JP2009183172A - Cell treatment container and cell treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly discharge a treatment solution in an upper space even if a mesh-like member is clogged with a biological tissue and a cell mass stored in the upper space. <P>SOLUTION: The cell treatment container 2 is equipped with the upper space 8 for storing and treating the biological tissue A and the treatment solution B, a lower space 9 equipped with a first discharge port 13 in the vicinity of the base and a filter member 10 that divides the upper space 8 from the lower space 9 and has a large number of through-holes 10a for prohibiting the passage of the biological tissue A and allowing the passage of the treatment solution B and equipped with a second discharge port 14 for discharging the treatment solution B in the upper space 8 on a wall surface close to the filter member 10 of the upper space 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cell processing container and a cell processing apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cell treatment container having two spaces partitioned by a mesh-like member that prohibits passage of biological tissue and allows passage of cells isolated from the treatment liquid and biological tissue is known (for example, patents). Reference 1).
The cell processing container disclosed in Patent Document 1 supplies biological tissue and a treatment liquid such as a washing liquid or a digestive liquid into the upper space and agitates to wash the biological tissue or digest the biological tissue. The cells are then isolated.

  The cleaning liquid after cleaning the living tissue enters the lower space through the mesh member, and is discharged by being sucked by a pump from a discharge port provided in the lower space. In addition, a cell suspension composed of digestive fluid containing cells isolated from living tissue enters the lower space through the mesh member, and is discharged by being sucked by a pump from a discharge port provided in the lower space. It has come to be.

International Publication No. 2005/012480 Pamphlet

  However, the cell treatment container disclosed in Patent Document 1 sucks the lower space into a negative pressure by the operation of a pump connected to the discharge port provided in the lower space, and the pressure difference between the upper space and the lower space. It is intended to promote the discharge of the treatment liquid and cell suspension existing in the upper space. For this reason, when the biological tissue or cell mass accommodated in the upper space is clogged with the mesh member, the discharge of the processing liquid into the lower space is hindered, and it takes time to discharge all the processing liquid. There is a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and even when a biological tissue or cell mass accommodated in the upper space is clogged in the mesh member, the processing liquid in the upper space is quickly discharged. It aims at providing the cell processing container and cell processing apparatus which can be performed.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The present invention partitions an upper space for accommodating and processing a biological tissue and a treatment liquid, a lower space having a first outlet near the bottom surface, the upper space and the lower space, and passing the biological tissue And a filter member having a large number of through holes that allow the processing liquid to pass therethrough, and a second discharge port for discharging the processing liquid in the upper space is provided on a wall surface of the upper space adjacent to the filter member. Provided is a cell treatment container.

  According to the present invention, after the biological tissue and the treatment liquid are accommodated in the upper space and the processing is performed, the first discharge port provided in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the lower space is opened to thereby remove the biological tissue from the upper space. In addition, only the processing liquid can be introduced into the lower space through the filter member and discharged from the first discharge port. In this case, when the biological tissue or the cell mass separated from the biological tissue clogs the through hole of the filter member and the clogging occurs, the treatment liquid cannot be completely removed from the upper space, and all of the treatment liquid is removed from the first space in the lower space. Since it takes time to discharge from the outlet, the second outlet provided in the wall surface of the upper space is opened. The biological tissue and the treatment liquid are usually separated by forming a boundary surface, and the biological tissue floats on the treatment liquid. Therefore, the second discharge port provided close to the filter member in the upper space is opened. In addition, the treatment liquid can be discharged without discharging the living tissue. As a result, the processing liquid can be discharged quickly and the processing time can be shortened.

The present invention also provides the cell treatment container, agitation means for agitating the biological tissue and the treatment liquid stored in the upper space, a first valve for opening and closing the first discharge port, and the first And a second valve that opens and closes the two outlets.
According to the present invention, a living tissue can be processed by storing the living tissue and the treatment liquid in the upper space of the cell processing container and stirring them by the operation of the stirring means. After the processing is completed, the processing liquid is discharged. However, by opening the first valve, the first discharge port is opened, the processing liquid in the lower space is discharged, and the second valve is opened. The processing liquid in the upper space can be discharged by opening the discharge port. As a result, the processing liquid that cannot pass through the filter member and remains in the upper space can be efficiently discharged to shorten the processing time.

In the above invention, a sensor that detects a position of a boundary surface between the biological tissue and the treatment liquid stored in the upper space, and the sensor makes the boundary surface position higher than the second discharge port. A controller that controls to open the second valve when it is detected.
By doing so, the boundary surface position between the biological tissue and the treatment liquid is detected by the sensor, and the second valve is moved when the boundary surface position is higher than the second discharge port by the operation of the control unit. It is opened and the processing liquid in the upper space is discharged. Thereby, the treatment liquid can be discharged without causing the biological tissue in the upper space to flow out of the second discharge port.

