JPH0715440Y2 - Reaction vessel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of use] The present invention relates to a reaction vessel, and more particularly to a reaction vessel for solving the formation of deposits on the inner wall of the vessel.

[Prior Art] Animal / plant cells or microorganisms as specimens for various studies are generally cultivated in an incubator equipped with an air nozzle or an agitator for introducing air as nutrients. On the inner wall of the container near the liquid level of the culture solution held in the container of such an incubator,
Solids composed of animal / plant cells or microorganisms adhere, and the adhered layer grows with time. The animal / plant cells or microorganisms in the adhesion layer are killed because the culture conditions are not satisfied. The generation of such dead cells has a direct cause of reducing the number of animal / plant cells or microorganisms in the culture solution, and also has an adverse effect on the growth of the animal / plant cells or microorganisms in the culture solution. There is also a risk of killing animal / plant cells or microorganisms in the liquid. In addition, once attached, the amount of attached cells, including those in which cells grow at that portion, increases rapidly, and when they are violent, large cell clusters are formed from the culture surface to the upper portion. Therefore, it is necessary to remove this as soon as possible, that is, to return it to the microbial culture solution.

Further, not limited to the incubator, in a reaction container for holding various dispersions or solutions, the dispersoid or solute adheres to the vicinity of the liquid level on the inner wall of the container, which causes the change in liquid concentration or liquid composition, etc. Since there is a problem due to deposits, it may be necessary to quickly return this to the liquid.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventionally, regarding removal of the adhesion layer on the inner wall of the container of the incubator,
No particular measures were taken, and when the operator visually confirmed the adhesion layer, a treatment such as scraping or shaking off the entire tank was performed using a magnet or the like. The same applies to other reaction vessels. However, such an artificial treatment is inefficient in working efficiency, requires labor and cannot always remove the adhering layer quickly, and it cannot be said that a solution to the problem due to the adhering layer is sufficient. .

It is possible to prevent the formation of an adherent layer by constantly bubbling the liquid in the incubator, but in this case, the culture liquid foams and good culture cannot be performed. Moreover, the power cost for bubbling is high, which is not preferable.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a reaction container capable of automatically and efficiently removing the adhesion layer.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A reaction container of the present invention is a transparent container for holding a liquid, a glass nozzle having a gas discharge port below the liquid level in the container, and a gas supply to the gas nozzle. Gas supply means for
A sensor for detecting deposits near the liquid level on the inner wall of the container, which is an optical sensor arranged outside the container, and operates the gas supply means based on a signal from the sensor. And a controller for controlling the control.

[Operation] In the reaction container of the present invention, when a deposit is formed near the liquid level on the inner wall of the container holding the liquid, the sensor detects it. Then, the gas supply means is operated based on the detection signal of the sensor. The gas from the gas supply means is discharged from the gas discharge port provided below the liquid level in the container of the nozzle, and the discharged gas causes the liquid to bubble.
As a result, the deposits on the inner wall of the container are efficiently washed off and removed.

Since the bubbling is performed only when necessary, the power cost required for the bubbling is low.

Therefore, according to the reaction container of the present invention, it is possible to remove the deposits on the inner wall of the container automatically, efficiently, reliably and at low cost, without requiring any manpower.

Moreover, since the sensor used to detect the adhered matter is an optical sensor located outside the container, the sensor is not contaminated with the liquid when bubbling the liquid, and the sensor itself is not contaminated with the adhered matter. Since there is no possibility of detection, it is possible to reliably detect the attached matter. Also, there is no problem of sensor failure.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views showing an incubator according to an embodiment of the reaction container of the present invention, in which members having the same function are designated by the same reference numerals.

The incubator 1A shown in FIG. 1 has a transparent container for holding the culture solution 2, a nozzle 4 having an air discharge port 4a below the liquid level 2A in the container 3, and an air supply to the nozzle 4. Air supply pipe 5 and air compressor 6, a sensor 7A for detecting deposits on the inner wall of the container 3 near the liquid level 2A, and a controller for operating the air compressor 6 based on the signal from the sensor 7A. 8 and. The sensor 7A is an optical sensor that measures the reflectance, the refractive index, and the like of the emitted light and detects adhering substances based on changes in the reflectance, and is provided outside the container 3 near the liquid level 2A. In the figure, 9 is a stirrer, 10 is a culture air introduction tube, and 11 is a lid of the container 3.

