18521821. CULTURE CHAMBER AND CULTURE METHOD simplified abstract (CORNING INCORPORATED)
Contents
CULTURE CHAMBER AND CULTURE METHOD
Organization Name
Inventor(s)
Yoko Ejiri of Tsukuba-shi (JP)
Satoru Ayano of Tsukuba-shi (JP)
Naoto Fukuhara of Tsukuba-shi (JP)
Hideki Taniguchi of Yokohama-shi (JP)
Takanori Takebe of Yokohama-shi (JP)
CULTURE CHAMBER AND CULTURE METHOD - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18521821 titled 'CULTURE CHAMBER AND CULTURE METHOD
Simplified Explanation
The culture chamber described in the patent application is designed to prepare spheroids with a uniform size efficiently. The chamber includes recesses with a specific shape and structure to facilitate medium replacement and cell harvesting. Here are the key points of the innovation:
- The culture chamber has recesses with bottom portions of hemispherical or truncated cone shapes and opening portions defined by walls with taper angles between 1 to 20 degrees.
- The boundary between the opening and bottom portions has an equivalent diameter ranging from 50 µm to 2 mm, and the depth of the recesses is 0.6 to 3 times the equivalent diameter.
- The walls of the recesses form a continuous surface with the bottom portion, and the inclination of the continuous surface changes at the boundary.
- Potential Applications:**
- 3D cell culture - Drug screening - Tissue engineering
- Problems Solved:**
- Inefficient spheroid preparation - Difficulties in medium replacement - Challenges in cell harvesting
- Benefits:**
- Uniform spheroid size - High efficiency - Easy medium replacement and cell harvesting
- Potential Commercial Applications:**
- Biotechnology companies - Pharmaceutical companies - Research institutions
- Possible Prior Art:**
One possible prior art could be the use of traditional culture chambers with flat bottoms, which may not provide the same efficiency and ease of use as the described chamber.
- Unanswered Questions:**
- How does the culture chamber compare to existing technologies in terms of scalability for mass production of spheroids?***
- The patent application does not provide information on the scalability of the culture chamber for mass production of spheroids. Further research or testing would be needed to determine its scalability.
- What are the specific cell types that have been successfully cultured using this chamber?***
- The patent application does not specify the cell types that have been cultured using the chamber. Additional studies or data would be required to determine the range of cell types compatible with this technology.
Original Abstract Submitted
Provided is a culture chamber capable of preparing spheroids with a uniform size with high efficiency and having a micro-space structure which is designed to facilitate replacement of a medium and harvesting of cells. The culture chamber includes a plurality of recesses () each formed of a bottom portion () and an opening portion (). The bottom portion () has one of a hemispherical shape and a truncated cone shape and the opening portion () is defined by a wall that surrounds an area from a boundary between the opening portion () and the bottom portion () to an end of each of the recesses (), the wall having a taper angle in a range from 1 degree to 20 degrees. An equivalent diameter of the boundary is in a range from 50 μm to 2 mm and a depth from a bottom of the bottom portion () to the end of each of the recesses is in a range from 0.6 or more times to 3 or less times the equivalent diameter, and the wall defining the opening portion () forms a surface continuous to the bottom portion () and an inclination of the continuous surface changes at the boundary.