Moreover, in the said invention, the said sensor is good also as being provided in piping connected to the said 2nd discharge port.
By doing in this way, in the state where the sensor provided in the pipe connected to the second discharge port detects the processing liquid, the second valve is opened and the upper space is opened from the second discharge port. By closing the second valve when the treatment liquid is discharged and the sensor detects the outflow of the living tissue, the outflow of the living tissue can be minimized and the processing liquid can be discharged quickly.

Moreover, in the said invention, the said sensor is good also as being provided in the wall surface of the said cell processing container near the said 2nd discharge port.
By doing in this way, in the state where the sensor provided on the wall surface in the vicinity of the second discharge port detects the processing liquid, the second valve is opened and the processing liquid in the upper space is opened from the second discharge port. When the second valve is closed when the sensor detects the living tissue, the treatment liquid can be quickly discharged without causing the living tissue to flow out.

Moreover, in the said invention, it is good also as providing the container inclination mechanism which inclines the said cell treatment container so that the said 2nd discharge port may become a lower side.
In this way, by operating the container tilting mechanism, the second discharge port is arranged on the lower side, the boundary position between the ecological tissue and the treatment liquid is kept away from the second discharge port, and the treatment liquid is given priority. Therefore, it can be discharged from the second discharge port.

Further, in the above invention, a processing liquid amount detection unit for detecting a supply amount of the processing liquid to the upper space, and the container tilt mechanism based on the supply amount of the processing liquid detected by the processing liquid amount detection unit. It is good also as providing the inclination control part to operate.
By doing so, the position of the boundary surface between the living tissue and the treatment liquid varies depending on the supply amount of the treatment liquid. Therefore, the supply amount of the treatment liquid is detected by the operation of the treatment amount detection unit, and the inclination depends on the supply amount. When the control unit operates the container tilting mechanism, the processing liquid can be discharged more efficiently from the second discharge port.

Moreover, in the said invention, the said process liquid amount detection part is good also as a weight detection part which detects the weight of the cell processing container which supplied the process liquid.
In this way, by measuring the weight of the cell treatment container and the weight of the living tissue accommodated in the cell treatment container in advance, the weight of the treatment liquid in the cell treatment container is determined by the weight detected by the weight detection unit. The amount can be easily detected.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that the treatment liquid in the upper space can be quickly discharged even if the biological tissue or cell mass accommodated in the upper space is clogged by the mesh member.

A cell treatment apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cell treatment apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a cell treatment container 2 according to the present embodiment and a swing mechanism that swings the cell treatment container 2 about a horizontal axis ( (Container tilting mechanism, stirring means) 3 and a load cell (weight detector) 4 for measuring the weight of the cell processing container 2. In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a container storage unit for holding the cell processing container 2 in which a heater 6 for heating the living tissue A and the processing liquid B in the cell processing container 2 to a predetermined temperature is attached to the surface in contact with the cell processing container 2. It is.

  The cell processing container 2 according to this embodiment includes a container body 7, a mesh-like member (filter member) 10 that divides the space in the container body 7 into an upper space 8 and a lower space 9, and an upper surface of the upper space 8. A biological tissue supply unit 11 that supplies biological tissue A, a treatment liquid supply unit 12 that supplies processing liquid B, and a first exhaust for discharging the processing liquid B provided on the bottom surface of the lower space 9. An outlet 13 and a second outlet 14 formed in the side wall of the upper space 8 in the vicinity of the mesh member 10 are provided.

  The mesh-like member 10 has a large number of through holes 10 a that allow the upper space 8 and the lower space 9 to communicate with each other. These through-holes 10a are smaller than living tissue and have a larger diameter than cells isolated from living tissue. Therefore, the mesh-like member 10 allows free flow of the treatment liquid B supplied to the upper space 8 and allows movement of cells obtained from the living tissue A to the lower space 9 while the living tissue A The passage of the cell mass separated from itself or the living tissue A is prohibited.

  A first discharge pipe 15 is connected to the first discharge port 13, and a first valve 16 that opens and closes the first discharge pipe 15 is provided in the first discharge pipe 15. A second discharge pipe 17 is connected to the discharge port 14, and a second valve 18 that opens and closes the second discharge pipe 17 is provided in the second discharge pipe 17. The second discharge pipe 17 is provided with a transmissive sensor 19 that detects whether or not the fluid flowing inside the discharge pipe 17 is the processing liquid B. Further, a liquid level sensor 20 that detects a boundary surface C between the biological tissue A and the treatment liquid B is provided on the side surface of the container body 7.

