KR102236868B1 - Microwell Container for Cell Culture Comprising a Cap, and Cell Culturing Method Using the Said Container - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a cell culture microwell array container having a functional lid and a functional lid thereof. The micro-well array container of the present invention includes a main body capable of accommodating a culture solution, and a lid covering the main body and sealing the inner space portion. In the lid, a guide part is provided to collect the cultivated cell mass in the micro-well in the process of collecting the cultured cells, and a discharge hole for finally discharging the collected cell mass through the guide part is provided in the lid.

Description

[Microwell Container for Cell Culture Comprising a Cap, and Cell Culturing Method Using the Said Container}

The present invention relates to a container in which a microwell array is formed for cell cultivation, and the function of allowing the cell mass in the culture medium to easily flow into the microwell and to easily recover the cultured cell mass from the microwell. It relates to a micro-well container with a lid and a cell culture method using the container.

Microwell Arrays have been developed for culturing large amounts of uniform 3D cells and are widely used in research fields such as cell biology, anticancer drug development, and regenerative therapy. Three-dimensional cell culture using a micro-well array, unlike a method of culturing cells in a medium, has the advantage of simulating a three-dimensional cell environment in a living body, and is therefore widely used for culturing cells in an aggregated mass form.

In the micro-well array, concave wells having a hemispherical or U-shaped cross-sectional shape are arranged at regular intervals, and the microwell array container may have a simple plate shape or a container shape such as a bowl. Referring to FIG. 1, the microwell array container 100 is composed of a bottom plate 110 on which a plurality of micro wells 111 are formed, and a side wall 130 surrounding the bottom plate 110 to contain a cell culture solution. It is in the form of a bowl or plate. The surface of the micro-well 111 is surface-treated to prevent the cells from depositing so that the cells are cultivated in a ball shape inside the micro-well 111.

In order to cultivate cells using micro-wells, (1) the researcher puts the culture medium containing the cells in a container and incubates them for a certain period of time in an environment that meets certain culture conditions. (2) During the culture process, the cells aggregate and form clumps in the micro-well. (3) At the end of the culture, the researcher collects the aggregated cell mass from the container.

There are some inconveniences in using the conventional microwell array container 100. The micro-well 111 has a mainly hemispherical or U-shaped cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 1(b), because the function of accommodating cells is superior to that of other shapes. However, this shape is also a factor that hinders the discharge of air bubbles. In the process of sowing the culture medium into the container, the air filling the micro-well 111 cannot escape and is trapped in the form of bubbles, because the size or shape of the micro-well 111 is suitable for confining the air bubbles. As the air bubbles are not discharged, the three-dimensional culture of the cells in the micro-well 111 itself is not performed. Naturally, cultured cells cannot combine into cell masses. Failure to bind to a cell mass means cells that cannot be recovered from the culture medium, and are eventually lost. In order to solve this problem, users repeat the so-called'Pipetting' several times in which the culture solution is sucked up and discharged again with a dropper or pipette. It is to remove air bubbles trapped in the micro-well 111 by flowing.

On the other hand, there is inconvenience even in the process of recovering the cultured cell mass from the micro-well. The cell mass cultured three-dimensionally in the micro-well 111 is not easily discharged from the micro-well 111. Therefore, in order for the cell mass to escape from the micro-well 111, researchers must shake the culture solution by repeating pipetting. When the cell mass escapes from the micro-well by several times of pipetting and floats in the culture medium, the cell mass can be recovered.
(Patent Document 1) KR10-2015-0035957 A

-Title of the invention: A method of manufacturing a micro hemisphere array plate, a microfluidic device including a micro hemisphere array plate, and a method of culturing a cell aggregate using the same.

An object of the present invention is to provide a micro-well array container having a micro-well structure that is advantageous for three-dimensional cultivation of cells by repelling the air bubbles occupying the micro-wells in the culture medium even without pipetting, and being able to be easily located in the micro-wells. It is in the proposal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a micro-well container additionally provided with a functional lid capable of easily recovering a cell mass cultured in a well array container from the micro-well.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cell culture method using the container.

