KR20170068359A - Cell culture device for multiple environment control - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cell incubator capable of independently controlling multiple environments of temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. The present invention also relates to an economical cell incubator that reduces the amount of gas supplied to control multiple environments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method and apparatus for independently controlling various multiple environments such as temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, and selectively or independently supplying a gas type suitable for cell culture purposes to maintain cell culture stably and constantly To be able to do so. It is another object of the present invention to provide a cell incubator capable of maintaining a constant environment while reducing gas waste caused by continuously supplying gas in an open cell incubator for cell culture.
To this end, the present invention provides a cell incubator capable of changing internal environmental conditions, comprising: a gas supply unit for independently supplying one or more gases of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide to the cell incubator; And a gas sensing unit capable of sensing an amount of a gas component, wherein the gas supplying unit includes a solenoid valve for each of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, and is capable of controlling the amount supplied to each gas.
According to the present invention, it is possible to independently and selectively supply the gas, which is independently configured for each gas type including nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, to the desired experiment, so that the desired experiment can be easily performed in multiple environments. Also, according to the present invention, the first pressure regulating plate can automatically adjust the air pressure in the cell incubator by the automatic or sensor, and it is possible to solve the problem of continuously supplying the gas in order to maintain the same environment.
Further, according to the present invention, when the environment of the cell incubator is controlled by the second pressure regulating plate at a specific gas concentration or at a specific atmospheric pressure, it is possible to control and regulate a specific gas concentration or a specific atmospheric pressure, .

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a cell culture device,

The present invention relates to a cell incubator capable of independently controlling multiple environments of temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. The present invention also relates to an economical cell incubator that reduces the amount of gas supplied to control multiple environments.

Conventional cell incubators have been constructed and used to study the condition of the cultures that are able to maintain a specific environment and are placed in the environment. Cell incubators are used to compare the same cultures placed in different environments, or to study the process of change of cultures as the environment changes. Therefore, the cell incubator should include a configuration that can uniformly maintain the environment required by the user. In particular, the pressure or the atmospheric pressure inside a cell incubator is generally used mainly in a state of maintaining a high pressure or a high pressure state in order to increase the oxygen saturation of the culture. However, the conventional cell incubator is provided with an open type, and a method of increasing the pressure inside the cell incubator by continuously supplying the gas to increase the pressure has been used. Therefore, in the case of the conventional cell culture incubator, a relatively large amount of gas is used to maintain the environment for the user's research, which increases the cost of the study, and the structural characteristics due to the continuous gas inflow and open- It is difficult to keep it. In addition, in the conventional cell culture apparatus, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen concentration can not be finely controlled because only oxygen is continuously injected or a gas mixture of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen is injected. In order to solve the above problems, a closed-cell incubator has been developed. However, in the case of a closed-cell incubator, it is superior to a conventional open-cell incubator in maintaining the pressure, but since it has a closed structure, the detailed concentrations of oxygen, The control is not easy, and there is a problem that it can not cope with the pressure which changes according to temperature and humidity change. In addition, there is a problem in that it can not cope with the change of the pressure and the concentration of each gas due to the temperature and the humidity due to the chemical reaction of the culture to be contained in the cell incubator. Background Art [0002] Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0809836 relates to a pressure regulating culture apparatus, which includes a pressure transducer, a thermal controller, and a gas supply means in an enclosed chamber. However, in the case of the prior art, there is a problem in that the internal humidity or each concentration of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen constituting components of each gas can not be controlled according to the chemical reaction of the culture object in the chamber. Furthermore, there is a problem in that the changed pressure is simply ineffective because the pressure is simply restored by injecting the gas.

Prior Art: Korean Patent No. 10-0809836 (published on Mar. 4, 2008)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method and apparatus for independently controlling various multiple environments such as temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, and selectively or independently supplying a gas type suitable for cell culture purposes to maintain cell culture stably and constantly To be able to do so.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cell incubator capable of maintaining a constant environment while reducing gas waste caused by continuously supplying gas in an open cell incubator for cell culture.

