JP6836235B2 - Cell transport container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cell transport container. More specifically, it relates to a cell transport container used for transporting a microtube containing cells without contaminating it.

Conventionally, in regenerative medicine, research has been conducted to promote tissue regeneration by transplanting human or animal cells cultured in vitro, and some of them have been put into practical use. Such cells are stored and transported in a state of being contained in a microtube capable of containing a small amount (for example, 500 μL to 1500 μL) of liquid (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-130764

Normally, cells are cultured in a highly clean space such as a clean room or a clean bench. In addition, cell transplantation is also performed in a highly clean space. However, the equipment for culturing cells and the equipment for which cells are used are often different from each other, and in this case, the outside of the microtube is contaminated when the cells are transported.
When using cells, centrifuge is performed using a centrifuge to collect the cells at the bottom of the microtube, and then the cells are collected with a needle or pipette. The inside of the centrifuge is also clean. May be low, which can contaminate the outside of the microtube.

So, for example, a person in charge of opening the cap of a microtube that has been transported and centrifuged and may have contaminated the outside, and a person in charge of collecting and transplanting cells from the microtube with the cap open. To prevent contamination of the transplanted cells by separating these personnel from direct contact with each other. As described above, if the outside of the microtube is contaminated during transportation or centrifugation, the handling of cells required to maintain high cleanliness becomes complicated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cell transport container that can be transported and centrifuged while maintaining the cleanliness of the microtube, and can be delivered to a highly clean space.

In the present invention, when an opening is formed at the top and the bottom is closed, a tubular container body capable of accommodating a microtube inside and the microtube are accommodated in the container body, the microtube A cell comprising a tube holding portion that holds the microtube at a position partially protruding from the opening, and a lid that is detachably attached to the container body with the microtube housed in the container body. Regarding transport containers.

Further, it is preferable that the tube holding portion is composed of a plurality of container rib portions protruding from the inner peripheral surface of the container body.

Further, the microtube includes a tube main body having an opening formed in the upper portion and a tube rib portion formed on the outer peripheral surface on the opening side, and a tube cap detachable from the tube main body. It is preferable that the tube holding portion slidably holds the tube main body by the plurality of container rib portions, and supports the tube rib portion by the end portion of the container rib portion on the opening side.

Further, the microtube includes a tube main body having an opening formed in the upper portion and a tube rib portion formed on the outer peripheral surface on the opening side, and a tube cap detachable from the tube main body. The diameter of the opening in the container body is formed to be smaller than the outer diameter of the tube rib portion, the tube holding portion is formed by the end face on the opening side, and the tube rib portion is formed by the end face on the opening side. It is preferable to support.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cell transport container that can be transported and centrifuged while maintaining the cleanliness of the microtube, and can be delivered to a highly clean space.

It is a perspective view which shows the cell transport container which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an exploded perspective view of the cell transport container. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. It is sectional drawing BB of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the micro tube housed in the cell transport container. It is an exploded perspective view of the microtube shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the use state of the cell transport container, and is the figure which shows the state before accommodating a microtube. It is a perspective view which shows the use state of the cell transport container, and is the figure which shows the state which contained the microtube in the container body. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the use state of the cell transport container, and is the figure which shows the state which attached the lid body to the container body which housed a microtube. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the modification 1 of the cell transport container. It is a perspective view which shows the use state of the cell transport container which concerns on modification 2, and is the figure which shows the state before accommodating a microtube. It is a perspective view which shows the use state of the cell transport container which concerns on modification 2, and is the figure which shows the state which contained the microtube in the container body. FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the cell transport container of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The cell transport container 1 of the present embodiment is used when transporting a microtube 100 capable of containing a small amount (for example, 500 μL to 1500 μL) of liquid containing cells.
First, the configuration of the microtube 100 housed in the cell transport container 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The microtube 100 is used to contain a liquid containing cells used for transplantation in regenerative medicine. More specifically, the microtube 100 is configured to have a maximum capacity of 500 μL to 1500 μL. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the microtube 100 includes a tube body 110 for accommodating a liquid, legs 120, and a tube cap 130.

The tube body 110 is formed in a tubular shape having an opening 111 formed on one end side and a bottom 112 having a closed bottom 112 formed on the other end and having a reduced diameter on the bottom 112 side.
A male screw portion 113 and a tube rib portion 114 are formed on the outer surface of the tube body 110.

The male screw portion 113 is formed on the outer surface of the tube body 110 on the opening 111 side. The tube rib portion 114 is arranged on the bottom 112 side of the male screw portion 113 of the tube main body 110. The tube rib portion 114 is formed so that a part of the outer surface of the tube main body 110 projects over the entire circumference of the tube main body 110.

The legs 120 extend from the outer surface of the tube body 110 to the bottom 112 side in the longitudinal direction of the tube body 110. In the present embodiment, the leg portion 120 is formed so as to extend from the outer peripheral surface of the tube main body 110 toward the bottom portion 112 side in a cylindrical shape. The position of the tip of the leg 120 is located closer to the tip than the bottom 112 of the tube body 110. Further, the tip surface of the leg portion 120 is formed in a plane shape orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the microtube 100. As a result, the microtube 100 is configured to be self-supporting by the legs 120 with the bottom 112 facing downward.

