KR101104337B1 - Culture apparatus having flexible sealing assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a culture apparatus, comprising: a chamber body configured to form a living tissue accommodation space therein in constituting a culture apparatus for culturing living tissue; A first support member installed in the chamber body and supporting one end of the biological tissue accommodated in the accommodation space; A second support member connected to the other end of the living tissue accommodated in the accommodation space, the second support member being installed on the first support member to move up and down; An elevating actuator configured to elevate the second supporting member; And while the second support member is raised and lowered, is installed between the chamber body and the second support member to prevent external leakage of the culture fluid surrounding the living tissue, a portion of which is raised with the second support member The drop is characterized in that it comprises a flexible film of elastic material; it is possible to actively promote the cultivation and at the same time to seal the inside of the incubation chamber to prevent contamination by bacteria or contaminants, replacement, management of parts And it is easy to wash, structurally robust to increase the durability, and when the biological tissue such as the conduit living tissue has the effect of easily adjusting the height of the support member according to the length of the growth.

Description

Culture apparatus having flexible sealing assembly

The present invention relates to a culture apparatus, and more particularly, to seal the inside of a culture chamber and at the same time extend a living tissue in a longitudinal direction using a linear motor to actively promote the culture of a catheter, such as a blood vessel or a urethra, and a living body. The present invention relates to a culture apparatus.

In general, regenerative medicine has attracted much attention as a medical field of the future such as cultivating and growing various animals and plants such as cell sources, stem cells, and human biological tissues, thereby increasing the success rate of various transplant surgery and allowing long-term storage of organs. It is a field.

In addition, such regenerative medicine is not only an alternative to proper treatment for intractable diseases, but is also a field with high potential for future development, such as being used in the therapeutic field in connection with biotechnology using stem cells and the like.

On the other hand, in the field of regenerative medicine, a culture medium having a component similar to blood for supplying nutrients into living tissue so as to grow living tissue is widely used.

In general, a culture apparatus for precipitating biological tissues such as cell sources, various cell tissues, conduit living tissues, etc. in a culture chamber in which a culture medium is accommodated so as to grow biological tissues and circulating the culture solution has been widely used.

However, such a conventional culture apparatus has a problem that the growth rate of the living tissue is very low because the living tissue is left without physically stretching or contracting the living tissue, and the growable size is also limited.

In order to solve such a conventional problem, attempts have been made to stretch biological tissues such as conduit-like biological tissues in the longitudinal direction. When the forced stretching device was installed, the leakage of the living tissue and the culture liquid surrounding the source was prevented, and the culture liquid could not be sealed, and contamination by external germs and contaminants could not be prevented.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems, by using a linear motor to extend the conduit living tissue such as blood vessels or urethra in the longitudinal direction to actively promote the culture and at the same time using a soft membrane inside the culture chamber To provide a culture apparatus that can be sealed to the source.

In addition, another object of the present invention, the chamber body and the soft membrane and the support member can be attached and detached to facilitate the exchange, management and cleaning of the parts, structurally robust to increase the durability, conduits such as blood vessels or urethra It is to provide a culture apparatus that can easily adjust the height of the support member according to the length of the living body tissue is grown.

The culturing apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a chamber body in which a living tissue accommodating space is formed in the culturing apparatus for culturing living tissue; A first support member installed in the chamber body and supporting one end of the biological tissue accommodated in the accommodation space; A second support member connected to the other end of the living tissue accommodated in the accommodation space, the second support member being installed on the first support member to move up and down; An elevating actuator configured to elevate the second supporting member; And while the second support member is raised and lowered, is installed between the chamber body and the second support member to prevent external leakage of the culture fluid surrounding the living tissue, a portion of which is raised with the second support member The drop is characterized in that it comprises a; flexible film of elastic material.

Further, according to the present invention, the living tissue is a conduit living tissue, the first support member is in communication with one end of the conduit living tissue, the first internal passage so that the culture fluid is circulated into the conduit living tissue Is formed and is a first pipe connected to the culture medium supply line, wherein the second support member is in communication with the other end of the conduit biologic tissue, and a second internal passage is formed such that the culture medium is circulated into the conduit biomedical tissue. It is possible that the second pipe is connected to the culture medium supply line.