To this end, the present invention provides a cell incubator capable of changing internal environmental conditions, comprising: a gas supply unit for independently supplying one or more gases of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide to the cell incubator; And a gas sensing unit capable of sensing an amount of a gas component, wherein the gas supplying unit includes a solenoid valve for each of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, and is capable of controlling the amount supplied to each gas.

According to the present invention, it is possible to independently and selectively supply the gas, which is independently configured for each gas type including nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, to the desired experiment, so that the desired experiment can be easily performed in multiple environments.

Also, according to the present invention, the first pressure regulating plate can automatically adjust the air pressure in the cell incubator by the automatic or sensor, and it is possible to solve the problem of continuously supplying the gas in order to maintain the same environment.

Further, according to the present invention, when the environment of the cell incubator is controlled by the second pressure regulating plate at a specific gas concentration or at a specific atmospheric pressure, it is possible to control and regulate a specific gas concentration or a specific atmospheric pressure, .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a general view showing a cell incubator capable of changing internal environmental conditions according to the present invention. FIG.
2 is a graphical representation of multiple environments that change with time.
3 is a view showing a cell incubator equipped with a first pressure regulating plate using an elastic body.
4 is a view showing a cell incubator equipped with a first pressure regulating plate using an actuator.
5 is a view showing a cell incubator equipped with a second pressure regulating plate.
6 is a view showing a cell incubator having a glove portion.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Also, in order to clearly illustrate the present invention in the drawings, portions not related to the present invention are omitted, and the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar components.

The objects and effects of the present invention can be understood or clarified naturally by the following description, and the objects and effects of the present invention are not limited only by the following description.

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cell incubator 10 capable of changing internal environmental conditions according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The cell incubator 10 further includes a gas sensing unit 130 capable of sensing the amount of each gas supplied into the cell incubator, . ≪ / RTI > Meanwhile, the gas supply unit 20 includes a metal-gas-type gas storage unit 210 for storing at least one of nitrogen (N 2), oxygen (O 2), and carbon dioxide (CO 2).

The gas supply section 20 can independently and selectively supply one or more gases to the cell incubator. Specifically, the gas supply unit 20 can supply at least one of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide to the cell incubator independently. In the present invention, a gas supply unit for supplying nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide to the cell culture apparatus independently will be described as an example. The gas supply unit may receive the gas stored in the gas storage unit and separate and supply nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide mixed and stored in the gas storage unit. That is, the gas supply unit separately supplies a supply nozzle for each gas to the cell incubator to selectively supply only the desired gas. For this purpose, the cell incubator may be equipped with a solenoid valve 230 in nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, respectively. Specifically, the solenoid valve can control the supply of gas either electrically or by pre-stored conditions of the user, by opening or closing the valve. The solenoid valve can also be supplied for each nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide supply to control the supply of each gas. For example, the gas supply part may supply gas by connecting a nozzle to the top of the cell incubator. This will be described in more detail when using the second pressure regulating plate to be described later. More specifically, the gas supply unit may be connected to the cell culture unit through a pipe or pipeline, and a pipe or conduit may be connected to the gas supply unit at one end and connected to the upper end of the cell culture unit, have.

The gas sensing unit 130 may sense the amount of gas. In detail, the gas sensing unit can sense the amount, ratio, etc. of each gas component supplied into the cell incubator. More specifically, the gas sensing unit senses the amount of each gas supplied to the cell incubator, thereby determining the concentration or amount of each gas supplied into the cell incubator, thereby controlling each gas to be supplied at an appropriate ratio can do. As an example, the gas supply unit may include a mass flow controller (MFC). The gas flow rate controller may control the concentration or the amount of gas contained in or supplied to the cell culture chamber based on the concentration of gas or the amount of gas detected through the gas detection unit.

In the cell incubator 10, an object to be cultured is placed therein, and the gas is supplied to the gas supply unit and the gas detection unit. According to the present invention, the cell incubator is provided in a closed form so that the inner gas does not flow out to the outside. Here, the closed type means that the supplied gas is not discharged to the outside. In the case of the conventional cell culture apparatus, since the opening is provided to allow the gas to flow out to the cell incubator while continuously supplying the gas, the closed configuration of the present invention is achieved by continuously supplying the gas to maintain the culture environment constant To solve the waste of the gas, non-economy. However, although the cell incubator according to the present invention is provided so as to be sealed inside and outside, a predetermined door can be provided for introducing the culture into the cell incubator, but when the door is closed, Explains the enclosed type without opening the door.