The tube body 110 and the leg 120 are formed by integrally molding a synthetic resin member. The tube body 110 and the leg 120 are preferably made of a transparent material from the viewpoint of making the contained cells visible, and are preferably made of a material having relatively high rigidity. Specific examples of the material constituting the tube body 110 include polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, polymethylpentene, methacryl, ABS resin (acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene copolymer), PET resin (polyethylene terephthalate), and poly. Examples thereof include synthetic resins such as vinyl chloride.
The diameter (inner diameter) of the opening 111 of the tube body 110 is preferably 6 mm to 10 mm, and the height of the tube body 110 is preferably 30 mm to 70 mm.

The tube cap 130 is attached to the tube body 110 and seals the opening 111. In the present embodiment, the tube cap 130 is configured separately from the tube body 110. The tube cap 130 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a female threaded portion (not shown) formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof and screwable into the male threaded portion 113 of the tube body 110 and having one end closed.
The tube cap 130 can be made of the same material as the tube body 110.

Next, the cell transport container 1 containing the above microtube 100 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cell transport container 1 serves as a container body 10, a tube holding portion 20 arranged inside the container body 10, and a lid detachably attached to the container body 10. A container cap 30 is provided.

The container body 10 is formed in a vertically long substantially cylindrical shape in which an opening 11 is formed at the upper portion and a bottom portion 12 is closed. The container body 10 includes a cylindrical portion 13 and a reduced diameter portion 14.
The cylindrical portion 13 is arranged on the side where the opening 11 of the container body 10 is formed. A male screw portion 131 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 13 near the end on the opening 11 side.
The reduced diameter portion 14 is arranged at the end portion of the cylindrical portion 13 on the bottom 12 side. The diameter-reduced portion 14 is formed in a conical shape whose diameter is reduced from the base end side (opening 11 side) toward the tip end side (bottom 12 side).

The container body 10 described above is made of a transparent synthetic resin or glass. The container body 10 is preferably made of polypropylene, PET resin, polystyrene or the like from the viewpoint of ensuring strength in the case of centrifugation as described later.

The container body 10 is formed in the same shape and size as the centrifuge tube that can be used in the centrifuge (for example, the same shape and size as the centrifuge tube (conical tube) having a capacity of 50 mL).

When the microtube 100 is housed in the container body 10, the tube holding part 20 holds the microtube 100 at a position where a part of the housed microtube 100 protrudes from the opening 11. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tube holding portion 20 is composed of a plurality of (four) container rib portions 21 projecting from the inner peripheral surface of the container body 10.

More specifically, inside the container body 10, the portion corresponding to the cylindrical portion 13 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the portion corresponding to the reduced diameter portion 14 is formed in a conical shape. The four container rib portions 21 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the four container rib portions 21 extend along the longitudinal direction LD of the container body 10. The end (upper end) of the container rib portion 21 on the opening 11 side is located on the bottom 12 side (lower side) of the opening 11.

In the present embodiment, the protruding height P1 of the container rib portion 21 from the inner surface of the container body 10 is set equally from the opening 11 side to the bottom 12 side of the container rib portion 21 (see FIG. 4). Further, the distance D1 between the two container rib portions 21 arranged to face each other is set to be substantially equal to the outer diameter of the tube body 110 of the microtube 100.
The container rib portion 21 described above is integrally formed with the container body 10 by integral molding.

The container cap 30 is detachably attached to the container body 10 with the microtube 100 housed in the container body 10. The container cap 30 includes a tubular fitting portion 31 that is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the container body 10, and an end surface portion 32 that closes one end side of the fitting portion 31. On the inner surface of the fitted portion 31, a female screw portion 311 having a shape corresponding to the male screw portion 131 formed on the container body 10 (cylindrical portion 13) is formed.
The container cap 30 can be made of the same material as the container body 10.

Next, the method of using the above cell transport container 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10.
When the microtube 100 is housed in the cell transport container 1, first, as shown in FIG. 7, the microtube 100 is housed inside the container body 10 with the container cap 30 removed from the container body 10.

Here, in the present embodiment, the protruding height P1 of the container rib portion 21 from the inner surface of the container body 10 is set equally in the cylindrical portion 13 from the opening 11 side to the bottom 12 side of the container rib portion 21. Further, the distance D1 between the two container rib portions 21 arranged to face each other is set to be substantially equal to the outer diameters of the tube main body 110 and the leg portions 120 of the microtube 100.
As a result, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the outer circumference of the tube body 110 of the microtube 100 housed inside the container body 10 is slidably held by the protruding ends of the four container rib portions 21. Ru. Further, the tube rib portion 114 of the tube main body 110 is supported by the end portion (upper end portion) of the four container rib portions 21 on the opening 11 side. As a result, the microtube 100 is held in the container body 10 at a position where the tube cap 130 portion protrudes from the opening 11.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the container cap 30 is screwed and attached to the container body 10 in which the microtube 100 is housed. As a result, the microtube 100 is housed inside the cell transport container 1.

