US-20260125630-A1 - BIOREACTOR

US20260125630A1US 20260125630 A1US20260125630 A1US 20260125630A1US-20260125630-A1

Abstract

A bioreactor for culturing/proliferating cells or acquiring exosomes secreted from the cells includes: a housing in the shape of a container having an inner space which is filled with a predetermined amount of a solution; a support assembly which includes a plurality of supports formed of a plate-shaped member having a predetermined area and spaced apart from each other in one direction, and which is disposed in the inner space to be immersed in the solution; and a gas supply part which includes a main body having a gas storage space filled with gas supplied from the outside, and is disposed in the inner space to supply gas from the gas storage space to the solution, wherein the main body is immersed in the solution filled in the inner space so that the gas stored in the gas storage space can move to the solution and be dissolved.

Inventors

Song-Hee Koo
Su-Yeon LEE
Hee Sung Park
Hyeong Tak NOH
Ji Young Kim

Assignees

AMOGREENTECH CO., LTD

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20231019
Priority Date: 20221021

Claims (14)

1 . A bioreactor for culturing/proliferating cells or acquiring exosomes secreted from the cells, comprising: a housing in a shape of a container having an inner space that is filled with a predetermined amount of a solution; a support assembly that comprises a plurality of supports formed of a plate-shaped member having a predetermined area and spaced apart from each other in one direction, and is disposed in the inner space to be immersed in the solution; and a gas supply part that comprises a main body having a gas storage space filled with gas supplied from an outside, and is disposed in the inner space to supply gas from the gas storage space to the solution; wherein the main body is disposed to be immersed in the solution filled in the inner space such that the gas stored in the gas storage space moves to the solution and is dissolved.
2 . The bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the gas supply part comprises a main body having a gas storage space filled with gas supplied from the outside, an opening formed in the main body so as to communicate with the gas storage space, a plate-shaped porous member surrounding the main body to cover the opening, a gas inlet provided in the main body so as to allow gas to flow into the gas storage space, and a gas outlet provided in the main body so as to allow gas in the gas storage space to be discharged to the outside.
3 . The bioreactor of claim 2 , wherein the plate-shaped porous member is provided with a hydrophobic membrane so as to allow the gas to move from the gas storage space to the solution through the opening while blocking a solution in the inner space from moving to the gas storage space.
4 . The bioreactor of claim 2 , wherein the bioreactor further comprises a sterilization filter that is connected to the gas inlet.
5 . The bioreactor of claim 2 , wherein the gas supply part comprises a plurality of openings that are spaced apart along a peripheral direction of the main body, and the openings are formed in the main body to have a predetermined area.
6 . The bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the gas supply part is disposed in the inner space such that the main body is positioned at an upper part of the support assembly.
7 . The bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the gas supply part is coupled to the housing such that a height of the main body is adjusted in the inner space.
8 . The bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the support comprises a plate-shaped support member having a predetermined area, and a pair of nanofiber membranes that are respectively attached to both surfaces of the support member via an adhesive layer, and wherein the nanofiber membrane is a motif-coated plate-shaped nanofiber membrane.
9 . The bioreactor of claim 8 , wherein the support comprises a plurality of penetration holes formed through the support member such that gas introduced into the inner space from the gas supply part passes smoothly.
10 . The bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the support assembly comprises: an upper plate and a lower plate having a predetermined area; a plurality of supports disposed such that one surface faces each other between the upper plate and the lower plate; a spacer disposed between two supports facing each other so as to space the two supports apart; and a plurality of fastening bars that fasten and integrate the upper plate, the lower plate, the plurality of supports and the spacer.
11 . The bioreactor of claim 10 , wherein the housing comprises a housing body in the shape of the container having the inner space with an open upper part, and a cover configured to cover the open upper part of the housing body, and wherein at least any one of the plurality of fastening bars is positioned in the inner space such that a lower end contacts a bottom surface of the inner space and an upper end contacts an inner surface of the cover, thereby preventing the support assembly from floating in the inner space.
