JP2004154099A - Box for housing culture vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To house an open type culture vessel in a sterile condition. <P>SOLUTION: The box 1 for housing the culture vessel is equipped with an openable box body 10 having an internal space S and a filter part 20 provided in four parts of the sides of the box body 10. The filter part 20 is a pore filter which passes through a gas, but does not pass through any microorganism. In the box 1 for housing the culture vessel, the open type culture vessel 30 is housed in an internal space S of the box body 10 in a sterilizing operation area and then, the box body 10 is closed to make the internal space S in the sterile condition. As a result, since the filter part 20 passes through the gas, but does not pass through any microorganism even if the box 1 is carried to the outside of the sterilizing operation area, the internal space S is kept in the sterile condition. Consequently, the open type culture vessel 30 can be housed in the sterile condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a culture container storage box.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, various types of culture vessels used for culture have been known. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a cylindrical body made of an acrylic resin, a circular bottom portion made of gas-permeable plastic covering a lower opening of the cylindrical body, and a fixing ring for fixing the bottom portion to the cylindrical body. A culture vessel having a circular upper surface made of gas-permeable plastic and covering the upper opening of the cylindrical body, and a fixing ring for fixing the upper surface to the cylindrical body has been proposed. When culturing cells using this culture vessel, first cover the lower opening of the cylinder with the bottom part, fix the bottom part to the cylinder by fitting a fixing ring, and then put the cell suspension into it. Then, the cell is cultured with the upper opening fixed to the cylinder by covering the upper opening of the cylinder with the upper surface and inserting a fixing ring. At this time, the gas such as oxygen necessary for cell metabolism enters the culture container from the outside via the upper surface, or the gas in the culture container exits to the outside via the upper surface, so that the medium The cells can be maintained for a long time in a culture vessel filled with.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-28083
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the culture container of Patent Literature 1, although sterility is ensured, a relatively expensive gas-permeable plastic material is used, so that culturing cells using a large number of culture containers increases the cost. was there. In addition, since it is necessary to perform a sealing operation in which the upper opening of the cylindrical body is covered with an upper surface portion and fixed with a fixing ring for each culture container, it is said that if this operation is performed on a large number of culture containers, a heavy burden is imposed on an operator. There were also problems. On the other hand, open-type culture vessels such as trays, petri dishes, well plates, and the like have good workability and low cost because the openings are wide open upward, but have a problem that sterility cannot be ensured.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a culture container storage box that can store an open type culture container in an aseptic state. Another object of the present invention is to provide a culture container storage box capable of culturing cells in an open-type culture container while the open-type culture container is stored in the internal space.
[0006]
Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention
In order to achieve at least one of the above-described objects, the culture container storage box of the present invention includes:
An openable and closable main body having an internal space capable of storing an open type culture vessel,
A filter portion provided on at least a part of the main body portion and allowing gas to pass therethrough and not allowing microorganisms to pass therethrough, wherein the internal space when the main body portion is closed is ventilated to the outside via the filter portion. .
[0007]
In this culture container storage box, an open type culture container is stored in the internal space of the main body while the main body is open in a sterile room, and then the main body is closed. At this time, since the filter unit allows gas to pass through but does not allow microorganisms to pass through, the internal space is maintained in a sterile state even if the storage box is carried out of the sterile room. Therefore, according to this culture container storage box, an open type culture container can be stored in an aseptic state.
[0008]
Here, "open type culture vessel" refers to a culture vessel whose interior is not sealed, such as a tray, a petri dish, a well plate, an unsealed flask, or a flask with a screw cap loosened. Say. In addition, the "filter unit" may be any filter as long as it allows gas to pass therethrough but does not allow microorganisms to pass therethrough. For example, a porous filter having a pore size smaller than that of microorganisms, and a filter disclosed in Patent Document 1 mentioned above. Filter made of a gas-permeable plastic material. In the case of a porous filter, the pore size is preferably 0.1 to 0.45 μm, particularly preferably 0.1 to 0.2 μm. If the pore size is less than the lower limit, sufficient air permeability may not be obtained, which is not preferable. If the pore size is more than the upper limit, passage of microorganisms may not be sufficiently blocked. Examples of the material of the filter portion include polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyether sulfone, polyethylene, nylon, cellulose acetate, and nitrocellulose.
[0009]
In the culture container storage box of the present invention, the main body portion includes a first divided body including a mounting portion for mounting the culture container, and the first divided body detachably attached to the first divided body. When the first divided body and the second divided body are integrated with each other, the main body is closed, and the first divided body and the second divided body are formed. The main body may be opened when is separated. In this case, in order to store the open-type culture vessel, the first divided body and the second divided body may be integrated after placing the culture vessel on the mounting portion of the first divided body. In order to take out the type of culture vessel, the workability is good because the culture vessel may be taken out from the mounting portion after separating the first divided body and the second divided body.