In addition, according to the present invention, the soft film, it can be made by selecting any one of silicon, rubber, synthetic resin and combinations thereof.

In addition, according to the present invention, the second support member may be formed with a screw portion for guiding the nut member and a flange portion corresponding to the nut member so that the nut member can be detachably fixed by biting the soft membrane on one side. Do.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is preferable that the elevating actuator is a linear motor.

According to the present invention, the culture apparatus of the present invention further comprises a sealing assembly installed between the soft membrane and the chamber body to detachably fix the soft membrane to the chamber body. A spacer installed between the chamber body and the soft membrane to form a free space therein to allow the second support member to move up and down; Fixing block for fixing the soft film to the spacer using a fixture; And a second soft film installed between the chamber body and the spacer.

The culture apparatus of the present invention further includes a second sealing assembly installed between the soft membrane and the second support member to detachably fix the soft membrane to the second support member. The sealing assembly is formed to surround a part of the second support member, and a screw portion for guiding the nut member and a flange corresponding to the nut member so that the nut member can be detachably fixed by biting the soft membrane on one side. Intermediate block is formed; At least one sealing member installed inside the intermediate block; A pressing member for urging the sealing member such that the sealing member is expanded in the direction of the second supporting member; And a knob member configured to press the pressing member while advancing the screw along the threaded portion formed in the intermediate block, and to have a groove formed on the outer side so as to be easily gripped by the user.

As described above, according to the culture apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to actively promote the culture and to seal the inside of the culture chamber at the source to prevent contamination by bacteria or contaminants, and to easily exchange, manage and clean the parts. It is possible to increase the durability by structurally robust, and when the vessels or urethral biological tissues such as the urethra grow, it has the effect of easily adjusting the height of the support member according to the length of the growth.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing a culture apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a partially raised state of the soft membrane of FIG. 1.
3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a partially lowered state of the soft membrane of FIG. 1.
4 is a perspective view showing a sealing assembly of the culture apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a partially cutaway perspective view of FIG. 4.
6 is a perspective view illustrating an example of FIG. 1.
7 is a cross-sectional view showing a second sealing assembly according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a culture apparatus according to various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Embodiments of the invention are not limited to those shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various modifications can be made within the scope of the same invention.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a culture apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a partially raised state of the soft membrane of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view illustrating a partially lowered state of the soft membrane of FIG. 1. It is a cross section.

First, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the culture apparatus 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, for actively cultivating the conduit living tissue 1, such as blood vessels and urethra, chamber, A configuration that may include the body 10, the first support member 11, the second support member 12, the elevating actuator 13, the soft membrane 20 and the sealing assembly 40 to be.

Here, as shown in Figures 1 and 6, the chamber body 10, the living tissue receiving space is formed therein, the living tissue receiving space is made in a bent form so that the flow is smooth as a whole It can be.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the first support member 11 is installed in the chamber body 10 and supports one end portion of the conduit living tissue 1 accommodated in the accommodation space. One end of the catheter living tissue 1 can be fixed with a string or other fixture.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the second support member 12 is connected to the other end portion of the conduit biological tissue 2 accommodated in the accommodation space, and has one end of the conduit biological tissue 1. The part can be fixed with a string or other fastener, and is installed to be able to move up and down based on the first support member 11.

In addition, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the elevating actuator 13 is to elevate the second support member 12, the linear motor (LM) is easy to displace and adjust the speed is applied. It is desirable to.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the soft membrane 20, while the second support member 12 is raised and lowered, the culture medium (2) surrounding the conduit living body tissue (1) It is installed between the chamber body 10 and the second support member 12 so as to prevent the external leakage of the part, is made of an elastic material so that a portion thereof can be raised and lowered together with the second support member 12.

Here, the soft membrane 20 serves as a kind of sealing so that the culture solution 2 does not leak between the chamber body 10 and the second support member 12.

It is preferable that any one of silicone, rubber, synthetic resin and combinations thereof is selected.

On the other hand, when the living tissue is a conduit-like living tissue (1), the first support member 11 is in communication with one end of the conduit-like living tissue (1), the culture medium (2) is a conduit living tissue (1) A first pipe connected to the culture medium supply line 30 may be applied so that the first internal passage 11a is formed to circulate therein.

