JPH0118561Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an apparatus for freezing blood, cells, etc.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a freezing method of this type, it is known that blood, cells, etc. to be frozen are placed in a buffer solution already contained in a storage tube, and the buffer solution is frozen.

By the way, the temperature change over time when a pure substance is cooled under a constant pressure is generally known as a cooling curve, and according to this, solidification does not necessarily begin immediately when the substance reaches its freezing point; Generally, after being supercooled to a temperature lower than the freezing point, the solidification occurs, and at the same time the temperature rises to reach the true freezing point, and then the temperature decreases again after all the substances have solidified. I'm going to go there.

Therefore, when using the above-mentioned conventional freezing method, which involves simply cooling, the buffer solution becomes supercooled during the freezing process, which then causes a rapid temperature rise, resulting in the thermal shock caused by this sudden temperature change. It has a serious defect in that blood and cells die due to this.

Therefore, a freezing method has been proposed in which a buffer solution that has been cooled to the freezing point temperature is used to cool areas where cells, etc. are not located, and to grow clots from those areas, thereby avoiding thermal shock to cells, etc. However, devices for this purpose are impractical because the outside air affects the temperature of the buffer solution, preventing coagulation, and the operation is complicated, making automatic control difficult.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

In the case of freezing blood and cells, etc., it is possible to process a large number of different types at once, and the handling is simple. Furthermore, the storage tube can be directly immersed in a refrigerant such as LN ₂ to cool it. Furthermore, by eliminating the troublesome operations involved in taking it out, it is easier to handle it, and it is also easier to control the temperature, ensuring that blood and cells do not die due to the sudden temperature rise mentioned above. Its purpose is to provide something that can be avoided.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention has a storage section that stores objects to be frozen, such as blood and cells, in a buffer solution in a storage tube and holds them in an upright state, in a freezing chamber that is partitioned into a heat-insulating casing. The cooling block, on which the storage section is placed and in contact with the bottom of the storage tube, is able to freely adjust the temperature of the block by controlling the liquefied gas refrigerant on and off. A cooling chamber adjacent to the chamber includes a heat exchanger that gasifies the refrigerant by introducing and heating the liquefied gas refrigerant, and a gas refrigerant brought to a desired temperature by the gasification into the cooling chamber. A freezing device for freezing blood, cells, etc., which is provided with a nozzle that spouts air into the freezing chamber, and a fan that blows gas refrigerant supplied into the same chamber into the freezing chamber.

[Effect]

Regarding the buffer solution in the storage tube, the temperature of the lower buffer solution and the upper buffer solution containing the material to be frozen can be controlled by cooling blocks and gas refrigerants, respectively, and this allows crystal nuclei to be formed in the lower buffer solution. After being formed, it can be grown into a buffer solution above it, thus making it possible to freeze blood, cells, etc. to be frozen while avoiding thermal shock, and when the material to be frozen is input. Since the storage tube can be moved in and out of the insulated casing while standing upright in the storage section, it is possible to control the temperature drop without immersing the storage tube in liquid refrigerant, and automation of temperature control is also simple and highly efficient. It can be carried out with precision.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to an illustrated embodiment. A is a device for freezing blood, cells, etc.;
It is composed of a storage support section 1 that supports the frozen object in a predetermined position while it is stored therein, and a temperature drop control section 2 that freezes the frozen object under predetermined conditions. It is composed of a storage section 3 stored in a storage tube in an upright state, and a cooling support section 4 on which the storage section 3 can be freely placed, and the temperature drop control section 2
is composed of a freezing section 5 that freezes the frozen section, and a control section 6 that controls the temperature conditions of the cooling section 5. Furthermore, the freezing section 5 includes a gas phase cooling section 7 and a cooling support section 4. block cooling section 8 for cooling the
It is made up of.

In the storage section 3, a plurality of storage tubes 31 each having a cylindrical shape with a bottom are inserted into an upright support 34. A buffer solution 32 in which sodium chloride is dissolved in distilled water is contained, and in the buffer solution 32, blood such as T cells, B cells, lymphocytes, cells such as vaccines, cancer cells, and other objects to be frozen 33 are stored. Insert.

