JP2007135503A - Transportation container for cultured bone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transportation container which is used for cultured bones, can transport the cultured bones in a healthy state in spite of vibrations on their transportation. <P>SOLUTION: This transportation container 1 for the cultured bones A is characterized by comprising a bottomed cylindrical outer container 2 capable of storing a culture medium B, a bottomed cylindrical inner container 3 stored insertably into the outer container 2, and a lid 4 capable of opening and closing the opening 2a of the outer container 2 in a state receiving the inner container 3, wherein the inner container 3 is disposed in a state capable of being penetrated with the culture B stored in the outer container 2, and the granule- or block-like cultured bones A are stacked and mutually immovably received in the inner container 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a culture bone transport container.

  Conventionally, when there is a bone defect in bone fractures due to bone tumor curettage, trauma, etc., or when there is a bone defect, autologous bone transplantation and allogeneic bone transplantation have been performed as surgical treatment methods. The problem remains. For example, a bone repairing method is performed by repairing a bone by filling a bone defect with a bone grafting material. However, when the bone defect covers a wide area, it is difficult to treat with this technique.

  In recent years, regenerative medicine has been attempted for bone defects. In other words, there is a technique in which bone marrow is collected from a patient, artificially proliferated with osteoblasts based on mesenchymal stem cells contained in the collected bone marrow, and then returned to the patient's body again. Has been done. In this case, to promote differentiation from bone marrow collected from patients themselves to osteoblasts, and after sufficient growth, return them to the patient's body, thus promoting bone formation without causing immune reactions such as rejection Is expected.

  Also, development of a system for culturing such cells has been attempted (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). If differentiation from bone marrow cells to osteoblasts can be promoted, fewer bone marrow cells can be collected from the patient and returned to the patient in a short time after collection, thus shortening the treatment period It becomes.

A regenerative medicine business in which mesenchymal stem cells collected from a patient's bone marrow fluid are cultured, differentiated into bone cells on a bone grafting material, and provided as cultured bone has been put into practice. As such a bone prosthetic material, β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) is commercially available, and is applied to the regenerative medicine technology by utilizing the property of being replaced by the bone itself while being absorbed by the living body in the orthopedic field.
JP 2004-119 A JP 2004-16045 A

  However, when the cultured bone is manufactured at a place other than the medical institution to be transplanted to the patient, the manufactured cultured bone needs to be transported to the medical institution. In this case, if the cultured bone is transported while accommodated in a culture container such as a petri dish with a large bottom area, the cultured bones come into contact with each other due to vibration during transportation, and the bone filling material collapses or cells are detached from the bone filling material. The inconvenience of doing so can be considered. In addition, if it is housed and transported in a culture container having a large bottom area such as a petri dish, there is a problem that cells in the bone grafting material spread on the bottom surface of the petri dish during transport.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a culture bone transport container capable of transporting cultured bones in a healthy state regardless of vibration during transport. Yes.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The present invention relates to a bottomed tubular outer container capable of storing a culture medium, a bottomed tubular inner container that is detachably accommodated in the outer container, and an opening of the outer container in a state in which the inner container is accommodated. A lid body that can be opened and closed, and the inner container is provided so as to be permeable to the medium stored in the outer container, and granulated or block-shaped cultured bones are stacked inside each other. Provided is a culture bone transport container that is immovably accommodated.

  According to the present invention, the cultured bones are stacked and accommodated in the inner container, so that the cultured bones are brought into close contact with each other by their own weight and cannot be moved into the bottomed tubular inner container having a relatively small bottom area. Be placed. By accommodating the inner container containing the cultured bone in the outer container in which the culture medium is stored, the culture medium penetrates the inner container and spreads around the cultured bone. Emissions can be encouraged. And by sealing the opening part of an external container with a cover body, a culture medium and culture bone will be sealed so that it may not leak from an external container.

  According to the present invention, granular bones or block-like cultured bones are stacked and accommodated in a tubular inner container having a relatively small bottom area, so that the cultured bones collide with each other due to vibration during movement and collapse. The cells in the bone grafting material can be transported in a healthy state without peeling off or spreading in the internal container.

In the above invention, the inner container is provided with a flange portion that is in close contact with the opening portion of the outer container, and the flange portion is disposed between the opening portion of the outer container and the lid in the longitudinal direction of the outer container. It may be sandwiched between.
By doing in this way, an inner container is fixed with respect to an outer container because a flange part is pinched | interposed between the opening part of an outer container, and a cover body.