In addition, the second support member 12 is in communication with the other end of the conduit biological tissue 1, and the second internal passage 12a so that the culture solution 2 is circulated into the conduit biological tissue 1. ) Is formed so that the second pipe connected to the culture solution supply line 30 can be applied.

The culture medium 2 may be circulated into the conduit living tissue 1 along the culture medium supply line 30, and in addition, the conduit along the second culture medium supply line formed on the side of the chamber body 10. The culture solution 2 can be circulated to the outside of the flow tissue 1. The illustrated circulation direction of the culture solution 2 is exemplary and may have a reverse direction.

2 and 3, the second support member 12 has a nut member 21 on one side to enable a firm sealing between the soft membrane 20 and the second support member 12. ) May be formed with a screw portion 12b for guiding the nut member 21 and a flange portion 12c corresponding to the nut member 21 so that the soft membrane 20 can be fixedly detached. will be.

Therefore, the worker can disassemble the soft membrane 20 and the second support member 12 by releasing the nut member 21 to facilitate parts replacement, management, and cleaning.

4 is a perspective view showing a sealing assembly of a culture apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is a partially cut perspective view of FIG.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the sealing assembly 40 is installed between the soft membrane 20 and the chamber body 10 to allow the soft membrane 20 to form the chamber body 10. Removably fixed to the, it can be configured to include a spacer 41, the fixing block 43 and the second soft film (44).

Here, the spacer 41 is installed between the chamber body 10 and the soft membrane 20, and forms a free space to allow the second support member 12 to move up and down therein. .

In addition, the fixing block 43 is a block for fixing the soft film 20 to the spacer 41 using the fixing tool 42.

In addition, the second soft membrane 44 is installed between the chamber body 10 and the spacer 41, and is a kind of medium so that the culture solution 2 does not leak between the chamber body 10 and the spacer 41. It is a sealing role.

Therefore, the worker disassembles the fixing block 43, the soft membrane 20, the spacer 41, and the second soft membrane 44 by disassembling the fastener 42 to perform parts replacement, management, and cleaning. It can be done easily.

Therefore, referring to the operation of the culture apparatus according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, first, as shown in Figure 2, when the second support member 12 is raised by the linear motor (LM) One end of the soft membrane 20 is fixed by the sealing assembly 40, but the other end of the soft membrane 20 is stretched and flexed upward with the second support member 12. You can do it.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, when the second support member 12 is lowered by the linear motor LM, one end of the soft membrane 20 is fixed by the sealing assembly 40. In addition, the other end of the flexible membrane 20 may expand and contract with the second support member 12 to be lowered in a downward direction.

Therefore, the soft membrane 20 is flexible, and the sealing assembly 40 is structurally strong, for example, about 1.5 million times or more for about 2 weeks, similar to the heartbeat of the human body, which is about 70 times per minute. The second support member 12 prevents external exposure of the culture solution 2 and infiltration of external bacteria or contaminants even in a culture environment of the conduit living tissue in which the second support member 12 repeatedly moves up and down, thereby preventing biological tissue contamination accidents in advance. There is an advantage that can promote the culture of the tissue efficiently.

On the other hand, the culture apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 7, is installed between the soft membrane 20 and the second support member 12 to the soft membrane 20 to the second It further comprises a second sealing assembly (50) detachably fixed to the support member (12).

In this case, the second sealing assembly 50 may include an intermediate block 54, a sealing member 55, a pressing member 56, and a knob member 57.

The intermediate block 54 is formed so as to surround a part of the second support member 12, so that the nut member 51 on one side so as to be detachably fixed to the soft membrane 20. It is a kind of fastener in which a screw portion 52 for guiding the nut member 51 and a flange portion 53 corresponding to the nut member 51 are formed.

In addition, the sealing member 55 is at least one (two in FIG. 7) is installed in the intermediate block 54, O-ring that can be pressed by the pressing member 56 is Can be applied.

In addition, the pressing member 56 presses the sealing member 55 such that the sealing member 55 expands in the direction of the second support member 12, and the sealing member pressed by the pressing member 56. The member 55 is configured to be in close contact with the second support member 12 while being pressed in the direction of the second support member 12 to enable sealing.

In addition, the knob member 57 presses the pressing member 56 while advancing the screw along the threaded portion 58 formed in the intermediate block 54, and the row groove 59 on the outside so that the user can easily grip by hand. ) Is formed.