At this time, in order to avoid thermal shock, the object to be frozen 33 is suspended in the middle lower part of the buffer solution 32, and is accommodated in the bottom hole 36 opened in the mounting substrate 35 of the upright support 34. The tube 31 is supported, and at this time, the bottom surface of the tube 31 is dimensioned to protrude slightly downward.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the cooling support part 4 is located at the inner bottom position of the heat insulating casing 43, which has a heat insulating material 42 provided around the outside of the peripheral wall 41.
The cooling base 44 has a cooling base 44 on which a cooling device 4 can be freely placed, and the base 44 is composed of a heat insulating material 45 on the lower surface side and a cooling block 46, and when the standing support base 34 is placed on the cooling block 46, , as described above, the bottom hole 36
The bottom surface of the storage tube 31 protruding from the cooling block 46 comes into contact with the top surface of the cooling block 46, and at this time, the mounting substrate 35 of the upright support 34 is made of a plastic material such as Teflon to avoid freezing with other components. It is preferable to form it by

The cooling block 46 is made of copper or the like, and the block cooling section 8 is attached thereto. In the illustrated example, a meandering cooling path 47 provided in the cooling block 46 is connected to a refrigerant inlet path 81. By connecting the refrigerant outlet path 82 and opening the solenoid valve 83 of the refrigerant inlet path 81, a liquefied gas refrigerant such as LN ₂ flows through the cooling path 47. At this time, the needle valve 84 provided in the refrigerant outlet path 82 is opened. By adjusting the refrigerant, the residence time of the refrigerant in the cooling path 47 can be adjusted, thereby adjusting the temperature of the cooling block 46, and the refrigerant is diverted from the supply pipe 52 of the refrigerant tank 51. It is becoming more and more common.

Furthermore, a heat exchanger 72 is connected to the gas phase cooling section 7 of the freezing section 5 to an inflow pipe 71 branched from the supply pipe 52 of the refrigerant tank 51 installed outside the heat insulating casing 43. At the same time, a gas pipe 73 having a nozzle 74 protrudes from the container 72.

Furthermore, as clearly shown in FIG.
The inside of the partition board 5 is vertically arranged at a predetermined interval.
3 and 54, a freezing chamber 55 in which the cooling block 46 is disposed, a cooling chamber 56 adjacent to this and communicating through the vent 53' of the partition plate 53, and further adjacent to the freezing chamber 55 and It is divided into an equipment room 57 in which a heat exchanger 72 and the like are installed.

Therefore, the liquefied gas supplied from the refrigerant tank 51 by the gas cooling unit 7 is gasified by the heat exchanger 72 and ejected from the nozzle 74 provided at the tip of the gas pipe 73. The diffused gas collides with a diffusion plate 77 provided in an oblique manner and diffuses into the cold air chamber 56, but the diffused gas is diffused into the cold air chamber 56 by a fan 76 driven by a motor 75 provided in the equipment chamber 57. vent 53'
The liquid then enters the freezing chamber 55, which cools the buffer solution 32 in the storage section 3.

Furthermore, the control unit 6 includes a controller 61 equipped with a recorder 61', which is connected to a freezing chamber 55.
Ambient temperature sensor 62 that senses the ambient temperature of
and a block temperature sensor 63 that senses the temperature of the cooling block 46 are connected to each other, and in response to inputs from the temperature sensors 62 and 63, the controller 61 controls the heat sources of the heat exchanger 72 and the solenoid valve 83. Control temperature, opening and closing, freezing chamber 5
5 and cooling block 46 can be adjusted to desired temperatures.

Next, its usage will be explained.

First, the storage tube 31 containing the buffer solution 32 is inserted into the standing support stand 34 taken out to the outside, and the storage tube 31 containing the buffer solution 32 is placed in the buffer solution 32 at a certain point. I'll keep it.

Then, this standing support stand 34 is attached to a heat insulating casing 43.
By placing it inside the cooling block 46,
The bottom surface of the storage tube 31 is brought into contact with the same block 46.