12 . The bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the bioreactor further comprises a port formed in the housing so as to supply a solution to the inner space or discharge a solution in the inner space to the outside, and a vent formed in the housing so as to communicate with the inner space.
13 . The bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the gas is a mixed gas with an oxygen concentration of 2 to 14%.
14 . The bioreactor of claim 1 , wherein the solution is a medium or buffer solution.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is the national phase entry of International Application No. PCT/KR2023/016260, filed on Oct. 19, 2023, which is based upon and claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0136293, filed on Oct. 21, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a bioreactor. BACKGROUND Bioprocess refers to a process of producing a desired therapeutic agent by using living cells in the biotechnology field. Antibodies, stem cells and immune cells are produced through cell culture, and these are used to produce biopharmaceuticals, vaccines and cell therapeutic agents. In addition, exosomes are substances that exchange signals between cells and are naturally secreted from cells during the process of cell proliferation/culture. Since these exosomes contain various information such as proteins and DNA of parent cells, they are being developed as biomarkers or therapeutic agents by utilizing the same. Meanwhile, cells are classified according to their adhesion ability into adherent cells, which must adhere to a surface substrate, and floating cells, which proliferate without attachment to a surface of a substrate. In other words, adherent cells are cultured while being attached to a support that serves as a surface substrate, but floating cells are not cultured while being attached to a support, but rather grow while receiving signals by repeating a process of contact-floating-contact-floating, in which they attach to a surface of the support, detach, attach to the surface of the support again, and detach therefrom. A bioreactor is used to culture these cells or obtain exosomes that are naturally secreted from the cells, and the internal environment in which cells are placed in a bioreactor must be maintained as an appropriate environment such that cells can be cultured/proliferated smoothly and cells can secrete exosomes smoothly. In other words, the medium that supplies nutrients when culturing cells in a bioreactor must maintain a certain PH state that is suitable for cell growth, and exosomes can also be secreted from cells in larger quantities when the conditions are similar to those under which cells are cultured/proliferated. For this purpose, a method is being used to promote smooth cell growth and exosome secretion by continuously supplying an appropriate gas to the medium or buffer solution during cell culture/proliferation. However, if air bubbles are included in the process of supplying gas to a medium or buffer solution, cells may not be able to smoothly receive nutrients included in the medium due to the air bubbles, growth may be impaired due to stress caused by the air bubbles, or exosome secretion may not be smooth. SUMMARY Technical Problem The present invention has been devised in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bioreactor that can smoothly supply gas to the solution while suppressing the generation of air bubbles during gas supply. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a bioreactor that can easily change the oxygen concentration of a supply gas. Technical Solution In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a bioreactor for culturing/proliferating cells or acquiring exosomes secreted from the cells, the bioreactor including a housing in the shape of a container having an inner space that is filled with a predetermined amount of a solution; a support assembly that includes a plurality of supports formed of a plate-shaped member having a predetermined area and spaced apart from each other in one direction, and is disposed in the inner space to be immersed in the solution; and a gas supply part that includes a main body having a gas storage space filled with gas supplied from the outside, and is disposed in the inner space to supply gas from the gas storage space to the solution, wherein the main body is disposed to be immersed in the solution filled in the inner space such that the gas stored in the gas storage space moves to the solution and is dissolved. In addition, the gas supply part may include a main body having a gas storage space filled with gas supplied from the outside, an opening formed in the main body so as to communicate with the gas storage space, a plate-shaped porous member surrounding the main body to cover the opening, a gas inlet provided in the main body so as to allow gas to flow into the gas storage space, and a gas outlet provided in the main body so as to allow gas in the gas storage space to be discharged to the outside. In addition, the plate-shaped porous member may be provided with a hydrophobic membrane so as to allow the gas to move from the gas storage space to the solution through the opening while blocking a solution in the inner space from moving to the gas storage space. In addition, the bioreactor may further