The microwell array container according to the present invention for achieving the above object forms a space for accommodating a culture solution, and a plurality of micro wells 217 are arranged adjacent to each other at the bottom of the space to form an array. Including the body. Here, the micro-well 217 is provided at a lower portion of the receiving portion 301 for accommodating the culture medium and cells, and is provided on the upper portion of the receiving portion 301 and implemented as an inclined surface toward the inlet 301a of the receiving portion. It includes a funnel portion 303 to form a funnel-shaped space. When bubbles are trapped in the receiving part 301, cells collected around the receiving part inlet 301a press the bubbles in the inclined direction of the inclined surface, thereby receiving the bubbles even without separate pipetting, etc. It can be discharged from the part 301. It is preferable that the inlet edge of the funnel portion does not have a flat surface on the bottom in contact with the inlet edge of the funnel portion of another adjacent microwell.

According to an embodiment, it is preferable to further include a coating surface of a hydrophilic material that is applied to the inner surface of the receiving portion to reduce the frictional force between the bubbles and the receiving portion so that the bubbles trapped in the receiving portion slide out by the cells.

Lid

According to an embodiment, the microwell array container of the present invention may further include a lid that seals the space portion. The lid is formed with a discharge hole for recovering the cells cultured in the culture medium.

According to another embodiment, the lid is provided under the lid and inserted into the space of the main body, and the main body is formed to be inclined from the edge toward the discharge hole in a funnel shape with an edge in contact with the inner surface of the main body. In the recovery process of recovering the cell mass by turning it over, it may further include a guide for guiding the cell mass to the discharge hole. It is preferable that the diameter of the discharge hole is larger than the size of the cell mass, and is formed to have a size capable of at least delaying the discharge of the culture solution during the recovery process by the surface tension formed between the culture solution and the culture solution.

According to another embodiment, the guide part may be provided with a larger diameter than the discharge hole at a portion in contact with the discharge hole to provide a space for collecting the cell mass during the recovery process may be implemented. The vertical space portion may be formed to be concave and may have a shape of a concave groove in which the discharge hole is located.

Meanwhile, the main body is implemented with an elastic material that can be deformed by an external pressure applied to the floor, so that the culture solution can be discharged through the discharge hole under the external pressure during the recovery process.

Multi well plate

According to an embodiment, the container of the present invention may further include a multi-well plate for accommodating the main body in a plurality of grooves having an open top surface. In this case, the lid covers the open groove of the multi-well plate to seal the space.

Microwell Cell culture method using array container

The cultivation method of the present invention comprises the steps of preparing a container, putting a solution of a hydrophilic material in the container, and coating a hydrophilic material on the inner wall of the micro-well 217, and the first seeding of the culture solution by putting the culture solution containing cells in the container. And, by waiting for a predetermined time after the seeding step, the cells collected around the inlet 301a of the receiving part press the bubbles in the inclined direction of the inclined surface to remove the bubbles trapped in the micro-well 217; and And culturing the cells while replenishing or changing the culture medium after removing the air bubbles.

When the micro-well container according to the present invention is used, air bubbles in the micro-well are naturally removed as long as a certain period of time elapses, even if the culture solution is not poured and artificial pipetting is not performed, and the culture solution is located in the micro-well to facilitate 3D culture. In other words, there is no need for artificial pipetting to remove air bubbles trapped in the microwell.

In addition, the micro-well container according to the present invention can be discharged from the micro-well only by flipping the micro-well container in a state of being covered with the lid after cultivation and gently contracting the container by hand.

Therefore, there is no inconvenience that researchers need to repeatedly use a pipette or the like for the purpose of removing air bubbles after pouring the culture solution into a micro-well container or for recovering a cell mass after culture.

1 is a view showing an example of a conventional microwell array container,
2 is a view showing a microwell array container according to an embodiment of the present invention,
3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the microwell array container of the present invention,
4 is a diagram provided for explanation of a method of using a microarray container;
5 is a cross-sectional view of the microwell array container of FIG. 2 in a recovery process;
6 is a view showing a microwell array container according to another embodiment of the present invention,
7 is a cross-sectional view of the microwell array container of FIG. 5 in a recovery process;
8 is a diagram provided for explaining a method of using a microarray container, and
9 is a cross-sectional view of a container according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

2, the microwell array container 200 of the present invention includes a main body 210 and a lid 230, and accommodates a culture medium to be used for cell culture.