In the incubator 1A of the present embodiment, when an adhering matter adheres to the inner wall of the container 3, the sensor 7A detects the adhering matter and sends an adhering matter detection signal to the controller 8. The controller 8 operates the air compressor 6 based on the input adhering matter detection signal to supply air through the air supply pipe 5 and the nozzle 4. Nozzle 4
The air discharged from the discharge port 4a of bubbling causes the culture solution 2 to bubble. As a result, the deposits are peeled off as if they were washed off.

In this embodiment, the nozzle 4 is an annular nozzle body.
3 to 6 nozzle tip portions 4B are erected from 4A, and these nozzle tip portions 4B are arranged in the circumferential direction so that the adhered matter on the inner wall of the container 3 can be evenly peeled off. It is provided in equal positions.

The incubator 1B shown in FIG. 2 differs from that shown in FIG. 1 in that the air nozzle 14 is provided by inserting it from the lower side surface of the container 3. That is, in the incubator 1B shown in FIG. 2, a nozzle insertion port 3B with a lid 3A is provided on the lower side surface portion of the container 3, and air from the air compressor 6 is supplied to this insertion port 3B by an air supply pipe.
An air nozzle 14 supplied via 15 is inserted.

Also in this incubator 1B, when the sensor 7A detects an adhering substance, the signal is sent to the controller 8, and the controller 8 operates the air compressor 6 to bubble the culture solution 2 based on the input signal. The attached matter is peeled off by.

Note that, also in this embodiment, the air nozzle 14 is capable of uniformly removing the deposits on the inner wall of the container 3,
It is preferable to provide 3 to 6 at even positions.

By the way, when a plant cell culture experiment was carried out using the incubator of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the conventional case, the adherent layer was formed in about 1 to 7 days. Then, bubbling was automatically performed every 0.5 to 24 hours by the detection of the sensor, and the formation and growth of the adhesion layer did not occur at all. For example, plant cells are placed in a 10-liter incubator and the fresh weight is 500
When ~ 1000g was retained, cell adhesion occurred in one day, but according to the present invention, bubbling was performed at intervals of 2-3 hours,
No adhesion occurred.

In the present invention, when the periodicity is detected in the detection of the adhered substances by the sensor, the sensor can be used and the compressor can be operated at regular intervals. It is also possible to operate the compressor at regular time intervals and also to operate the compressor when an adhering substance is detected by the sensor.

In the above description, an example in which the reaction container of the present invention is applied to a plant cell incubator has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to an incubator and can be applied to any other reaction container. Further, the gas to be supplied is not limited to air, and other gases such as nitrogen can be used as long as the reaction container is preferably a non-oxidizing gas.

Furthermore, in the incubator to which the reaction container of the present invention is applied, not only plant cells and animal cells but also all kinds of microorganisms can be cultivated. , Callus cells, E. coli,
It is effective for culturing cells such as yeast.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the reaction container of the present invention, the deposits on the inner wall of the container can be removed automatically, efficiently, reliably, and at low cost without requiring manpower. Is possible. Therefore, by using the reaction container of the present invention, for example, in animal / plant cell or microbial culture,
The production of dead cells can be prevented, high-efficiency culture can be performed, and highly accurate concentration or composition control can be performed as a container for holding a dispersion liquid or a solution.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 are sectional views showing an embodiment of the reaction container of the present invention. 1A, 1B ... Microorganism incubator, 1 ... Microorganism culture solution, 3 ... Container,
4 ... Nozzle, 6 air compressor, 7A ... Sensor, 8 ... Controller.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A transparent container for holding a liquid, a gas nozzle having a gas discharge port below the liquid level in the container, gas supply means for supplying gas to the gas nozzle, and an inner wall of the container. A sensor for detecting deposits in the vicinity of the liquid level, an optical sensor arranged outside the container, and a controller for operating the gas supply means based on a signal from the sensor. A reaction container having.