JP2000185716A - Packing member seal auxiliary element of freezing and storing container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an auxiliary element in which when a freezing and storing container storing some living tissues therein is packed with a packing member, air present between the container and the packing member can be easily deaerated and further an opening part of it can be easily sealed by a thermal sealing machine without producing any wrinkles at a seal surface. SOLUTION: This device is comprised of an upper member 2 and a lower member 3 which can be opened or closed and formed by a material having an anti-shock function. This device has a container storing section 32 having substantially the same shape as that of the freezing and storing container therein. A thickness of the container storing section 32 is smaller than a thickness of the packing member storing the freezing and storing container, the upper member 2 and the lower member 3 are fitted to each other to form a slit therein.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an auxiliary tool for sealing an opening of a package containing a cryopreservation container. More specifically, the present invention relates to a package sealing aid for a cryopreservation container used to degas air existing inside a cryopreservation container containing a living tissue and a package.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a long-term preservation method for living tissues such as red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells, bone marrow, and hematopoietic stem cells, a method of immersing a cryopreservation container containing living tissues in liquid nitrogen and cryopreserving them has been known. Has been adopted. When the container is cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen, usually, the cryopreservation container is damaged and the living tissue flows out, or the label attached to the cryopreservation container peels off and flows out. The cryopreservation container is housed in a plastic sheet package so as not to be damaged. Then, after sealing the opening of the package,
The cryopreservation container housed in the package is stored in liquid nitrogen. At this time, if air is present between the package and the cryopreservation container, heat conduction during the freezing of the living tissue may be hindered, which may affect the freezing speed of the cells, and the volume of the air may rapidly increase during freezing. It may decrease and the package may be damaged. For this reason, it is common practice to degas the air present inside the package and then seal the opening using a heat welding machine. As the degassing method, a method of forcibly discharging the air inside by a vacuum pump or the like, or depressurizing the inside by pressing from the outside of the package is adopted. However, in the former method, the cryopreservation container is deformed due to excessive vacuum pressure, and the thickness of the container may vary,
In the latter method, there is a problem that it is difficult to make the thickness of the container constant because of manual operation.

Generally, in order to maintain the viability of living tissue during freezing and after thawing, the cooling temperature must be strictly controlled from the start of freezing to a temperature at which water in the tissue cells becomes stable as fine crystals that do not damage the cell membrane. Need to be adjusted. In order to precisely adjust the cooling temperature, it is necessary to make the thickness of the living tissue contained in the cryopreservation container uniform over the entire surface of the container. If the thickness of the living tissue is not uniform, the cooling rate of the living tissue varies, and many living tissues may die. Also, when sealing the opening of the package with a heat welding machine, wrinkles are generated on the sealing surface, and when the container for cryopreservation containing the package is immersed in liquid nitrogen, the wrinkles on the seal surface may cause the inside of the package to enter. There is a possibility that liquid nitrogen may enter and damage the package.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to keep the thickness of a cryopreservation container accommodating a living tissue uniform and to remove the air existing between the cryopreservation container and the package by a simple operation. An object of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary tool that can be degassed and can seal the sealing surface so as not to cause wrinkles when sealing the opening of the package with a heat welding machine.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have conducted various studies for the above-mentioned purpose, and as a result, when sealing the opening of a package containing a cryopreservation container, a material having a buffering action was used. The present inventors have found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by using the formed openable / closable auxiliary tool, and have reached the present invention.

That is, the present invention has an upper member and a lower member formed of a material having a buffering action, and the interior formed by the upper member and the lower member has substantially the same shape as the cryopreservation container. The thickness of the container storage portion is smaller than the thickness of the package containing the cryopreservation container, and the upper member and the lower member are fitted to form a slit. It is a package sealing aid for cryopreservation containers.

Here, it is preferable that the upper member and the lower member are housed in an openable and closable housing. Further, the present invention is a structure in which the upper member and the lower member are rectangular bodies having side surfaces, each having a convex portion and a concave portion on the side surface, wherein the convex portion and the concave portion are fitted to form a slit. An auxiliary tool having The present invention also provides a container for cryopreservation in a package, loading the package in a container accommodating portion of the auxiliary tool, causing the opening of the package to protrude from the slit to the outside, and then protrude. A method for sealing an opening of a package containing a cryopreservation container, wherein the opening is sealed.

[0008]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view showing the auxiliary tool of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the auxiliary tool of FIG. 1 in a state in which a lid is closed, and FIG. 3 is an opening of a container using the auxiliary tool of FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a package containing a cryopreservation container.

The auxiliary tool 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an auxiliary tool 1 in which a container accommodating portion 32 is provided in an openable and closable housing 4 comprising a main body 41 and a lid 42. The lower member 3 molded of a material having a buffering action is housed in the main body 41,
Inside thereof, there is provided a container housing portion 32 having substantially the same shape as the cryopreservation container 5. The lid 42 houses the upper member 2 formed of a material having a buffering action. Each of the upper member 2 and the lower member 3 is a rectangular body having a side surface, and has a convex portion 21 on its upper surface and a concave portion on its lower surface.
The projection 21 and the recess 31 are fitted with the slit 7
Is formed.

The material having a buffering function for forming the upper member 2 and the lower member 3 is, for example, a foam made of synthetic resin such as polyurethane, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride or the like, natural fiber, chemical fiber, glass fiber ,
Various fiber aggregates such as metal fiber and carbon fiber, for example, woven fabric,
A nonwoven fabric or the like, or a laminate obtained by appropriately combining them is exemplified.