The main body 210 forms a space portion 219 with an open upper surface to accommodate the culture solution. The main body 210 exemplarily shown in FIG. 2 is a cylindrical shape implemented with a bottom 211 and a sidewall 213 surrounding the edges of the bottom 211, but is not limited thereto, and if it is in a bowl shape capable of accommodating a culture solution, It can be any shape. For example, instead of a cylinder, the body 210 may be implemented in the form of a square pillar, a pentagonal or a hexagonal pillar. On the other hand, the main body 210 may have a shape that is difficult to distinguish between the floor and the sidewall, or may not be the sidewall 213 perpendicular to the floor 211.

The amount of the culture medium that the main body 210 can accommodate is determined by the size of the space portion 219, and may be implemented in various sizes. However, as described below, since the guide portion 235 of the lid 230 is inserted into the space portion 219, the maximum capacity of the microwell array container 200 is the space after the guide portion 235 is inserted. It can be determined based on the size of the part 219. When the culture solution is put in the main body 210, it is not essential because it is measured with a pipette or the like, but depending on the embodiment, a scale indicating the quantity or maximum amount may be displayed on the inner surface of the space part 219.

On the other hand, as described below, when the culture solution is put in the main body 210 for cell culture according to the present invention, it is divided into two times, the first and the second, and at this time, an instruction indicating the amount of the culture solution to be poured first It is preferable that an additional is provided. In the bottom 211 of the main body 210 of FIG. 2, a jaw 221 is provided around the microwell array 215, and the height of the jaw 221 indicates the amount of the primary culture solution.

The main body 210 may be implemented with a variety of materials, but is preferably implemented with an elastic material. For example, a silicone resin such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has a stable chemical structure, is not corrosive, does not oxidize, and has some elasticity, so it is preferable as a material for the body 210.

As described below, in the present invention, in the process of recovering the cell mass, the microwell array container 200 is turned over and then the culture solution accommodated in the space 219 is discharged through the discharge hole 233 of the lid 230, at this time. It is necessary to apply an external force in such a way that one side of the main body 210 is pressed with a finger or the like to cause the shape of the main body 210 to be deformed. Through this morphological modification, the cell mass can be easily separated from the micro-well 217 and the culture solution can be easily discharged through the discharge hole 233.

A micro well array 215 is formed on the bottom 211 of the body 210. In the micro-well array 215, a plurality of micro-wells 217 are arranged side by side, and cultured cells are aggregated in the micro-well 217 to form a cell mass. Since the micro-well 217 forms a three-dimensional space, cell culture is also carried out three-dimensionally, and is different from cell culture carried out flat in a medium.

The shape of the micro-well 217 may be any known conventionally. However, the embodiment of the present invention provides a shape that facilitates the discharge of air bubbles from the micro-well 217. Referring to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the micro-well 217 of the present invention generally includes an accommodating portion 301 forming a space for accommodating cells and a funnel portion 303 provided above the accommodating portion 301. It is shaped like a funnel. Since the funnel part 303 forms a space like a funnel on the upper part of the receiving part 301, the micro well 217 is shaped like a funnel attached to the upper part of the receiving part 301. The funnel portion inlet 303a is implemented with a larger cross-sectional area than the receiving portion inlet 301a, so that the inner surface of the funnel portion 303 is formed as an inclined surface.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the floor 211 does not have a flat portion. This is because the cells that are seated on a flat surface on the bottom 211 and are not collected in the micro-well 217 eventually cannot be combined into a cell mass, and thus cannot be recovered even if they are cultured. In that respect, it is preferable that there is no flat portion in the partition wall between the micro-wells 217. As in the example of FIG. 3, since the funnel part inlet 303a comes into contact with the funnel part inlet 303a of the surrounding microwell, it is preferable that there is no flat part at the top of the partition wall between the micro wells 217.

On the other hand, if the whole is the same slope without distinction between the receiving part and the funnel part, and the shape of the vertical cross-section of the microwell is an inverted triangle, the bubble itself may not be trapped, but the ability to trap and receive cells is also that much. There is a high possibility that the cultured cells will be lost.