[0010]
In the culture container storage box of the present invention, the main body may include a grip portion used when the operator lifts up. This is convenient for carrying the culture container storage box.
[0011]
In the culture container storage box of the present invention, it is preferable that the main body has a size that can be stored in a predetermined incubator. In this case, the culturing can be continued by putting the culturing container storage box into the predetermined incubator without removing the culturing container from the culturing container storage box. That is, it is possible to culture the cells in the culture container in an aseptic state while the open-type culture container is stored in the internal space of the culture container storage box. At this time, the gas in the incubator is supplied to the cells being cultured in the open-type culture vessel from the outside via a filter provided in the main body.
[0012]
In the culture container storage box of the present invention, the filter portion may be provided detachably in a through hole provided in the main body portion. In this way, when the filter unit has deteriorated, the filter unit can be replaced with a new one. At this time, the filter portion may be constituted by a filter body and a filter frame supporting an edge of the filter body, and the filter frame may be screwed or fitted into the through hole. In this case, the replacement operation can be easily performed.
[0013]
In the culture container storage box of the present invention, the main body may include an engaging portion on an upper surface and an engaged portion on the bottom surface capable of engaging with the engaging portion. With this configuration, when another culture container storage box is stacked on a certain culture container storage box, the engagement portion provided on the upper surface of the former and the engaged portion provided on the bottom surface of the latter engage with each other, The stacked culture container storage boxes are hard to fall down.
[0014]
In the culture container storage box of the present invention, the main body may include a fall prevention guide for preventing the culture container from falling when stacked and placed. This makes it difficult for the stacked culture vessels to fall over. Such a fall prevention guide may be, for example, a partition plate or a partition rod that partitions the internal space of the main body into a small space corresponding to the stacked culture vessels.
[0015]
The culture container storage box of the present invention may be used for transporting an open-type culture container for culturing cells from inside a sterile room to outside. For example, when the open-type culture vessel during culturing the cells is housed in the interior space of the main body in the sterile room, the main body is closed, and in that state, the culture container storage box may be used when transporting the culture container storage box outside the sterile room. Good. In this case, since the filter section does not allow the passage of microorganisms, the internal space of the main body section is maintained in a sterile state even outside the sterile room.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a culture container storage box 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an attached state of a filter unit 20.
[0017]
The culture container storage box 1 includes an openable and closable box body 10 having an internal space S, and filter sections 20 provided at four locations on the side surface of the box body 10.
[0018]
The box main body 10 includes a base portion 11 as a first divided body and a transparent case 12 as a second divided body. Further, the base portion 11 and the case 12 can be integrated or unintegrated with the stoppers 15 provided at four places. Specifically, when the stoppers 15 are fastened to integrate the two, the box body The box body 10 is closed, and the box body 10 is opened when the fasteners 15 are released to separate them from each other. When the box body 10 is in the closed state, the two parts are integrated via a silicone rubber packing (not shown) embedded between the base part 11 and the case 12, so that the contact portions between the two parts are securely sealed. Is done.
[0019]
The base 11 has a top surface serving as a mounting surface 11a on which the culture vessel 30 is mounted. Further, partition walls 16 are provided upright on the mounting surface 11a in the front-rear and left-right directions. The partition wall 16 partitions the mounting surface 11a into six small mounting surfaces 11b large enough to allow one culture vessel 30 to be mounted with some margin, and divides the internal space S of the box body 10 into six small mounting surfaces. Each small space ss is formed to have a size such that the stacked culture vessels 30 can be accommodated with some margin. In addition, the base part 11 is provided with a handle 14 as a holding part on two faces facing each other among the four side faces.
[0020]
The case 12 is provided with round holes 12a (see FIG. 2) at four locations on the side surface, and the filter unit 20 is attached to the round holes 12a. Protrusions 17 are provided at four corners on the upper surface of the case 12, and the protrusions 17 are provided so as to be fitted into concave portions (not shown) provided at the four corners on the back surface of the base 11. Thereby, when another culture container storage box 1 is stacked on the culture container storage box 1, the former convex portion 17 is fitted into the latter not-shown concave portion.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 2, the filter section 20 holds a circular filter body 21 made of polyethylene having a pore size (0.2 μm in this case) that allows gas to pass therethrough but does not allow microorganisms to pass therethrough, and a peripheral edge of the filter body 21. The filter frame 22 is provided with a male screw 22a on the outer peripheral surface thereof. In addition, round holes 12a are provided at four places on the side surface of the case 12, and a ring-shaped support frame 25 is hermetically bonded inside each round hole 12a. Is provided. The filter unit 20 is detachably attached to the case 12 by screwing the male screw 21a of the filter unit 20 into the female screw 25a of the support frame 25. In addition, a knob may be provided on the front surface of the filter frame 22 in order to facilitate the attaching / detaching operation (screw-in operation or the like).
