve configuration enables a liquid flow,
the first connection formation connects the housing with a nutrient medium reservoir in a liquid-transferring manner and thus the first liquid flow path extends between the flow area and the nutrient medium reservoir;
the second connection formation connects the housing with a cleaning fluid reservoir in a liquid-transferring manner and thus the second liquid flow path extends between the flow area and the cleaning fluid reservoir;
the third connection formation connects the housing with a discharge in a liquid-transferring manner and thus the third liquid flow path extends between the flow area and the discharge;
the coupling formation for coupling contact, which is producible and detachable in a liquid-transferring manner according to the operation, is formed with a counter-coupling formation of the cell culture container;
the first liquid is a nutrient medium;
the second liquid is a cleaning fluid; and
the coupling flow path is formed in order to remove the nutrient medium from the flow area and supply it to the cell culture container and/or to remove it from said container and introduce it to the flow area via the coupling formation, in a state coupled with the at least one counter-coupling formation.

Assignees

• Hamilton Bonaduz Ag

Inventors

• JäGER THOMAS
• Schlenker Dirk
• Othman Nabih
• Kühne Oliver

Classifications

• C12M23/40 Primary

  Manifolds; Distribution pieces (fluid transfer means B01L3/563) · CPC title

• C12M33/07

  Dosage or metering devices therefore · CPC title

• C12M29/00

  Means for introduction, extraction or recirculation of materials, e.g. pumps (pumps per se F04B) · CPC title

• C12M41/00

  Means for regulation, monitoring, measurement or control, e.g. flow regulation (controlling or regulating chemical, physical or physicochemical processes B01J19/0006; heating or cooling apparatus for laboratory use B01L7/00; electro optical investigation of individual particles, flow cytometers G01N15/14; automatic analysis G01N35/00; controlling or regulating in general G06N) · CPC title

• C12M41/44 Primary

  of volume or liquid level · CPC title