The shape of the funnel inlet 303a or the shape of the horizontal cross section of the receiving portion 301 may be any. For example, the shape of the funnel portion inlet 303a may be hexagonal, and the horizontal cross section of the receiving portion 301 may be circular.

In order to more easily remove air bubbles from the micro-well 217, it is preferable to create a coating surface of a hydrophilic material on the inner surfaces of the accommodating portion 301 and the funnel portion 303 constituting the micro-well 217. The hydrophilic material minimizes the frictional force between the air bubbles and the inner wall of the receiving portion 301 so that the air bubbles are easily discharged. It is sufficient if the coated surface is easy to use once. For example, a hydrophilic coating material such as Pluronic F 127 solution can be used.If the body 210 contains the Pluronic F 127 solution for about a day, the entire inner surface of the micro well 217 is coated. do.

Microwell Cell culture using an array container (Fig. 4)

Hereinafter, a method of sowing a culture medium using the main body 210 and starting the culture will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

<Sowing of culture solution: Fig. 4 (a)>

The researcher pours the first culture solution (cf) into the body 210 not covered with the lid 230 using a dropper or pipette. The primary culture medium (cf) contains some of the cells to be cultured. At this time, when the culture solution cf is poured to fill the jaw 221 of the bottom 211 of the main body 210, it becomes the primary culture solution. As the culture solution (cf) is supplied, air bubbles (v) are generated and trapped in the micro-well 217.

On the other hand, before immersing the primary culture solution in the body 210, it is preferable to put a solution of a hydrophilic material in the body 210 and coat a hydrophilic material on the inner wall of the micro-well 217.

<Removal of air bubbles: (b) of FIG. 4>

After sowing the culture medium (cf) in the main body 210 and leaving the main body 210 still, the cells are collected in the funnel 303 by gravity, and the receiving part 301 has a bubble (v). Because it is located, cells are accumulated along the edge of the bubble (v) while gathering near the inlet (301a) of the receiving part. The cells move downward along the inclined surface of the funnel part 303 by gravity, and slowly press the bubble v in the inclined direction (arrow) of the inclined surface of the funnel part 303. Bubbles (v) escape from the receiving portion 301 by the force of the cells pressing the bubbles (v) in the oblique direction. According to an embodiment, if a hydrophilic material is coated on the inner surface of the receiving part 301, the frictional force between the bubble v and the inner surface of the receiving part 301 is reduced, so that the bubble v can escape more easily. When the air bubbles (v) escape from the receiving portion 301, the culture medium and cells flow into the receiving portion 301.

Since the bubble removal proceeds slowly, the cultivation of the cells can be started by placing the main body 210 in an environmental condition suitable for cell culture even before the bubbles are removed. For example, when the main body 210 is placed in an incubator (not shown) and culture is started, air bubbles are naturally removed by cells in the incubator.

<Cultivation of cell mass: Fig. 4 (c)>

As the cells are cultured, the cells continue to clump together and become a clump of cells. If necessary, the culture medium is added or replaced in the main body 210.

In the above manner, the seeding of the culture medium and the removal of air bubbles using the microwell array container 200 of the present invention are performed. Therefore, as in the prior art, there is no need for a researcher to separately pipette to remove the air bubbles trapped in the microwell. As will be described below, after step (c) of FIG. 4, the cell recovery process of steps (c) to (e) of FIG. 8 described below may be subsequently performed.

Lid

The lid 230 covers the upper surface of the space part 219 to seal the space part 219. Like the main body 210, the lid 230 is preferably made of a material having elasticity such as silicone resin, but if the main body 210 is made of a material having elasticity, the lid 230 must be made of a material having elasticity. It doesn't have to be.

The lid 230 may be any structure capable of sealing the space portion 219, and is affected by the shape of the body 210. However, in the case where the lid 230 is implemented with a single material without other structures, in order to seal the space portion 219, a part of the lid 230 may be formed on the inner surface of the body 210 forming the space portion 219 or It should be in a form that adheres to the outer surface.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the main body 210 has a cylindrical shape, the lid 230 extends from the top plate 231 and the top plate 231 to be in close contact with the inner or outer surface of the side wall 213 ( 234).

