Cell culturing device, culturing vessel, and holding vessel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016017271-A1
Application number	US-201314770627-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 25, 2013
Priority date	Mar 25, 2013
Publication date	Jan 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

In culture vessels for producing biological samples, it is possible to prevent decrease in a temperature at the time of taking out the culture vessels from an automatic culture apparatus and during delivery of the culture vessels which have been taken out from the automatic culture apparatus. This invention includes a culture vessel 201 holding a biological sample therein, a heat storage portion 701 holding the culture vessel, and a heat insulation portion 601 surrounding the heat storage portion. The whole circumference or a part of 609, 610 , and 611 of the heat insulation portion 601 is removable depending on an arrangement environment.

First claim

1 . A cell culture apparatus, comprising:
a culture vessel base which is arranged in a culture space and on which a plurality of culture vessels are placed; and a plurality of heat storage portions for warming the plurality of culture vessels, respectively, wherein the plurality of heat storage portions, which are placed on the culture vessel base in the culture space during culture and contains the respective culture vessels, are provided so that at least one storage portion is removable from the culture space.

2 . The cell culture apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the culture vessel base includes a guide portion for allowing the plurality of heat storage portions to be arranged in a predetermined region of the culture space so that culture can be performed in a state in which the culture vessels are contained.

3 . The cell culture apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an observation portion for observing the plurality of culture vessels, wherein the culture vessel base has a U-shape and is provided so that the plurality of placed culture vessels surround the observation portion in a state in which the culture vessel base is arranged in a predetermined region of the culture space.

4 . The cell culture apparatus according to claim 3 ,
wherein each culture vessel is eccentrically provided on the observation portion side in the heat storage portion.

5 . The cell culture apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a microscope for observing the plurality of culture vessels, wherein, in the case where observation is performed with the use of the microscope in the cell culture apparatus, the heat storage portions in a direction in which the microscope approaches are thinner than the heat storage portions in directions other than the direction.

6 . The cell culture apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the case where at least one of the plurality of heat storage portions which are placed on the culture vessel base during culture and contain the respective culture vessels is taken out from the culture space, a temperature of the culture vessels which are not taken out from the culture vessel base is maintainable.

7 . The cell culture apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the culture vessels other than the culture vessel to be taken out and the heat storage portions containing the respective culture vessels are integrally provided and are integrally removable from the culture space.

8 . The cell culture apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a heat insulation portion for, in the case where at least one of the plurality of heat storage portions containing the respective culture vessels is taken out from the culture space, covering an outer circumference of the heat storage portion to be taken out.

9 . A culture vessel, comprising:
a heat storage portion surrounding the culture vessel for culturing a biological sample in warm the culture vessel; and a heat insulation portion surrounding an outer circumference of the heat storage portion, a part of the heat insulation portion being removable, wherein the heat storage portion which is exposed by removing the part of the heat insulation portion can be heated.

10 . The culture vessel according to claim 9 ,
wherein the culture vessel which is exposed by removing the part of the heat insulation portion includes an optically transparent window through which the biological sample is observable.

11 . The culture vessel according to claim 9 ,
wherein the heat storage portion has a pair of side surfaces, and the culture vessel contained in the heat storage portion is eccentrically provided on one side of the pair of side surfaces.

12 . The culture vessel according to claim 11 , wherein:
the heat storage portion has a trapezoidal shape so that the plurality of culture vessels can be provided in a circular shape; and the culture vessel is eccentric on the side surface which is a short side of the trapezoidal shape.

13 . A holding vessel for transporting culture vessels, wherein
the holding vessel receives the plurality of culture vessels provided with a heat storage material and includes a heat insulation member surrounding the plurality of culture vessels, each of the plurality of culture vessels including a heat storage portion surrounding the culture vessel to warm a cultured biological sample and a heat insulation portion surrounding an outer circumference of the heat storage portion, a part of the heat insulation portion being removable.

14 . The holding vessel according to claim 13 ,
wherein the heat storage material is provided between each of the plurality of culture vessels provided with the heat storage material and the corresponding heat insulation portion.

Assignees

• Hitachi Ltd

Inventors

• Nozaki Takayuki
• Zhou Guangbin
• Kiyama Masaharu
• Nakamura Taku
• Takeda Shizu
• Nakajima Ryota
• Sugaya Masakazu
• Terada Koichi

Classifications

• C12M41/36

  of biomass, e.g. colony counters or by turbidity measurements (electrooptical investigation of individual particles G01N15/14, flow cytometers G01N15/1404) · CPC title

• C12M23/58

  Reaction vessels connected in series or in parallel (combinations of bioreactors with other apparatus, C12M43/00) · CPC title

• C12M41/14 Primary

  Incubators; Climatic chambers (per se B01L1/00) · CPC title

• C12M23/48

  Holding appliances; Racks; Supports (holding devices for laboratory apparatus B01L9/00) · CPC title

• C12M41/48

  Automatic or computerized control (automatic analysis G01N35/00) · CPC title