Further, by energizing the electric heater (not shown) of the heat exchanger 72 and energizing the solenoid valve 83 to open it, the refrigerant gas vaporized by the exchanger 72 as described above is ejected from the nozzle 74, and at the same time The liquefied refrigerant is passed through the cooling path 50 of the block 46 as it is, and the cooling block 46 cooled by this cools the lower end of the buffer solution 32 through the storage pipe 31. The upper part of the liquid 32 is cooled by refrigerant gas sent from the cooling chamber 56 to the freezing chamber 55.

At this time, the object to be frozen 33 is frozen in the following manner.

First, by controlling the heat exchanger 72 and solenoid valve 83 by the controller 61, the freezing chamber 5
By adjusting the temperature of the cooling block 6 and the cooling block 46 to the required temperature, as shown in the first time period a of FIG.
The temperature of the buffer solution 32 contained in 1, 31, . . . is lowered until it reaches its freezing point, and the temperature is maintained at that temperature.

At the same time, the temperature of the refrigerant gas sent from the cooling chamber 56 to the freezing chamber 55 is lowered, as shown by the solid line B in the figure.
At the final point in the first time period a of No. 6, the temperature is controlled to be about 5° C. higher than the freezing point.

Next, in the second time period b, the temperature of the cooling block 46 that has been maintained at the freezing point is lowered to about -35°C, but at this time, the temperature of the freezing chamber 55 continues to decrease as described above, and the temperature of the freezing chamber 55 continues to decrease as described above. Same as above block 46
The freezing point is controlled when the temperature reaches -35°C.

Now, if the temperature of the cooling block 46 is controlled to decrease as described above, the temperature of the buffer solution 32 at the lower end of the storage tube 31 placed on the cooling block 46 will also decrease as shown in FIG. In band b, part of the buffer solution 32 in this area is supercooled to form a crystal nucleus, and thereafter the crystal will grow upward.

Next, in the third time period c, the buffer solution 32 in the storage tube 31 is completely frozen, so the freezing chamber 55 and the cooling block 46 are controlled to be maintained at a constant temperature. Furthermore, in the fourth time zone d and the fifth time zone e, only the freezing chamber 55 is controlled to be lowered in temperature to the final freezing temperature as shown in the figure. As shown by the two-dot chain line B' in the figure, the temperature decreases out of phase with the temperature decrease state B of the freezing chamber 55, so the object 33 to be frozen is frozen without causing any supercooling phenomenon. .

[Effect of idea]

By using the cooling block and the gas refrigerant from the cooling chamber, it is possible to control the temperature drop of each of the buffer solutions in the storage tube, so after crystal nuclei are formed in the lower end buffer solution, these are allowed to grow in the upper buffer solution. Since there is no effect of temperature rise due to supercooling during freezing of blood, cells, etc., death of the blood, cells, etc. can be avoided, and thus freezing with a high survival rate can be performed.

In addition, blood and cells can be frozen by controlling the temperature drop with a cooling block at the lower end and a gas refrigerant at the upper end without immersing the storage tube in liquid refrigerant, making handling convenient. By automating temperature control, its accuracy can be easily increased.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figure shows one embodiment of the device according to the present invention.
The figure is a front explanatory view of the entire device, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the same, Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a temperature control progress chart of each part showing the operating status of the device. It is. 3...Storage section, 31...Storage tube, 32...Buffer solution, 33...Frozen object, 43...Insulated casing, 46
... Cooling block, 55 ... Freezing chamber, 56 ... Cooling room, 72 ... Heat exchanger, 74 ... Nozzle, 76
...Juan.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A storage section that stores objects to be frozen such as blood and cells in a buffer solution in a storage tube and holds them in an upright state is arranged so as to be removable within a freezing chamber defined in a heat-insulating casing. The temperature of the cooling block is controlled by turning on and off the liquefied gas refrigerant, and the cooling chamber adjacent to the freezing chamber is equipped with the liquefied gas. a heat exchanger that gasifies the refrigerant by introducing and heating the refrigerant; a nozzle that spouts the gas refrigerant to a desired temperature through the gasification into the cooling chamber; A freezing device for blood, cells, etc., which is provided with a fan that blows a gas refrigerant into the freezing chamber.