Therefore, the operator can disassemble the soft membrane 20 and the second support member 12 by releasing the nut member 51 to facilitate parts replacement, management, and cleaning, as well as the operator. After loosening the 57 to free the sealing member 55 from the pressing member 56, releasing or slightly loosening the sealing state between the second supporting member 12 and the intermediate block 54, and then conduit flow. When a biological tissue such as the biological tissue 1 is grown, the height of the second support member 12 is adjusted according to the grown length, and the knob member 57 is tightened again to return to a firm sealing state, and then the culture medium ( It is possible to continue the culture promotion work without leakage of 2).

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 7, the spacer 41 and the second soft layer 44 of FIGS. 2 and 3 are removed and the chamber body 10 is attached to the chamber body 10 using the fixing block 43. It is also possible to connect the soft membrane 20 directly.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and of course, modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Therefore, the scope of the claims in the present invention will not be defined within the scope of the detailed description, but will be defined by the following claims and their technical spirit.

100: culture device 1: conduit living tissue
2: culture solution 10: chamber body
11: first supporting member 11a: first internal passage
12: second support member 12a: second internal passage
12b: thread portion 12c: flange portion
13: lifting actuator LM: linear motor
20: soft film 21: nut member
30: culture medium supply line 40: sealing assembly
41: spacer 42: fixture
43: fixed block 44: second soft film
50: second sealing assembly 51: nut member
52: screw portion 53: flange portion
54: intermediate block 55: sealing member
56: pressure member 57: knob member
58: thread 59: row groove

Claims (8)

In constructing a culture apparatus for culturing living tissue,
A chamber body in which a living tissue accommodation space is formed;
A first support member installed in the chamber body and supporting one end of the biological tissue accommodated in the accommodation space;
A second support member connected to the other end of the living tissue accommodated in the accommodation space, the second support member being installed on the first support member to move up and down;
An elevating actuator configured to elevate the second supporting member; And
While the second support member is raised and lowered, it is installed between the chamber body and the second support member to prevent external leakage of the culture liquid surrounding the living tissue, and a portion thereof is raised and lowered together with the second support member. Is a flexible film of elastic material;
Cultivation apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The living tissue is a conduit living tissue,
The first support member is a first pipe which is in communication with one end of the conduit flow tissue, a first internal passage is formed so that the culture fluid is circulated into the conduit flow tissue and connected to the culture solution supply line,
The second support member is a second pipe which is in communication with the other end of the conduit biological tissue, and a second internal passage is formed so that the culture fluid is circulated into the conduit biological tissue and is connected to the culture medium supply line. Cultivation apparatus. The method of claim 1,
The soft membrane is a culture apparatus, characterized in that any one selected from silicone, rubber, synthetic resin and combinations thereof. The method of claim 1,
The second support member, the culture device, characterized in that the screw member for guiding the nut member and a flange portion corresponding to the nut member is formed on one side so that the nut member can be detachably fixed to the soft membrane. The method of claim 1,
The elevating actuator is a culture apparatus, characterized in that the linear motor. The method of claim 1,
And a sealing assembly installed between the soft membrane and the chamber body to detachably fix the soft membrane to the chamber body.
The sealing assembly,
A spacer disposed between the chamber body and the soft membrane and forming a free space therein to allow the second support member to move up and down;
Fixing block for fixing the soft film to the spacer using a fixture; And
A second soft membrane disposed between the chamber body and the spacer;
Cultivation apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1,
And a second sealing assembly installed between the soft membrane and the second support member to detachably fix the soft membrane to the second support member.
The second sealing assembly,
Is formed in a shape surrounding the portion of the second support member, the intermediate portion formed with a screw portion for guiding the nut member and a flange portion corresponding to the nut member so that the nut member can be detachably fixed by biting the soft film on one side block;
At least one sealing member installed inside the intermediate block;
A pressing member for urging the sealing member such that the sealing member is expanded in the direction of the second supporting member; And
A knob member which presses the pressing member while advancing the screw along the threaded portion formed in the intermediate block, and a string groove is formed at an outer side so as to be easily gripped by a user;
Cultivation apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The living tissue receiving space of the chamber body is characterized in that the culture apparatus is characterized in that the overall curved to ensure a smooth flow of the culture.

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