[0022]
Next, a usage example of the culture container storage box 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of a culture room 50 for performing cell culture. In the culture room 50, one safety cabinet 51 and one incubator 52 are arranged in parallel, and a dotted arrow indicates human movement. The safety cabinet 51 is an aseptic operation area that protects cells from contamination by various bacteria by injecting sterilized air through a filter (not shown) and keeping the inside at a positive pressure. When the incubator 52 sets the temperature, the humidity, and the CO ₂ concentration in the air, an automatic controller (not shown) controls the temperature, the humidity, and the CO ₂ concentration inside the incubator 52 to the set values. The space between the safety cabinet 51 and the incubator 52 (in the culture room 50) is not particularly sterilized. The culture container storage box 1 has a size that can be stored in the incubator 52.
[0023]
First, the worker brings the sterilized culture container storage box 1 into the safety cabinet 51, releases the fastening of the stopper 15, and removes the case 12 from the base 11, so that the box main body 10 is connected to the base 11. Separate from case 12. Then, the culture container 30 that has been subjected to the aseptic operation in the safety cabinet 51 in advance is placed on the placement surface 11 a of the base 11. The culture vessel 30 is an open-type petri dish in which air permeability between the inside and the outside of the vessel is ensured. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. A lid 32 covers the opening of the main body 31, and when the lid 32 is put on the container main body 31, a gap 33 is formed between the peripheral edge of the opening of the container main body 31 and the lid 32, so that the inside and outside air is secured. Here, the six small mounting surfaces 11b of the mounting surface 11a of the base 11 which are partitioned by the partition wall 16 are each formed slightly wider than the upper surface of the lid 32 of the culture vessel 30. The height is slightly higher than the height of a predetermined number of stacked culture vessels 30. Therefore, a predetermined number of culture vessels 30 can be stacked on one small mounting surface 11b. For example, the culture vessels 30 may be stacked one by one on each of the small mounting surfaces 11b, and then the remaining culture vessels 30 may be stacked.
[0024]
After the placement of the culture vessel 30 is completed, the base 12 is covered with the case 12, the fastener 15 is fastened, and the base 11 and the case 12 are integrated. As a result, the culture container storage box 1 is in the state shown in FIG. At this time, since the space between the base portion 11 and the case 12 is sealed by a silicone rubber packing (not shown), the internal space S of the culture container storage box 1 is ensured to have air permeability only through the filter portion 20. I have. In addition, since all the above operations are performed in the safety cabinet 51, the internal space S is aseptic. Further, when a predetermined number of culture containers 30 are stacked in the small space ss of the culture container storage box 1, the culture container 30 in which the partition wall 16 and the case 12 forming the small space ss are stacked. Plays a role in preventing falls.
[0025]
Thereafter, the worker puts his hand on the handle 14 of the culture container storage box 1 and takes the culture container storage box 1 out of the safety cabinet 51, crosses the non-sterile culture room 50 and stores it in the incubator 52. When traversing the culture chamber 50, outside air flows into the internal space S of the culture container storage box 1 through the filter unit 20, but since the filter unit 20 does not allow microorganisms to pass through, the internal space S is maintained in a sterile state. You. After storing the culture container storage box 1 in the incubator 52, the temperature, humidity, and CO ₂ concentration of the incubator 52 are set, and the cell culture is started. Then, the inside of the incubator 52 becomes an atmosphere of air having the temperature, humidity, and CO ₂ concentration set as described above. Since this air flows to and from the internal space S via the filter unit 20 of the culture container storage box 1, the internal space S is also filled with the same air. Further, since the culture vessel 30 in the internal space S is an open type, the culture vessel 30 is also filled with the same air. Therefore, oxygen required for metabolism is constantly supplied to the cells cultured in the culture vessel 30.
[0026]
In the culture container storage box 1 described in detail above, after the open type culture container 30 is stored in the internal space S of the box main body 10 in the aseptic operation area, the internal space S is sterilized by closing the box main body 10. Since the filter unit 20 allows gas to pass through but does not allow microorganisms to pass through even if the filter is carried out of the sterile operation area, the internal space S is maintained in a sterile state. Therefore, the open-type culture container 30 can be stored in an aseptic state.
