Array of micromolded structures for sorting adherent cells

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9963666-B2
Application number	US-201514714597-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 18, 2015
Priority date	Feb 16, 2010
Publication date	May 8, 2018
Grant date	May 8, 2018

Abstract

An apparatus for collecting or culturing cells or cell colonies includes: a common substrate formed from a flexible resilient polymeric material and having a plurality of wells formed therein; and a plurality of rigid cell carriers releasably connected to said common substrate, with said carriers arranged in the form of an array, and with each of the carriers resiliently received in one of the wells. A method of collecting or culturing cells or cell colonies with such an apparatus is carried out by depositing a liquid media carrying cells on the apparatus so that said cells settle on or adhere to said the carriers; and then (c) releasing at least one selected carrier having said cells thereon by gradual application of release energy to each carrier from the cavity in which it is received (e.g., by pushing with a probe).

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for collecting or culturing cells or cell colonies, said apparatus comprising:
a substrate formed from an elastomer and having a first surface and an opposed second surface and a plurality of wells formed in the first surface in the form of an array, said wells in said substrate defined by side walls, and
a plurality of rigid cell carriers, each carrier disposed in one of said wells such that the carrier engages said side walls of said well and is resiliently held in the one of said wells, the carriers configured to release from said substrate upon mechanical distortion of said substrate.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers are transparent or semitransparent.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said wells in said substrate are separated by walls, said walls have an average width of at least 2 micrometers, up to 1000 micrometers;
and said walls have an average height of at least 2 micrometers, up to 1000 micrometers;
said wells in said substrate have floors, and said floors have an average thickness of from 2 to 500 micrometers;
said substrate has a top surface and said carriers have a top surface, and said carrier top surfaces are positioned at or below said substrate top surface;
said carriers have heights of at least 2 micrometers, up to 500 micrometers; and said carriers have maximum widths of at least 5 micrometers, up to 1000 micrometers.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said substrate has a top surface and said carriers have a top surface, and wherein said carrier top surfaces are positioned at or below said substrate top surface.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers are produced by a process of casting said carriers in said wells.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers have a concave top surface portion.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said concave top surface portion is formed by meniscus coating of the side walls of said wells during a process of casting said carriers in said wells.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers are coated with a biologically active molecule on at least the top surface thereof.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers are magnetic or ferromagnetic.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers comprise a plurality of layers.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers comprise polystyrene.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers comprise an anionic transparent magnetic polystyrene.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers comprise:
a rigid lower layer; and
a cell-growth compatible upper layer.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said carriers comprise a hydrogel upper layer, said hydrogel containing live feeder cells.

Assignees

• Univ North Carolina Chapel Hill

Inventors

• Allbritton Nancy
• Sims Christopher
• Wang Yuli
• Shah Pavak Kirit

Classifications

• C12M25/16

  Particles; Beads; Granular material; Encapsulation (chemical or physical processes conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles B01J8/00) · CPC title

• B01J19/0046

  Sequential or parallel reactions, e.g. for the synthesis of polypeptides or polynucleotides; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making molecular arrays (synthesis methods per se C40B50/00) · CPC title

• B01J2219/00743

  Cells · CPC title

• C12M23/22

  Transparent or translucent parts (glassware for laboratory use B01L3/00) · CPC title

• C12M47/04

  Cell isolation or sorting (purging biological preparations of unwanted cells C12N5/0081, determining the presence or kind of microorganism C12Q1/04) · CPC title