JP2007125036A - Bacterium culture container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container which does not need the preparation of a special equipment such as a Durham's tube, can simply be operated for the culture of bacteria, can be deformed, can reduce an occupation volume without needing a large volume, and is convenient for transportation. <P>SOLUTION: This bacterium culture container 1 comprises a bag 2 formed from semi-transparent or transparent flexible synthetic resin films not permitting the passage of liquids and bacteria, and a valve 3 which makes possible to charge or discharge a culture medium into or from the bag 2 and can hermetically close the bag 2 against the liquids or bacteria. The synthetic resin films are linearly adhered to each other to divide the inside of the bag, while leaving a communicating portion 63, thus forming a linearly adhered portion 61 to integrally dispose a gas trapper 6 for accumulating the bubbles 5 of a gas produced in the culture medium accompanied by the proliferation of the bacteria, in the bag. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a bacterial culture container for culturing bacteria and using it for a bacterial test.

  Conventional containers for incubating bacteria and using them for testing bacteria include regular petri dishes, test tubes and bottles made of rigid materials such as glass and hard resin. Among these bacterial culture containers, a test tube or a bottle is used when the presence or absence of bacteria is confirmed by the presence or absence of gas generated during bacterial culture.

That is, when culturing bacteria using a test tube, as shown in FIG. 2, the test tube T is filled with a liquid medium M that generates gas as the bacteria grow, and the medium M A Durham tube D, which is much smaller than the test tube T, is sunk in an inverted state with the air removed, and the sample is inoculated into the medium M in the test tube using a pipette or the like. Then, the test tube T is covered with a lid, and the test tube T is shaken to sufficiently mix the specimen and the medium. Thereafter, the test tube T is accommodated in a thermostat under aerobic conditions and cultured. When bacteria are present in the specimen, the gas G generated by the culture accumulates in the Durham tube D. Thus, the presence or absence of bacteria is confirmed by the presence or absence of gas generation (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). Also, when culturing bacteria using a bottle, the state of gas generation is observed by submerging the Durham tube upside down in the medium in the bottle as in the case of test tube culture.
JP 2003-230375 A (second page)

  However, in the conventional method of culturing bacteria using test tubes and bottles and checking the presence or absence of bacteria based on the presence or absence of gas during the cultivation of bacteria, a Durham tube is prepared separately from the test tubes and bottles. In addition, it is troublesome because an extra operation such as sunk the Durham tube upside down in the medium in the test tube or bottle is necessary.

  Further, since the volume and shape of test tubes and bottles cannot be changed, a large storage space is required regardless of whether or not the test tubes and bottles are used, and it is inconvenient to carry. In addition, since the pressure inside the container increases due to the generation of gas accompanying the growth of bacteria, in order to prevent damage to the container, when using a screw-type cap, loosen the cap a little or use a rubber plug-type cap In some cases, it is necessary to secure a gas escape route during culture, such as by inserting a needle into the cap. As a result, the medium in the container may be contaminated through the gas escape path.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is not necessary to prepare a special instrument such as a Durham tube. The operation for bacterial culture is simple, deformable and occupied. An object of the present invention is to provide a bacterial culture container that is small in volume and convenient for transportation.

  The invention according to claim 1 is formed of a synthetic resin film that is translucent or transparent and flexible and does not allow liquids and bacteria to pass through. The invention can be sealed against liquids and bacteria. In the bacterial culture container to be cultured, the synthetic resin films are linearly bonded so as to partition the interior, leaving a communicating part, and a gas trapper is formed integrally to store the gas generated in the culture medium as the bacteria grow. The presence or absence of bacteria is confirmed by observing gas accumulated in the gas trapper through a translucent or transparent synthetic resin film.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the bacterial culture container according to claim 1, wherein the synthetic resin films are linearly bonded so as to be inclined from one side to the bottom side, and the one side and the linear bonding portion The portion surrounded by is a gas trapper.

In the bacterial culture container of the invention according to claim 1, the gas generated in the culture medium along with the growth of the bacteria accumulates in a gas trapper integrally formed in the container, so that the gas trapper passes through a translucent or transparent synthetic resin film. The presence or absence of bacteria can be confirmed by observing the accumulated gas. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a special instrument such as a Durham tube, and the operation for culturing bacteria is simplified.
The bacterial culture container is made of a flexible synthetic resin film, can be deformed, and can be folded in some cases. It is easy to handle and transport on site.