The lid 230 is formed with a discharge hole 233 for removing the cultivated cell mass. 2 is an example in which the discharge hole 233 is formed in the form of a through hole in the center of the upper plate 231 of the lid 230.

In the micro-well structure of the present invention, no other operation for removing air bubbles is required, but according to another embodiment, in the process of seeding the primary culture solution in the main body 210, the lid 230 is used in the micro-well 217. The trapped air bubbles can be removed, and the air bubbles are removed by providing negative pressure to the space 219 using the discharge hole 233 of the lid 230 as if pipetting.

Guide of the lid

As will be described again below, when the cell culture is completed in the culture medium accommodated in the main body 210, the'recovery process' of the cultured cell mass proceeds. In the recovery process of the present invention, the researcher turns over the microwell array container 200 with the lid 230 closed, and then recovers the cultured cell mass through the discharge hole 233.

The lid 230 may further include a guide part 235 for guiding the cell mass to the discharge hole 233 in the'recovery process'. The guide part 235 is provided under the lid 230 and is inserted into the space part 219 of the main body 210 to guide the space part 219 to the discharge hole 233 of the lid 230. Accordingly, the guide portion 235 is formed so as to have an edge in contact with the inner surface of the space portion 219 and to be inclined toward the discharge hole 233 in a funnel shape from the edge.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 6, the guide part 235 is implemented integrally with the insertion part 234. The edge 237 of the guide portion 235 is formed to be inclined toward the discharge hole 233 located in the middle of the upper plate 231 from the edge 237 in close contact with the inner surface of the space portion 219 in a cylindrical shape. Seal (219) in a conical shape. Therefore, when the microwell array container 200 is turned over during the recovery process, the aggregated-cultured cell mass in the microwell 217 escapes from the microwell 217 by gravity, and the discharge hole 233 along the guide part 235 ), the cell mass is recovered.

At this time, the minimum diameter of the discharge hole 233 must be a size that allows the cell mass to pass. On the other hand, in order for the cell mass to escape from the micro-well 217 only by gravity without any other external force, a certain time is required, and in the meantime, the culture medium is not discharged and must be accommodated in the space part 219. In other words, if the culture solution is discharged to the discharge hole 233 as soon as the microwell array container 200 is turned over in the recovery process, the cell mass cannot escape from the microwell 217. To solve this point, the microwell array container 200 of the present invention uses a surface tension that may be formed between the discharge hole 233 and the culture solution. Therefore, the amount of the culture solution accommodated in the microwell array container 200 is determined such that the height of the culture solution is located in the discharge hole 233 when the lid 230 is closed as shown in FIG. 6A. If the size of the surface tension t1 formed between the discharge hole 233 and the culture solution can support the weight of the culture solution serving as the discharge hole 233, the discharge of the culture solution may be prevented or at least delayed. At this time, the smaller the size of the discharge hole 233 is, the more advantageous. In conclusion, the maximum diameter of the discharge hole 233 should be determined to an extent that can prevent or at least delay the discharge of the culture solution in the relationship between the weight of the culture solution acting on the discharge hole 233 and the surface tension, and the discharge hole 233 The maximum diameter of) can be obtained experimentally. In consideration of this point, the diameter of the discharge hole 233 is preferably about 2 mm.

On the other hand, the height of the culture solution is located in the discharge hole 233, the amount of the culture solution to overflow in the process of closing the lid 230, it is quite inconvenient in use. For this reason, it is possible to design the height of the culture solution to be located on the inclined surface of the guide portion 235. However, if the surface of the culture solution is located on the inclined surface of the guide part 235 as in (b) of FIG. 5, it is not easy to obtain sufficient surface tension to prevent the discharge of the culture solution. As is known, the surface tension is affected by the angle formed between the culture medium (cf) and the inner surface of the body 210. Since the inclined surface of the guide part 235 is not perpendicular to the culture medium, the direction of the surface tension (t2) is It is not advantageous in stopping emissions.