According to the cell transport container 1 of the present embodiment described above, the following effects are obtained.

(1) When the cell transport container 1 is housed in a tubular container body 10 and the microtube 100 in the container body 10, the microtube 100 is placed at a position where a part of the microtube protrudes from the opening 11. It is configured to include a tube holding portion 20 for holding and a container cap 30 that is detachably attached to the container body 10 with the microtube 100 housed in the container body 10. As a result, when the microtube 100 containing the cells is transported, it can be transported in a state of being contained in the cell transport container 1. Further, when the microtube 100 housed in the cell transport container 1 is handed over to a clean space, a part of the microtube 100 (tube cap 130) kept in a clean state is opened by removing the container cap 30. It is projected from 11. As a result, the microtube 100 maintained in a clean state can be easily delivered to the person in charge of handling the cells in the clean space.

(2) The container body 10 was configured to have the same shape and size as the centrifuge tube that can be used for the centrifuge. As a result, the cell transport container 1 in which the microtube 100 is housed can be placed in the centrifuge, so that the microtube 100 can be delivered to the clean space after the centrifugation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the outside of the microtube from being contaminated by the centrifuge, which may have low cleanliness.

(3) The tube holding portion 20 is composed of a plurality of container rib portions 21 projecting from the inner peripheral surface of the container body 10. As a result, the tube holding portion 20 can be realized with a simple configuration, so that the manufacturing cost of the cell transport container 1 can be suppressed.

(4) The microtube 100 has a tube body 110 having an opening 111 formed at the upper portion and a tube rib portion 114 formed on the outer peripheral surface on the opening 111 side, and a tube cap 130 detachable from the tube body 110. , And the tube rib portion 114 was supported by the container rib portion 21. Thereby, by setting the position of the upper end portion of the container rib portion 21, the positioning of the microtube 100 in the longitudinal direction (height direction) can be easily performed.

Although a preferred embodiment of the cell transport container 1 of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be appropriately modified as long as it does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, the tube holding portion 20 is composed of a plurality of container rib portions 21, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the tube holding portion 20A may be formed by forming the internal shape of the container body 10A into a shape corresponding to the shapes of the tube body 110 and the legs 120 of the microtube 100. ..

Further, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the diameter of the opening 11 of the container body 10B is formed to be smaller than the outer diameter of the tube rib portion 114, and the tube holding portion 20B is composed of the end surface on the opening 11 side. You may. As a result, the tube rib portion 114 can be supported by the end surface on the opening 11 side as the tube holding portion 20B.

Further, the tube holding portion may be formed so that the protruding height of the container rib portion is gradually increased from the opening side toward the bottom side.

Further, in the present embodiment, the microtube 100 is configured to include the tube body 110 in which the tube rib portion 114 is formed, and the tube rib portion 114 is supported by the container rib portion 21, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, the microtube may be held by forming the microtube without including the tube rib portion and supporting the lower end portion of the tube cap by the container rib portion.

Further, in the present embodiment, the tube holding portion 20 is composed of four container rib portions 21, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the tube holding portion may be composed of three or less container rib portions, or may be composed of five or more container rib portions.

1 Cell transport container 10 Container body 11 Opening 12 Bottom 20 Tube holding 21 Container rib 30 Container cap (lid)
100 Micro tube 110 Tube body 114 Tube rib part 130 Tube cap

Claims (3)

A tubular container body with an opening formed at the top and a closed bottom that can accommodate microtubes inside,
When the microtube is housed in the container body, a tube holding portion that holds the microtube at a position where a part of the microtube protrudes from the opening.
A lid body that can be detachably attached to the container body so as to open and close the opening while the microtube is housed in the container body is provided.
The tube holding portion is a cell transport container composed of a plurality of container rib portions protruding from the inner peripheral surface of the container body. The microtube
A tube body having an opening formed in the upper portion and a tube rib portion formed on the outer peripheral surface on the opening side, and a tube cap detachable from the tube body are provided.
The tube holding portion, a plurality of the container rib portion by the tube Body with slidably held claim to support the tube rib portion by the end of the opening side of the container rib 1 The cell transport container according to. A tubular container body with an opening formed at the top and a closed bottom that can accommodate microtubes inside,
When the microtube is housed in the container body, a tube holding portion that holds the microtube at a position where a part of the microtube protrudes from the opening.
A lid body that can be detachably attached to the container body so as to open and close the opening while the microtube is housed in the container body is provided.
The microtube
A tube body having an opening formed in the upper portion and a tube rib portion formed on the outer peripheral surface on the opening side, and a tube cap detachable from the tube body are provided.
The diameter of the opening in the container body is formed to be smaller than the outer diameter of the tube rib portion.
The tube holding portion is constituted by an end face of the opening side, the opening side end surface by the tube rib support to that cells carrying vessel of.

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