Moreover, in the said invention, it is preferable that the said flange part is comprised by the sealing member which seals between the cover body and the opening part of an external container in a liquid-tight state.
By doing so, the flange portion can be sealed as a sealing member between the lid and the opening of the external container in a liquid-tight state, and the culture medium and cultured bone leak from the external container without increasing the number of parts. Can be prevented.

Moreover, in the said invention, it is preferable that the sliding body provided in the said inner container so that a movement in a longitudinal direction is possible is provided.
By comprising in this way, when taking out culture | cultivation bone from the inside of an elongate tubular inner container, a culture | cultivation bone can be extruded from the inside of an inner container by a slide body by moving a slide body to a longitudinal direction.

Moreover, in the said invention, it is preferable that the opening part of the said inner container has a shape which spreads gradually toward a longitudinal direction outward.
By doing in this way, it is easy to accommodate the cultured bone in the inner container formed in an elongated tubular shape, and it is possible to easily take out the cultured bone in the inner container.

In the above invention, the inner container may include an inner lid member that opens and closes an opening of the inner container.
By doing so, the inner container can be sealed with the inner lid member in a state in which the inner container is taken out from the outer container, and the inner cultured bone can be maintained so as not to be contaminated by dust or the like.

Moreover, in the said invention, it is preferable that the said cover body is provided with the elastic member inserted in an internal container and pressing a cultured bone in the state which closed the opening part of the external container.
By doing in this way, by operating the elastic member, it is possible to maintain the cultured bone in the inner container pressed against each other by the elastic repulsive force of the elastic member without being caused by its own weight. Therefore, it is possible to invert the transport container containing the cultured bone, and by shaking the transport container, it is possible to cause the medium to flow and to allow the fresh medium to flow around the cultured bone.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that the cultured bone can be transported in a healthy state regardless of the vibration during the transport.

Hereinafter, the culture bone transport container 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the culture bone transport container 1 according to the present embodiment is inserted into and removed from the outer container 2 through the elongated bottomed tubular outer container 2 and the opening 2 a of the outer container 2. An elongate bottomed tubular inner container 3 that can be accommodated, and a lid 4 that can open and close the opening 2a of the outer container 2 in a state in which the inner container 3 is accommodated.

A male screw 2 b is provided on the outer surface of the outer container 2 in the vicinity of the opening 2 a, and a female screw 4 a that can be fastened to the male screw 2 b of the outer container 2 is provided on the lid 4.
The inner container 3 includes a container body 3a made of a nonwoven fabric or a mesh-like plastic (for example, cellulose and its derivatives, polyacrylonitrile, polymethacrylate, ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer or polysulfone), and the container body 3a. For example, a flange portion 3c made of a sealing member such as rubber is provided integrally in the vicinity of the opening 3b.

The container body 3a is composed of a nonwoven fabric or the like, and thus has a plurality of through holes (not shown) sufficiently smaller than the cultured bone, and holds the cultured bone in an accommodated state inside, while passing through the through holes. The medium can be circulated inside and outside. The inner diameter of the container body 3a is set to 1 to 10 times the average particle diameter of the granular cultured bone.
The flange portion 3c is formed in an annular shape, and is sandwiched and compressed in the thickness direction over the entire circumference between the end portion in the vicinity of the opening 2a of the outer container 2 and the lid body 4, and a liquid-tight state therebetween. It is designed to be sealed.

The operation of the culture bone transport container 1 according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described below.
In order to transport the granular cultured bone A using the cultured bone transport container 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a predetermined amount of the medium B is stored in the outer container 2, and the inner container 3 is filled with granular cultured bone A. Thereby, the cultured bone A in the inner container 3 inserted into the outer container 2 from the opening 2a of the outer container 2 is immersed in the medium B. Then, by fastening the female screw 4a of the lid body 4 to the male screw 2b of the outer container 2, the flange portion 3c of the inner container 3 is sandwiched between the end of the outer container 2 and the lid body 4 and crushed. The space between the outer container 2 and the lid 4 is sealed in a liquid-tight state.