  In the bacterial culture container of the invention according to claim 2, since one side and the linear adhesive portion form an acute angle, and the portion surrounded by the acute side and the linear adhesive portion becomes a gas trapper, As a result, the gas generated in the culture medium can be well stored in the gas trapper.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bacterial culture container showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

  The bacterial culture container 1 includes a bag 2 that contains a culture medium and a specimen and cultures the bacteria, and an opening / closing member that allows the culture medium to be taken in and out of the bag 2 and that the bag 2 can be sealed against liquids and bacteria. As a valve 3. The bag 2 is formed of a synthetic resin film that is translucent or transparent, has flexibility, and does not allow liquid and bacteria to pass through. The synthetic resin film forming the bag 2 may be appropriately selected depending on the type of bacteria to be cultured. However, when aerobic bacteria are cultured, for example, a synthetic resin film having air permeability such as polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene. When anaerobic bacteria are cultured, a film that exhibits gas impermeability alone or a multilayer film is preferable. The bag 2 is obtained by bonding two synthetic resin films, for example, two colorless and transparent polyethylene rectangular films, to each other at the peripheral portion 2c by thermocompression bonding or the like. Further, the valve 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape by bonding two ribbon-like films having the same quality as the bag 2 at the edges along both long sides. The valve 3 is formed by sandwiching a film formed in a cylindrical shape between two rectangular films when the two rectangular films are bonded to each other to produce the bag 2. At the same time as the mutual adhesion, it is fixed to the rectangular film and attached to the bag 2 integrally. However, of the peripheral part 2c of the bag 2, the bottom part 2d facing the top part where the valve 3 is provided is adhered after filling with the culture medium as will be described later.

  In addition, when the bacterial culture container 1 produces two bags by bonding two rectangular films to each other at the peripheral part 2c, the two-shaped film extends from one side of the outer periphery toward the center. Adheres to each other along the line. By doing in this way, the inside of the bag 2 is partitioned into two spaces, leaving the communication portion 63, and linear adhesive that extends so as to incline from the one side of the bag 2 to the bottom side inside the bag 2. A space portion surrounded by an acute angle in plan view is formed by the portion 61 and the adhesive portion on one side of the bag 2. This space portion becomes a gas trapper 6 that accumulates gas generated in the culture medium along with the growth of bacteria, and a bacterial culture container 1 in which the gas trapper 6 is integrally provided is obtained. With this configuration, when bacteria are cultured with the bacterial culture container 1 standing, the gas generated in the medium becomes bubbles, and the bubbles move in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. Is accumulated in the gas trapper 6, it is possible to easily confirm the generation of gas accompanying the growth of bacteria through the transparent synthetic resin film.

  Further, the linear adhesive portion 61 changes its direction when it reaches the position where the valve 3 extends toward the bottom and moves toward the valve 3, and the adhesive portion directed to the valve 3 is a gas trapped in the gas trapper 6. The guide 62 guides the valve toward the valve 3. With such a configuration, even when air is mixed into the bag 2 through the valve 3 when the sample is inoculated into the medium in the bag 2, the air mixed in the bag 2 is guided along the guide 62 before the start of culture. Guided toward the valve 3, the mixed air can be quickly discharged through the valve 3. As a result, it is possible to obtain confirmation that the gas accumulated in the gas trapper 6 after culturing is correctly derived from bacterial growth.

  As described above, since the entire bacterial culture container 1 is formed of a flexible polyethylene film, when not in use, a large number of the bacterial culture containers 1 are flatly bundled or bent, and in an appropriate form depending on the storage location. Can be stored and transported. Therefore, the bacterial culture container 1 requires less storage space and can be easily transported. In addition, the bacterial culture container 1 is easy to handle because it is light and free from damage during transportation. A method for culturing bacteria using the bacterial culture vessel 1 is as follows.