Example 2: Guide portion 2 of the lid (Figs. 6 and 7)

A microwell array container 600 according to another embodiment of the present invention for solving the problem of the lid 230 of FIG. 5 is disclosed in FIG. 6. The microwell array container 600 of FIG. 6 has the same configuration as the microwell array container 200 of FIG. 2 and may be described in the same manner. However, in the lid 610 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a vertical space portion 611 is further provided at a portion in contact with the discharge hole 233. The vertical space portion 611 is a concave groove having a larger diameter than the discharge hole 233, and it is preferable that the discharge hole 233 is located in the center and has a vertical inner wall. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the vertical space part 611 may be implemented as a concave groove having a U-shaped cross section vertically cut to include the central axis of the discharge hole 233. Referring to FIG. 7, the surface tension t3 acting between the inner wall of the vertical space part 611 and the culture solution may be prevented from being discharged by acting in the upward direction. In addition, as the space under the vertical space part 611 is reduced by the discharge hole 233, the air pressure in the vertical space part 611 is increased, thereby increasing the force to support the culture medium cf. Therefore, the amount of the culture solution accommodated in the microwell array container 600 is determined such that the height of the culture solution is located in the vertical space portion 611 when the lid 610 is closed.

Compared with the microwell array container 200 of FIG. 5, the vertical space portion 611 provides more empty space in a state filled with the culture solution, so that the lid 610 is closed again in FIG. 8(d). When the culture medium is overflowing, the risk of overflow is reduced. Meanwhile, the vertical space part 611 may also serve as a space in which cell masses are gathered.

Microwell Cell culture using an array container (Fig. 8)

Hereinafter, a cell culture process will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 centering on the microwell array container 600. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, it is described that the process of removing bubbles in the micro-well 217 is performed differently from FIG. 4B, but this is only another example of removing bubbles. In other words, even in the process of FIG. 8, step (b) of FIG. 4 may be performed instead of step (b), and on the contrary, FIGS. 8(c) to (e) described below after step (c) of FIG. 4 You can also perform step ).

<Sowing of culture solution: Fig. 8 (a)>

It proceeds as shown in Fig. 4(a). In the process of pouring the primary culture solution, the air in the micro-well 217 is not discharged and is trapped in the form of a bubble (v). Likewise, before immersing the primary culture solution in the main body 210, it is preferable to put a solution of a hydrophilic material in the main body 210 and coat the hydrophilic material on the inner wall of the micro-well 217.

<Removal of air bubbles using negative pressure: (b) of FIG. 8>

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, in order to remove the air bubbles (v), the lid 610 is closed before filling the secondary culture solution. The researcher closes the lid 610 to seal the space 219. A negative pressure is provided to the space 219 through the discharge hole 233. The negative pressure may be provided by any method known in the art. For example, by repeating a simple operation of aligning the end of the pipette 10 with the discharge hole 233 and bleeding the air in the space part 219, the space part ( 219) may also provide a negative pressure. Bubbles (v) trapped in the micro-well 217 expand by negative pressure and escape from the micro-well 217 and are eventually discharged from the air.

<Culture of cell mass: Fig. 8 (c)>

When the air bubbles (v) trapped in the micro-well 217 are removed, the lid 610 is removed and the secondary culture solution is poured into the main body 210 to put a quantitative amount of the culture solution (cf) in the main body 210, followed by cell culture. Start. Cell culture should be set up in an environment suitable for culture conditions, for example, placed in an incubator (not shown).

<Recovery of cell mass: Figure 8 (d) and (e)>

When the cell culture is complete, the researcher proceeds with a recovery process to recover the cell mass. First, the lid 610 is closed again to seal the space portion 219, and then the microwell array container 600 is turned over and waited for a predetermined time. When the lid 610 is closed, a portion of the vertical space portion 611 is filled with the culture solution.

As described above, because of the surface tension acting between the culture solution cf and the vertical space portion 611, the culture solution cf is not immediately discharged through the discharge hole 233 even when the microwell array container 600 is turned over. Instead, the cell mass cultured in the micro-well 217 falls down by gravity and is guided by the guide part 235 to collect into the vertical space part 611.

