JP-7855861-B2 - Cell culture system, method of using the cell culture system, and cell culture unit

Inventors

• 小関 修
• 田中 郷史
• 戸谷 貴彦
• 西山 喬晴

Assignees

• 東洋製罐グループホールディングス株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260511

Application Date

20220203

Priority Date

20211216

Claims (10)

1. A cell culture system for culturing cells using a culture bag made of soft-dispensing material, The culture unit is provided with a notch or a transparent mounting section for mounting a bag holder equipped with a pressing member for pressing the culture bag, The culture unit comprises a culture bag placed in the bag holder, a culture medium container for supplying culture medium to the culture bag, a waste liquid container from which the culture medium is discharged from the culture bag, a first liquid delivery means disposed on a first tubular member connecting the culture bag and the culture medium container, and a second liquid delivery means disposed on a second tubular member connecting the culture bag and the waste liquid container. The distance from the bottom surface of the culture unit to the culture surface of the culture bag is less than 20 mm. A cell culture system characterized in that the pressing member presses the culture bag filled with culture medium, thereby uniformizing the liquid thickness of the culture medium in the culture bag, and making the surface of the culture unit, the upper and lower surfaces of the pressing member, and the upper surface and culture surface of the culture bag substantially parallel.
2. The cell culture system according to claim 1, characterized in that the culture unit has a first liquid delivery means housing section for housing the first liquid delivery means and a second liquid delivery means housing section for housing the second liquid delivery means.
3. The cell culture system according to claim 2, characterized in that the distance from the bottom surface of the culture unit to the top surface of the first liquid delivery means housing and/or the top surface of the second liquid delivery means housing is 65 mm or less.
4. The cell culture system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the culture medium container has two ports, and while the culture medium container is connected to the culture bag via one port, the culture medium in the culture medium container can be replaced via the other port.
5. The cell culture system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the bag containing the cell is equipped with a liquid thickness measuring unit, the liquid thickness measuring unit is connected to a control device, and the liquid thickness of the culture medium in the culture bag is calculated by the control device based on the value measured by the liquid thickness measuring unit.
6. The control device is connected to the first liquid delivery means and the second liquid delivery means, The cell culture system according to claim 5, characterized in that the first liquid delivery means and the second liquid delivery means are controlled by the control device based on the liquid thickness of the culture medium in the culture bag.
7. A method for using the cell culture system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The cell culture system is placed inside the incubator, and the culture medium is supplied from the culture medium container to the culture bag by the first liquid delivery means to perform cell culture. A method for using a cell culture system, characterized by carrying the cell culture system out of the incubator and placing it under a microscope, pressing the culture bag with the pressing member to equalize the liquid thickness of the culture medium inside the culture bag, and then observing the cells inside the culture bag using the microscope through the notch or the transparent mounting part.
8. A method for using the cell culture system according to claim 7, characterized in that the culture medium is transferred from the culture medium container to the culture bag, and the culture medium is transferred from the culture bag to the waste liquid container, while the cells in the culture bag are observed using the microscope.
9. A cell culture unit in which a culture bag is installed and cell culture is performed, The cell culture unit comprises a main body having a notch or transparent mounting portion on which a culture bag holder for accommodating the culture bag is placed, and two mounting portions for mounting liquid delivery means connected to the culture bag via a tubular member; and a mounting plate on which a culture medium supply bag connected to one of the liquid delivery means can be tilted, and a waste liquid bag connected to the other liquid delivery means via a tubular member can be placed below the mounting plate.
10. The system includes a culture bag container containing the culture bag, a culture medium supply bag, and a waste liquid bag. The cell culture unit according to claim 9, characterized in that the arrangement of the culture bag, the culture medium supply bag, and the waste liquid bag can be maintained while being transported.

Description

This invention relates to cell culture technology, and more particularly to a cell culture system for culturing and observing cells. When culturing cells using culture vessels, observing the state of the cells during culture using a microscope or camera is extremely important for successful cell culture. Furthermore, for large-scale cell culture, it is preferable to use culture bags made of flexible packaging material, which allows for the easy manufacture of culture vessels with a large culture surface area. One technique for observing the state of cells during culture is to use a culture system with a dedicated observation mechanism installed inside a specialized incubator. There are also compact culture systems that can be mounted on a general-purpose microscope. International Publication No. 2005/059091 BrochureUtility Model Registration No. 3115673 (Publication) This is a schematic diagram (perspective view) showing the configuration of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram (front view) showing the configuration of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram (rear view) showing the configuration of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram (plan view) showing the configuration of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram (bottom view) showing the configuration of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram (right side view) showing the configuration of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram (left side view) showing the configuration of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention (a diagram showing the placement of a culture bag container).This is a schematic diagram showing the usage state of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing a culture bag holder that can be placed on a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing the control mechanism of a cell culture unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a cell culture system according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing the distance (L1) from the bottom surface of the culture unit to the culture surface of the culture bag in a cell culture system according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing the distance (L2) from the bottom surface of the culture unit to the top surface of the liquid delivery means housing in a cell culture system according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic diagram showing a cell culture system according to an embodiment of the present invention placed under a microscope.This is a schematic diagram showing the control mechanism of a cell culture system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The following describes in detail embodiments of the cell culture system, method of using the cell culture system, and cell culture unit of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific details of the following embodiments. [Cell Culture Unit] First, the cell culture unit of this embodiment will be described. The cell culture unit of this embodiment is a jig in which a culture bag is placed and cell culture is performed. As shown in Figures 1 to 7, the cell culture unit 1 of this embodiment comprises a main body 11 and a mounting plate 12. The main body 11 has a notch 111 on which a culture bag holder for accommodating culture bags is placed, and two liquid delivery means accommodating sections 112 on which liquid delivery means such as a pump 20 connected to the culture bag via a tubular member such as a tube can be installed. A support groove capable of supporting a culture bag container is formed around the periphery of the notch 111. A culture medium supply bag, connected to one of the pumps 20 via a tubular member, can be placed on the mounting plate 12 in a tiltable manner. In other words, as shown in Figure 2, the mounting plate 12 is equipped with a mounting plate support part 121, which makes it possible to adjust the inclination angle of the mounting plate 12 from a horizontal state to an inclined state. Furthermore, by placing the culture medium supply bag on the inclined mounting plate 12, air bubbles in the culture medium supply bag can be collected upwards, preventing them from being sent to the culture bag. A waste liquid bag, which is connected to the other pump 20 via a tubular