  Before bonding the bottom side 2d of the bag 2, the medium is filled into the bag 2 from the bottom opening side. In addition, after adhering the bottom portion 2d of the bag 2 in advance, the medium can be filled with a syringe or the like through the valve 3, but in order to maintain the sterility of the valve 3, the bottom opening side of the bag 2 is provided. It is preferable to adhere the bottom portion 2d after filling the culture medium. The type of the medium may be a liquid medium, an agar medium, or a powder medium. Then, after adhering the bottom 2d of the bag 2, specimens such as blood, food, and reagent are added to the medium and cultured in an appropriate environment. Since the inner surfaces of the films constituting the valve 3 are in close contact with each other as the internal pressure of the bag 2 increases, the valve 3 does not open even when an external force is applied to the bacterial culture container 1 during the culture.

  When inspecting the presence of coliforms in tap water, well water, pools, rivers, beaches, water storage tanks, etc., the bag 2 is filled with a BGLB (liquid) medium that generates gas only when the coliforms are present. In this case, the presence or absence of the bubbles 5 can be easily observed by seeing through the culture medium through the transparent polyethylene film constituting the bag 2. In the case of using a powder medium, since the bag 2 inflates in accordance with the amount of the filling substance in the bacterial culture container 1, a volume for a sample (tap water or the like) is secured in advance as in a conventional shaped container. There is no need to

  Moreover, in order to inspect the presence or absence of bacteria in food, it is necessary to uniformly disperse the food throughout the medium. In the case of using a conventional fixed container, the agar medium dissolved by heating and the sample are mixed in advance and filled in the container, and after the agar medium is solidified, it is an aerobic bacterium or an anaerobic bacterium. In order to adapt to the nature of the bacteria such as, and to prevent the medium from drying, the container was placed in a thermostat having a moist atmosphere and cultured. When this bacterial culture vessel 1 is used, the bag 2 is made of a breathable material such as the polyethylene film described above for aerobic bacteria. On the other hand, a gas-impermeable synthetic resin film is selected and used for anaerobic bacteria. The bag 2 is filled with an agar medium in advance, put into the microwave oven together with the bacterial culture container 1, and the agar medium is dissolved in a few seconds. Then, the sample is inoculated into the medium in the bag 2, and the medium is put. The sample can be uniformly dispersed throughout the medium and the bacteria can be cultured by simply stirring the bag 2 or inverting the entire bacterial culture container 1 several times and stirring the medium and the sample. . And since the bag 2 is sealed during culture | cultivation, the culture medium in the bag 2 does not dry. Therefore, it is not necessary to wet the inside of the thermostatic apparatus as in the case of using a conventional fixed container.

  In the case of a blood test, since the specimen (blood) is opaque, a Durham tube cannot be used conventionally, and the bottle is adjusted to a negative pressure with a decompressor in advance to prevent the specimen from scattering. The culture was unavoidable. On the other hand, when this bacterial culture container 1 is used, the bag 2 is inflated according to the amount of sample filled, so there is no need to adjust the internal pressure, and a syringe is inserted into the valve 3 for collection. All that is required is to push the specimen into the bag 2.

  In addition, as an opening / closing member of the bacterial culture container 1, a plug, a screw cap, or the like may be used instead of the valve 3 made of the tubular film shown in the above embodiment.

It is a perspective view of the bacteria culture container which shows one example of embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of the conventional bacteria culture container which uses a test tube.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bacterial culture container 2 Bag 2c Peripheral part of a bag 2d Bottom part of a bag 3 Valve 5 Bubble 6 Gas trapper 61 Linear adhesion part 62 Guide 63 Communication part

Claims (2)

In a bacterial culture vessel that is formed of a synthetic resin film that is translucent to transparent and flexible and does not allow liquids and bacteria to pass through, can be sealed against liquids and bacteria, and contains a culture medium inside to culture bacteria.
A semi-transparent or transparent synthetic material is formed by integrally forming a gas trapper that holds the gas generated in the culture medium along with the growth of bacteria by linearly adhering the synthetic resin films so as to partition the interior while leaving the communication part. A bacterial culture container characterized by confirming the presence or absence of bacteria by observing gas accumulated in the gas trapper through a resin film. The bacterial culture container according to claim 1, wherein the synthetic resin films are linearly bonded so as to incline from the one side to the bottom side, and a portion surrounded by the one side and the linear bonding portion is a gas trapper. .

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