US-12624324-B2 - Cell preservation or transportation instrument and cell transportation method

US12624324B2US 12624324 B2US12624324 B2US 12624324B2US-12624324-B2

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a transportation instrument and a transportation method that enable transportation by using a cell culture container as it is. Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a transportation instrument and a transportation method that enable supply of oxygen required for respiration of cells. Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a transportation instrument and a transportation method that enable suppression of migration of a culture medium into and out of cells caused by the influence of an increase in internal pressure with respect to the temperature during transportation. According to the present invention, provided is a cell preservation or transportation instrument including a plurality of cell storage containers, a plate which has a plurality of recesses for holding the plurality of cell storage containers therein, and a flexible material sheet which seals upper opening portions of the plurality of cell storage containers and upper side wall portions formed by side walls of the recesses of the plate and allows ventilation between an inside and an outside of the plurality of cell storage containers.

Inventors

Izumi OGURA
Keiji Shigesada
Shinji MIMA
Yuki Imakura
Shun Goto
Nao YAMAZAKI

Assignees

FUJIFILM CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220511
Priority Date: 20191114

Claims (12)

1 . A cell preservation or transportation instrument comprising: a plurality of cell storage containers; a plate which has a plurality of recesses for holding the plurality of cell storage containers therein; and a flexible material sheet which seals upper opening portions of the plurality of cell storage containers and upper side wall portions formed by side walls of the recesses of the plate and allows ventilation between an inside and an outside of the plurality of cell storage containers, wherein the flexible material sheet includes a flexible material sheet main body on a side of the cell storage containers and an expiration sheet having a ventilation property on a side opposite to the side of the cell storage containers, the flexible material sheet main body has holes for ventilation between the inside and the outside of the plurality of cell storage containers, and the expiration sheet has waterproofness with a water repellency of 5 kPa or greater in conformity with Japanese Industrial Standard L 1092 and a ventilation property with a Gurley air permeability of 30 sec/100 cm 3 or less in conformity with Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Gurley air resistance test method T460.
2 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , wherein a diameter of each of the holes provided on the flexible material sheet main body is in a range of 1 mm to 8 mm.
3 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the holes of the flexible material sheet main body are provided such that (1) at least one hole is provided inside the opening portion of the cell storage container, and (2) at least one hole is provided outside the upper opening portion of the cell storage container and inside an upper opening portion of the recess of the plate by which the cell storage container is held.
4 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the holes of the flexible material sheet main body are provided such that at least one hole is provided to straddle between (1) the inside the opening portion of the cell storage container and (2) the outside the upper opening portion of the cell storage container and the inside an upper opening portion of the recess of the plate by which the cell storage container is held.
5 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible material sheet or a flexible material sheet main body is a gel sheet.
6 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible material sheet or a flexible material sheet main body has an Asker C hardness of 40 degrees or less in conformity with HIS Japanese Industrial Standard K 7312.
7 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible material sheet or a flexible material sheet main body has a thickness of 1 mm or greater and 5 mm or less.
8 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , wherein a bottom portion of the cell storage container is formed of a film having micropores.
9 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , further comprising: a holding member which holds the plurality of cell storage containers, the plate, and the flexible material sheet in a state of compression in a thickness direction.
10 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 9 , wherein the holding member includes a set of pressing plates and a plurality of bolts.
11 . The cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 9 , wherein the holding member includes an outer storage container, an outer storage container upper lid, and a crimp locking unit that crimps and locks the outer storage container and the outer storage container upper lid.
12 . A cell transportation method comprising: transporting the cell preservation or transportation instrument according to claim 1 , in which cells are stored in at least some of the plurality of cell storage containers.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2020/042437 filed on Nov. 13, 2020, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-205944 filed on Nov. 14, 2019. Each of the above application(s) is hereby expressly incorporated by reference, in its entirety, into the present application. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cell preservation or transportation instrument and a cell transportation method. 2. Description of the Related Art After cells are cultured in a business site using a plurality of cell storage containers (also referred to as cell culture inserts) and a plate having a plurality of recesses (also referred to as a well plate) for holding the plurality of cell storage containers therein, the cultured cells may be transported to other business sites or other uses. In the related art, it is common to take out cell culture inserts containing cultured cells from a well plate, transfer the cell culture inserts to an instrument consisting of a dedicated container and a silicone cap, and transport the instrument in a state where the container is filled with a culture medium. However, since the cells are used by taking out the cell culture inserts containing the cells from the instrument and returning the cell culture inserts to a well plate by a recipient of the cells after transportation, the cells may be damaged during the procedure and the risk of contamination increases. Further, as a method of transporting cells in a state where cell culture inserts containing cultured cells are held by a well plate, a method of transporting cells by sealing opening portions of cell culture inserts with a film provided with a pressure sensitive adhesive or seal tape has been used, but there is a problem in that the culture medium (liquid) in the well leaks to the outside. JP2013-128458A and JP5982492B describe a packaging container for storing a cell culture insert. It is described that a lid portion of the packaging container can be configured to have an elastic member such as silicone or rubber in order to prevent leakage of a culture medium in the container. However, the cell culture insert is required to be taken out from the packaging container and returned to a well plate to culture the cells again after transportation using such a packaging container as described above, and thus various problems of damage to the cells during the procedures and the like occur. The pamphlet of WO2018/003073A describes a storage container storing a culture container (which is not a cell culture insert) of cells while the culture container, a cover that covers an upper edge portion of the culture container, a pressing member, and a cushioning material are pressed from above and below in a state of overlapping each other. However, since this storage container cannot be transported in a state where a cell culture insert containing cultured cells is held by a well plate, a recipient needs to transfer the cells to culture the cells in a cell culture insert, and thus various problems may still occur. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a case where cultured cells are transported, the cells are required to be transported with a culture medium (liquid) that supplies necessary nutrients and oxygen in order to transport the cells in a living state. For this purpose, transportation needs to be carried out by suppressing leakage of the culture medium in the well to the outside and enabling supply oxygen required for respiration to the inside of the cell storage container from the outside. A first object to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a cell preservation or transportation instrument and a cell transportation method that enable cell transportation by using a cell culture container as it is. A second object to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a cell preservation or transportation instrument and a cell transportation method that enable supply of oxygen required for respiration of cells during transportation of cells. A third object to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a cell preservation or transportation instrument and a cell transportation method that enable suppression of migration of a culture medium considered to be caused by the influence of an increase in internal pressure with respect to the temperature during transportation of cells. As a result of intensive examination conducted by the present inventors in order to achieve the above-described objects, it was found that the above-described objects can be achieved by configuring a cell preservation or transportation instrument with a cell storage container, a plate which has a recess for holding the cell storage container therein, and a flexible material sheet which seals an upper opening portion of the cell storage container and an upper side wall portion formed by a side