  The swing mechanism 3 includes a motor 21 that swings the cell processing container 2 with respect to a base (not shown). The axis D of the rocking mechanism 3 is arranged such that the second discharge port 14 is arranged in the rocking direction. Accordingly, when the cell processing container 2 is rocked by operating the rocking mechanism 3, the second discharge port 14 is arranged below the container body 7.

  Further, the swing mechanism 3, the load cell 4, the sensor 19, the liquid level sensor 20, the first valve 16 and the second valve 18 are connected to the control device 22. The control device 22 calculates the swing angle by the swing mechanism 3 based on the weight value detected by the load cell 4, and first and second based on detection signals from the sensor 19 and the liquid level sensor 20. The valves 16 and 18 are controlled to open and close.

The operation of the cell processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below.
In order to perform the treatment of the biological tissue A using the cell treatment apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, the washing treatment, the first and second valves 16 and 18 are closed and the container body 7 is provided. A biological tissue A is supplied from the biological tissue supply unit 11, and a processing liquid (hereinafter also referred to as a cleaning liquid) B is supplied from the processing liquid supply unit 12. Since the biological tissue supply unit 11 and the treatment liquid supply unit 12 are connected to the upper space 8, the supplied biological tissue A and cleaning liquid B are introduced into the upper space 8.

Then, by supplying the biological tissue A having a predetermined known weight and the cleaning liquid B, as shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning liquid B flows from the upper space 8 through the mesh member 10 into the lower space 9. The lower space 9 is filled with the cleaning liquid B, and the living tissue A and the cleaning liquid B are accommodated in the upper space 8.
In this state, the load cell 4 is subjected to the total weight of the cell processing container 2 and the living tissue A and the cleaning liquid B accommodated in the cell processing container 2, so that the detection signal of the load cell 4 is sent to the control device 22. Sent. In the control device 22, the weight of the cleaning liquid B is calculated by subtracting the weight of the known cell processing container 2 and the weight of the living tissue A from the transmitted detection signal, and the amount of the cleaning liquid B is calculated based on the specific gravity. Is calculated.

  Thereafter, the swing mechanism 3 is operated to swing the container body 7 back and forth over a predetermined angular range, whereby the living tissue A and the cleaning liquid B stored in the container body 7 are stirred, and the living tissue A is Washed. Then, after blood and foreign matter are washed from the biological tissue A by a cleaning process for a predetermined time, the biological tissue A and the cleaning liquid B are separated in the upper space 8 by being left still, and the upper layer of the cleaning liquid B Thus, the living tissue A floats and a boundary surface C is formed between them.

The control device 22 calculates the tilt angle by the swing mechanism 3 based on the calculated amount of the cleaning liquid B. That is, when the amount of the cleaning liquid B is large, the cleaning liquid B is discharged only from the first discharge port 13 of the lower space 9 without tilting the cell processing container 2, and when the amount of the cleaning liquid B decreases, The cell processing container 2 is also inclined and discharged from the second outlet 14.
That is, the control device 22 first opens the first valve 16 to discharge the cleaning liquid B from the first discharge port 13, and then when the cleaning liquid B becomes low, as shown in FIG. Since the boundary surface C between the living tissue A and the cleaning liquid B is detected by the sensor 20, the second valve 18 is opened, and the swing mechanism 3 is operated as shown in FIG. The discharge port 14 is arranged on the lower side, and the cleaning liquid B is also discharged from the second discharge port 14.

In this case, the second discharge pipe 17 is provided with a transmissive sensor 19 that detects whether or not the fluid flowing inside the discharge pipe 17 is the processing liquid B. Is detected by the sensor 19 when it flows through the second discharge pipe 17, and the control device 22 closes the second valve 18. Thereby, the outflow of the biological tissue A from the upper space 8 is suppressed.
In addition, since the living tissue A and the treatment liquid B being cleaned are heated to a predetermined temperature by the operation of the heater 6, the processing is promoted and the soundness of the cells is maintained.

  Thus, according to the cell treatment device 1 and the cell treatment container 2 according to the present embodiment, the second discharge port 14 is provided in the upper space 8 above the mesh-like member 10, and the second discharge port 14 Since the cleaning liquid B is discharged, the cleaning liquid B can be discharged quickly, and the processing time can be shortened. In particular, even when the biological tissue A or a cell mass separated from the biological tissue A comes into contact with the mesh member 10 and becomes clogged, the second drainage can be performed without waiting for the washing liquid B to flow into the lower space 9. Since the liquid is discharged from the outlet 14, the cleaning liquid B can be discharged in a short time.

  In addition, according to the cell treatment apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the amount of the cleaning liquid B is reduced, the container body 2 is tilted by the operation of the swing mechanism 3, so that the biological tissue A and the cleaning liquid B Can be moved away from the second outlet 14. As a result, even when the amount of the cleaning liquid B decreases, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that the living tissue A flows out from the second discharge port 14.