  Since the inner diameter of the inner container 3 is sufficiently thin, the granular cultured bone A accommodated in the inner container 3 is stacked up and down in the inner container 3 as shown in FIG. They are brought into close contact with each other by their own weight. As a result, the granular cultured bone A accommodated in the inner container 3 does not move relatively even if the inner container 3 is vibrated, and collapses due to mutual collision or cells are detached. The occurrence of inconvenience that the cells spread to the bottom surface of the inner container 3 can be prevented.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the inner container 3 is provided with the container main body 3a comprised with the nonwoven fabric or the mesh-shaped plastic, the culture medium B is a container by the container main body 3a being immersed in the culture medium B. It passes through the main body 3 a and is supplied into the inner container 3, and reaches around the cultured bone A in the inner container 3. As a result, nutrients are supplied to the cells of the cultured bone A through the medium B, and waste products released from the cells are released to the outside by the medium B. Therefore, the cultured bone A during conveyance is maintained in a healthy state.

  In addition, in the conveyance container 1 which concerns on this embodiment, it is good also as providing the inner cover 5 which can open and close the opening part 3b of the inner container 3, as FIG. 4 shows. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the inner lid 5 is rotatably attached to the flange portion 3c by a pin 6, and opens and closes between an open state shown in (a) and a closed state shown in (b). Can be done. Moreover, it is preferable that the inner lid 5 is also made of an elastic material such as rubber so as to function as a seal member that seals between the outer container 2 and the lid body 4 together with the flange portion 3c.

  By doing in this way, it can be taken in and out of the outer container 2 with the opening 3b of the inner container 3 closed, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconveniences such as dust contamination through the opening 3b. There is an advantage.

  Further, in the transport container 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the vicinity of the opening 3 b of the inner container 3 may be formed in a tapered shape that gradually widens toward the outside. By doing in this way, the operation | work of taking in the cultured bone A in the inner container 3 and taking out the cultured bone A from the inner container 3 can be made easy.

  In the present embodiment, the granular cultured bone A is stacked in the vertical direction and accommodated in the inner container 3. Instead, the granular cultured bone A is larger than the block or granular. May be accommodated in a stacked state.

Next, the transport container 10 for the cultured bone A according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
In description of this embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the location which shares the structure with the conveyance container 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment mentioned above, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

The transport container 10 according to the present embodiment is different from the transport container according to the first embodiment in the structure of the inner container 3 ′.
The inner container 3 'includes a through hole 3d on the bottom surface of a container body 3a formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape. The rod 11a of the piston 11 is inserted into the through hole 3d.

  At one end of the rod 11a of the piston 11 disposed in the inner container 3 ', a sliding body 11b having a substantially same shape slightly smaller than the transverse section of the container body 3a is fixed. By pushing and pulling the rod 11a through the through hole 3d, the sliding body 11b fixed to one end of the rod 11a can be slid in the inner container 3 '.

  According to the transport container 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 6, the piston 11 is pulled out from the inner container 3 ′ to the maximum, and the sliding body 11b is used as the container of the inner container 3 ′. The cultured bone A is placed in the stacked state on the bottom surface of the inner container 3 ′ which is arranged near the bottom surface of the main body 3a and is constituted by the sliding body 11b. The cultured bones A accommodated in the inner container 3 'are maintained in close contact with each other by their own weight, and are thus held so as not to move in the inner container 3' even if vibration is applied during transportation.

Further, the cultured bone A accommodated in the inner container 3 ′ is immersed in the medium B stored in the outer container 2. Thereby, the soundness of the culture bone A in conveyance is maintained.
Then, when the cultured bone A is taken out from the inner container 3 ′ at a medical institution or the like after transport, the lid 4 is opened and the inner container 3 ′ containing the cultured bone A is taken out from the outer container 2. As shown in FIG. 7, the piston 11 protruding outside the inner container 3 ′ is pressed.

The cultured bone A accommodated in the inner container 3 ′ can be pushed out by moving toward the opening 3b. As a result, it is accommodated in the elongated inner container 3 ′ and transported in a healthy state. As a result, the sliding body 11b disposed in the inner container 3 ′ is transferred to the cultured bone A on the bottom surface side of the inner container 3 ′. It can be easily removed from the inner container 3 '.