[0027]
Further, in order to store the culture vessel 30, the culture vessel 30 may be placed on the mounting surface 11a of the base 11, and then the base 11 and the case 12 may be integrated. Since the culture vessel 30 may be taken out from the mounting surface 11a after separating the case 12 from the case 12, workability is good. Furthermore, since the operator can lift the culture container storage box 1 using the handle 14, it is convenient when carrying the culture container storage box 1. Furthermore, since the box body 10 has a size that can be stored in the predetermined incubator 52, the culture can be performed by putting the culture container storage box 1 into the incubator 52 without removing the culture container 30 from the culture container storage box 1. You can continue. That is, cells can be cultured in the culture vessel 30 while the culture vessel 30 is stored in the internal space S.
[0028]
Further, since the filter unit 20 is provided detachably on the box body 10, when the filter unit 20 is deteriorated, it can be easily replaced with a new one. Further, since the box body 10 has a convex portion 17 on the upper surface and a concave portion (not shown) of a shape engageable with the convex portion 17 on the bottom surface, another culture container storage box 1 When the stacks 1 are stacked, the projections 17 provided on the upper surface of the former and the recesses (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the latter are engaged, and the stacked culture container storage boxes 1 are hard to fall. Furthermore, since the box body 10 is provided with the partition wall 16 that prevents the culture vessels 30 from falling when they are stacked and placed, the stacked culture vessels 30 are unlikely to fall.
[0029]
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment at all, and can be implemented in various forms.
[0030]
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the open-type culture vessel 30 is a petri dish. However, any culture vessel having air permeability between the inside and the outside may be used. A flask without a screw or a flask with a screw cap loosened may be used.
[0031]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the internal space S is partitioned into the plurality of small spaces ss by the partition wall 16, but the partition wall 16 may not be provided. Alternatively, the partition wall 16 may be exchangeable so that a small space ss corresponding to the size of the culture container 30 to be stored is formed. By doing so, it becomes possible to selectively install partition walls having various compartments (small spaces) according to the size of the culture container to be stored, and a general-purpose storage box that does not specify the culture container to be stored. Available as
[0032]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the box body 10 is configured by the base portion 11 and the case 12 that can be integrated with and separated from each other by the stoppers 15, but the two stoppers provided on the same side of the four stoppers 15 The metal fitting 15 may be used as a hinge. Alternatively, instead of dividing the case 12 into the base portion 11 and the case 12, the upper surface, the front surface, and the rear surface may be used as an opening / closing lid, or the portion where the culture vessel 30 is placed may be opened and closed. In any case, in the closed state, the parts other than the filter unit 20 are sealed.
[0033]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the handles 14 are provided on two opposite sides of the base 11, but a hand-held handle may be provided on the upper surface of the case 12 to serve as a grip.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a culture container storage box 1. FIG.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an attached state of a filter unit 20.
FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of a culture room 50.
FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a culture vessel 30.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Culture container storage box, 10 box main body, 11 base part, 11a mounting surface, 11b small mounting surface, 12 cases, 12a round hole, 14 handle, 15 stopper, 16 partition wall, 17 convex part, 17 protrusion, Reference Signs List 20 filter part, 21 filter body, 22 filter frame, 25 support frame, 30 culture vessel, 31 container body, 32 lid, 33 gap, 50 culture room, 51 safety cabinet, 52 incubator, S internal space, ss small space.

Claims (9)

An openable and closable main body having an internal space capable of storing an open type culture vessel,
A filter portion provided on at least a part of the main body portion for allowing gas to pass therethrough and not allowing microorganisms to pass therethrough, wherein the internal space when the main body portion is closed is ventilated to the outside through the filter portion, and accommodates a culture container. box. The culture container storage box according to claim 1,
The main body section includes a first divided body including a mounting portion for mounting the culture container, and a second divided body detachably attached to the first divided body to form the internal space together with the first divided body. The main body is closed when the first divided body and the second divided body are integrated, and the main body is opened when the first divided body and the second divided body are separated from each other. Culture container storage box. The culture container storage box according to claim 1 or 2,
The culture container storage box, wherein the main body includes a grip portion used by an operator to lift the culture container. The culture container storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The culture vessel storage box, wherein the main body has a size that can be stored in a predetermined incubator. The culture container storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The culture container storage box, wherein the filter unit is detachably provided in a through hole provided in the main body unit. The culture container storage box according to claim 5, wherein
The culture container storage box, wherein the filter unit includes a filter body and a filter frame that supports an edge of the filter body, and the filter frame is screwed or fitted into the through hole. The culture container storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The culture container storage box, wherein the main body has an engagement portion on an upper surface and an engaged portion having a shape engageable with the engagement portion on a bottom surface. The culture container storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The culture vessel storage box, wherein the main body includes a tipping prevention guide for preventing tipping when the culture vessels are stacked and placed. A culture container storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
A culture container storage box used when transporting a culture container in which cell culture is being performed in an unsealed state from inside to outside of a sterile room.

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