After a certain period of time elapses with the microwell array container 600 turned upside down, if the shape of the body 210 is deformed by pressing the bottom 211 of the body 210, the influence of the surface tension is removed, and the culture solution cf is discharged through the discharge hole. It pours through (233).

Cell culture using the microwell array container 600 of the present invention is performed in the above manner.

Example 3: Another example of a microwell array container (Fig. 9)

Conventionally, a multi-well plate has been used to contain a plurality of micro-well containers. The multi-well plate 910 includes a plurality of grooves 911 whose upper surfaces are open to accommodate a plurality of micro-well containers. The micro-well array container of the present invention may also be combined with the multi-well plate 910.

Referring to FIG. 9, the microwell array container 900 may further include a multi-well plate 910. The main body 210 is inserted into a plurality of open grooves 911 of the multi-well plate 910, respectively, and the lid 930 is an open groove of the multi-well plate 910 instead of being directly coupled to the main body 210. The inside of the main body 210 is sealed in a form that covers the 911. The multi-well plate 910 and the main body 210 in Fig. 9 correspond to the main body 210 of Figs. 2 and 6 by becoming a new body, and as shown in Figs. 4 (b) and 8 (b), bubbles are formed. In the removing process, the same function as the main body 210 of FIGS. 2 and 6 may be performed.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and is generally used in the technical field to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Of course, various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be understood individually from the technical idea or perspective of the present invention.

200, 600, 900: microwell array vessel
210: main body 211: bottom
213: side wall 215: microwell array
217: microwell 219: space
221: jaw 230, 610, 930: lid
231: upper plate 233: discharge hole
234: insertion portion 235: guide portion
237: edge (guide portion) 301: receiving portion
303: funnel portion 611: vertical space portion
cf: culture solution 910: multi-well plate
911: groove of the multi-well plate

Claims (9)

In the microwell array vessel,
A main body that forms a space for accommodating a culture medium, and a plurality of micro-wells 217 are arranged adjacent to each other on the bottom of the space to form an array; And
Sealing the space, but including a lid formed with a discharge hole for recovering the cells cultured in the culture medium,
The micro-well 217,
An accommodating part 301 provided at the lower part to accommodate the culture medium and cells; And
By including a funnel part 303 provided on the upper part of the receiving part 301 and implemented as an inclined surface toward the inlet 301a of the receiving part to form a funnel-shaped space, air bubbles are trapped in the receiving part 301 In the case, the cells collected around the inlet of the receiving part 301a press the bubbles in the inclined direction of the inclined surface to discharge the bubbles from the receiving part 301,
The inlet edge of the funnel portion is in contact with the inlet edge of the funnel portion of another adjacent microwell, and there is no flat surface on the bottom,
The lid is,
It is provided under the lid and inserted into the space of the main body, and the edge contacts the inner surface of the main body and is formed to be inclined toward the discharge hole in a funnel shape from the edge, so that the main body is turned over to recover the cell mass. Further comprising a guide for guiding the cell mass to the discharge hole,
The diameter of the discharge hole is larger than the size of the cell mass, the microwell array container, characterized in that it is formed to a size capable of at least delaying the discharge of the culture medium in the recovery process by the surface tension formed between the culture medium.
The method of claim 1,
A microwell array container, characterized in that it further comprises a coating surface made of a hydrophilic material that is applied to the inner surface of the receiving portion to reduce the frictional force between the bubbles and the receiving portion so that the bubbles trapped in the receiving portion slide out by the cells.
delete delete The method of claim 1,
In the guide part,
A microwell array container, characterized in that a vertical space portion is provided at a portion in contact with the discharge hole to have a larger diameter than the discharge hole to provide a space for collecting the cell mass during the recovery process.
The method of claim 5,
The vertical space part,
Microwell array container, characterized in that the shape of a concave groove formed in a concave and in which the discharge hole is located in the center.
The method according to claim 5 or 6,
The body is a microwell array container, characterized in that by being implemented with an elastic material that can be deformed by an external pressure applied to the bottom, the culture solution can be discharged through the discharge hole under the external pressure during the recovery process. .
The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a multi-well plate each accommodating the main body in a plurality of grooves with an open top surface,
The lid is a microwell array container, characterized in that by covering the open groove of the multi-well plate to seal the space.





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