  In this embodiment, the piston 11 is provided in the inner container 3 ′ to facilitate the work of taking out the cultured bone A stored in the inner container 3 ′ to the outside. As shown in FIG. 8, the side wall of the inner container 3 ″ is provided with a slit 3e along the longitudinal direction, and the operation provided on the sliding body 12 disposed in the inner container 3 ″ through the slit 3e. The protrusion 12a may protrude from the inner container 3 ″. The width of the slit 3e is sufficiently smaller than the size of the cultured bone A, and the cultured bone A is exposed to the outside through the slit 3e. It is designed not to leak.

  By doing so, the operator operates the operation protrusion 12a protruding outside the inner container 3 ″ from the bottom surface side shown in FIG. 8A to the flange 3c side shown in FIG. 8B. The sliding body 12 in the inner container 3 ″ is moved in the longitudinal direction by moving in the longitudinal direction of the inner container 3 ″, and the work of taking out the cultured bone A to the outside is facilitated similarly to the piston 11. be able to.

  Further, this configuration has an advantage that the outer container 2 does not need to have a space for projecting the rod 11a further from the bottom surface of the inner container 3 'in the longitudinal direction as in the case of the piston 11. That is, the length of the inner container 3 ″ that can be accommodated in the same outer container 2 as in the case of the piston 11 can be increased, or the inner container 3 that can accommodate the same amount of cultured bone A as in the case of the piston 11. For "", there is an advantage that a shorter outer container 2 is sufficient.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, as FIG. 9 shows, it is good also as providing the elastic member 13 which presses the culture bone A in the cover body 4. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the elastic member 13 having a sufficiently long length before the lid 4 is fastened to the outer container 2, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), By compressing the lid 4 by fastening it to the outer container 2 and sandwiching the lid 4 between the lid 4 and the cultured bone A, the cultured bone A can be pressed in the stacking direction. Thereby, even if the transfer containers 1 and 10 are inverted or vibrated relatively vigorously in the longitudinal direction, the cultured bone A does not move and the occurrence of inconvenience such as the cultured bone A collapsing due to a collision is prevented. be able to. Moreover, since the culture medium B in the external container 2 can be agitated by reversing the transport containers 1 and 10 or vibrating in the longitudinal direction, the fresh culture medium B can flow around the culture bone A.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the conveyance container of the cultured bone which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a decomposition | disassembly longitudinal cross-sectional view of the conveyance container of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the conveyance state which accommodated the cultured bone in the conveyance container of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the inner container of the conveyance container of FIG. 1, (a) shows the open state of an inner lid, (b) shows the closed state of an inner lid. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the modification of the conveyance container of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the conveyance container of the culture bone which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the process of taking out cultured bone from the inner container of the conveyance container of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the inner container of the conveyance container of FIG. 6, (a) is the state in which the sliding body is arrange | positioned near the bottom face of the inner container, (b) is the sliding body moved to the flange part vicinity. Each state is shown. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modified example of the transport container of FIG. 1 or FIG. 6, (a) shows a state before the elastic member is deformed, and (b) shows a state after the elastic member is deformed by fastening the lid. .

Explanation of symbols

A cultured bone B medium 1,10 transport container 2 outer container 2a opening 3, 3 ', 3 "inner container 3a opening 3c flange 4 lid 5 inner lid (inner lid member)
11b, 12 Slider 13 Elastic member

Claims (7)

A bottomed tubular outer container capable of storing a medium;
A bottomed tubular inner container that is removably accommodated in the outer container;
A lid capable of opening and closing the opening of the outer container in a state in which the inner container is accommodated,
A culture bone transport container in which the inner container is provided so as to be able to permeate the culture medium stored in the outer container, and granulated or block-shaped culture bones are stacked therein so as to be immovable. The inner container is provided with a flange portion that is in close contact with the opening of the outer container,
The culture bone transport container according to claim 1, wherein the flange portion is sandwiched between the opening of the outer container and the lid in the longitudinal direction of the outer container.   The culture bone transport container according to claim 2, wherein the flange portion is configured by a seal member that seals between the lid and the opening of the external container in a liquid-tight state.   The transport container for cultured bone according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a sliding body is provided in the inner container so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction.   The transport container for cultured bone according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the opening of the inner container has a shape that gradually expands outward in the longitudinal direction.   The transport container for cultured bone according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the inner container is provided with an inner lid member that opens and closes an opening of the inner container.   The culture according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the lid is provided with an elastic member that is inserted into the inner container and presses the cultured bone with the opening of the outer container closed. Bone transport container.

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