  In the present embodiment, the amount of the living tissue A supplied to the upper space 8 is known, and the total weight of the cell processing container 2 is detected by the load cell 4 so that the amount of the cleaning liquid B in the container body 7 is converted. However, instead of this, supply amount detection means (not shown) is provided in each of the biological tissue supply unit 11 and the treatment liquid supply unit 12 to directly detect the supply amounts of the biological tissue A and the treatment liquid B. It is good to do.

  Moreover, although the case where the cleaning liquid is supplied as the processing liquid B has been described, instead of this, for example, the present invention may be applied to the case where a digestive enzyme liquid that digests the biological tissue A is supplied. In this case, the digestion process is promoted by stirring by the operation of the swing mechanism 3 while being maintained at a temperature necessary for the digestion process by the heater 6. What is discharged from the first discharge port 13 and the second discharge port 14 is a cell suspension containing cells isolated from the biological tissue A.

As the living tissue A, any living tissue such as adipose tissue can be employed.
In the present embodiment, the mesh member 10 is illustrated as a filter member that divides the upper space 8 and the lower space 9. However, instead of this, an arbitrary member such as a sintered body having a large number of continuous air holes is used. A filter member may be employed.

Moreover, in this embodiment, although the 2nd discharge port 14 was provided in the upper side wall of the mesh-shaped member 10, it may replace with this and may comprise as FIG. 5 shows.
In other words, the bottom surface of the container body 7 is configured to have an inclined surface, the mesh member 10 is disposed on a part of the bottom surface, and the second discharge port 14 is disposed on the bottom surface located above the mesh member 10. May be arranged. By doing in this way, the washing | cleaning liquid B from the 1st discharge port 13 and the 2nd discharge port 14 can be discharged | emitted in the same direction, and it can comprise compactly.

In the present embodiment, the agitation mechanism 3 is also used as the agitation unit, but instead of this, the agitation unit may be provided separately from the agitation mechanism 3. For example, the cell processing container 2 may be vibrated by an eccentric motor (not shown) to stir the internal biological tissue A and the processing liquid B.
Further, embodiments formed by partially combining the above-described embodiments and the like also belong to the present invention.

It is a longitudinal section showing a cell treatment device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which supplied the biological tissue and the process liquid in the cell processing container of the cell processing apparatus of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which discharged | emitted the process liquid after a process from the state of FIG. 2, and the boundary surface fell and was detected. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which act | operated the rocking | fluctuation mechanism of the cell processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and inclined the cell processing container. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the modification of the cell processing apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

A Biological tissue B Cleaning solution (treatment solution)
C Interface 1 Cell processing device 2 Cell processing container 3 Oscillating mechanism (container tilting mechanism, stirring means)
4 Load cell (weight detector)
8 Upper space 9 Lower space 10 Mesh member (filter member)
10a Through-hole 13 1st discharge port 14 2nd discharge port 16 1st valve | bulb 17 2nd piping (piping)
18 Second valve 19 Transmission type sensor (sensor)
20 Liquid level sensor (sensor)
22 Control device (control unit, tilt control unit)

Claims (8)

An upper space for accommodating and processing the biological tissue and the treatment liquid;
A lower space provided with a first outlet near the bottom surface;
A filter member having a plurality of through holes that partition the upper space and the lower space, prohibit passage of biological tissue and allow passage of treatment liquid;
The cell processing container provided with the 2nd discharge port which discharges | emits the processing liquid in upper space in the wall surface close to the said filter member of said upper space. A cell processing container according to claim 1;
Agitation means for agitating the biological tissue and the treatment liquid stored in the upper space;
A first valve that opens and closes the first outlet;
A cell treatment apparatus comprising: a second valve that opens and closes the second discharge port. A sensor that detects a position of a boundary surface between the biological tissue housed in the upper space and the treatment liquid;
The cell according to claim 2, further comprising: a control unit that controls to open the second valve when the sensor detects that the position of the boundary surface is higher than the second discharge port. Processing equipment.   The cell processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sensor is provided in a pipe connected to the second discharge port.   The cell processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sensor is provided on a wall surface of the cell processing container in the vicinity of the second discharge port.   The cell processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising a container tilting mechanism that tilts the cell processing container so that the second discharge port is on the lower side. A processing liquid amount detection unit for detecting a supply amount of the processing liquid to the upper space;
The cell processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an inclination control unit that operates the container inclination mechanism based on a supply amount of the processing liquid detected by the processing liquid amount detection unit.   The cell processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing liquid amount detection unit is a weight detection unit that detects the weight of the cell processing container supplied with the processing liquid.

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