It is preferable that the shape of the container accommodating portion 32 provided inside the upper member 2 and the lower member 3 is substantially the same as that of the cryopreservation container 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper member 2 and the lower member 3 are configured such that a container housing portion 32 is provided in the lower member 3 and the cryopreservation container housed in the package is held by the upper member 2 having a flat surface. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which the container receiving portion 32 is provided on the upper member 2 and pressed by the lower member 3 having a flat surface. Further, the upper member 2 and the lower member 3 may be provided with depressions, respectively, to form the container accommodating portion 32. Here, the thickness of the container accommodating portion 32 is set to be smaller than the thickness of the package 6 accommodating the cryopreservation container 5 by 1 mm or more, and preferably about 1.0 mm.
~ 2.0mm smaller. Generally, the thickness of the cryopreservation container 5 containing the living tissue is about 5.0 to 10.0 mm, and the thickness of the package 6 containing the cryopreservation container 5 is usually about 6.0 to 15.0 m.
m. If the thickness of the container housing portion 32 is equal to or larger than the thickness of the package 6 containing the cryopreservation container 5, deaeration between the cryopreservation container 5 and the package 6 is not sufficient, and The package 6 tends to be easily damaged during storage.

The shape of the cryopreservation container 5 varies depending on the blood bag used. A flat cube as shown in FIG. 4 is preferable because it is necessary to keep the thickness of the liquid contained in the container uniform. Examples of the material for the cryopreservation container 5 include cold-resistant synthetic resins such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, fluororesin, and polyimide, and those that can withstand the temperature of liquid nitrogen are particularly preferable.

The package 6 containing the cryopreservation container 5 is made of a plastic film, a plastic sheet or a laminate thereof, and has a thickness of 0.01 to 1.00 mm. If the thickness of the film is less than 0.01 mm, the impact strength at low temperatures is low, and there is a possibility that the film may be damaged by impact.If the thickness of the sheet exceeds 1.00 mm, the thermal conductivity of the package decreases. Freezing slows down and tends to damage living tissue. Examples of the plastic film or plastic sheet include 3-fluorinated polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, medium-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, polycarbonate, nylon, polysulfone, polyester, polystyrene, polyimide, ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene, and ethylene-vinyl acetate. Examples include a film or sheet made of a synthetic resin such as a polymer, or a laminate thereof. In particular, those made of a flexible resin having an embrittlement temperature of −30 ° C. or less are preferable.

The housing 4 for housing the upper member 2 and the lower member 3 is made of synthetic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, ABS resin, etc.
Alternatively, a material made of a metal such as aluminum and stainless steel may be used. The living tissue contained in the cryopreservation container 5 includes various blood components, body fluid components, or cells collected from a living body such as red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells, bone marrow, and hematopoietic stem cells.

Next, a method of using the assisting device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. The living tissue to which the antifreezing agent such as dimethyl sulfoxide is added is injected into the cryopreservation container 5, and the opening of the tube of the cryopreservation container 5 is sealed.
Next, the container for cryopreservation 5 is stored in the package 6, and the package
6 is loaded into the container housing part 32 of the auxiliary tool 1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening 61 of the package 6 is protruded from the slit 7 by about 10 mm. Next, the upper surface of the housing 4 is lightly pressed, and the air present inside the package (the space between the cryopreservation container 5 and the package 6) is evacuated from the opening. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening 61 of the package 6 is sealed using a heat welding machine 8 such as a heat sealer or an impulse sealer. Thereafter, the cryopreservation container 5 housed in the package 6 is cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen according to a conventional method.

[0016]

The auxiliary device of the present invention can remove the air existing between the cryopreservation container and the package by a simple operation while keeping the thickness of the cryopreservation container uniform. . Also, when sealing the opening of the heat welding machine, it is possible to seal without forming wrinkles on the sealing surface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an auxiliary tool of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the auxiliary tool shown in FIG. 1 in a state where a lid is closed.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example in which an opening of a package is sealed with the aid of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a package containing a cryopreservation container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Auxiliary tool 2 Upper member 21 Convex part 3 Lower member 31 Concave part 32 Container accommodating part 4 Housing 41 Main body 42 Lid 5 Cryopreservation container 6 Package 61 Opening 7 Slit 8 Heat welding machine

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A container housing having an upper member and a lower member molded of a material having a buffering action, and having an interior formed by the upper member and the lower member having substantially the same shape as a cryopreservation container. Wherein the thickness of the container accommodating portion is smaller than the thickness of the package accommodating the cryopreservation container, and the upper member and the lower member are fitted to form a slit. A package sealing aid for storage containers. 2. The assisting tool according to claim 1, wherein the upper member and the lower member are housed in a housing that can be opened and closed. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the upper member and the lower member are rectangular bodies having side surfaces, each having a convex portion and a concave portion on the side surface, wherein the convex portion and the concave portion are fitted to form a slit. Item 3. The auxiliary tool according to Item 1 or 2. 4. A cryopreservation container is accommodated in a package, and the package is loaded into the container accommodating portion of the auxiliary tool according to claim 1, and the opening of the package protrudes outside from the slit. A method of sealing an opening of a package containing a cryopreservation container, characterized by sealing the protruding opening.