The cell incubator 10 can control the humidity of the internal space or control the temperature. In detail, the cell incubator may include a humidity generator capable of controlling the humidity of the internal space or a temperature controller capable of controlling the temperature. As an arrangement for issuing humidity, an ultrasonic humidifier may be used, and a heating means such as a heater may be used to regulate and generate the temperature. In addition, a temperature sensing unit and a humidity sensing unit capable of sensing humidity or temperature, as well as the humidity generating unit and the temperature adjusting unit, may be additionally provided, but this is a known technology and will not be described below.

2 is an exemplary graph showing the environment in which pressure, humidity, temperature, oxygen, and carbon dioxide change. As described above, in order to allow various environments to change over time, the above-described configurations can be used. Particularly, since the temperature, the humidity, the air pressure (pressure) and the amount of the gas vary while influencing each other, the amount and kind of gas supplied while monitoring the environment in the cell incubator through the temperature sensing means, the humidity sensing means and the gas sensing unit It is important to fluctuate.

3 and 4 are views showing an embodiment in which the pressure (atmospheric pressure) in the cell incubator is regulated through the pressure regulating part 30 including the first pressure regulating plate.

3 is a view showing that the first pressure regulating plate 310 automatically maintains the air pressure constant by the elastic body 320 having an elastic force. Specifically, the cell incubator may have a pressure regulating part connected to the side of the cell incubator and having a predetermined space therein so as to automatically regulate the pressure inside the cell incubator without requiring any special operation of the user. The pressure regulating part includes a first pressure regulating plate 310 and an outer circumferential length of the first pressure regulating plate is provided on an inner circumferential length of a predetermined inner space of the pressure regulating part to allow gas to escape in the longitudinal direction of the pressure regulating part . The first pressure regulating plate 310 can adjust the pressure inside the cell incubator by moving to the inside or the outside of the cell incubator.

The first pressure regulating plate 310 is provided so as to be moved inward or outward of the cell incubator according to the pressure or pressure inside the cell incubator. Accordingly, when the pressure or pressure inside the cell incubator is increased, the first pressure regulating plate 310 is moved to the outside of the cell incubator by the expansion force, thereby increasing the space of the pressure regulating unit. The internal pressure of the regulating part is lowered. Conversely, when the pressure or pressure inside the cell incubator is lowered, the first pressure regulating plate 310 can be moved to the inside of the cell incubator by contractive force. As a result, since the space of the pressure regulating part becomes smaller, the internal pressure of the cell incubator (and the pressure regulating part) becomes inversely proportional to the volume. Accordingly, by appropriately setting the elastic force of the elastic body in accordance with the pressure of the gas, it is possible to maintain a certain degree of pressure inside the cell incubator without providing a sensor for sensing the gas pressure or injecting / discharging the gas.

More specifically, the elastic body 320 is connected to the first pressure regulating plate and the other end is connected to an end fixed at the position, so that a predetermined elastic force is applied between the end and the first pressure regulating plate. 1 Pressure is applied to the control panel. The pressure of the gas to be maintained constantly is set in advance according to the kind of the gas and the volume of the cell incubator and the pressure regulator. If the elastic force of the elastic body is set so that the first pressure regulating plate can move as much as the change in the volume generated when the gas changes to the predetermined pressure because the volume and pressure are inversely proportional to the Boyle- The pressure in the incubator can be kept constant. Preferably, if the inner space of the pressure regulator is bulkier than the inner space of the cell incubator, it may be easier to maintain the pressure of the gas even if the first pressure regulator moves only a small length.

3 (a) shows a state in which the elastic force and the pressure of the gas are in equilibrium under a certain pressure, and FIG. 3 (b) shows a state in which the pressure of the gas is lowered The gas is discharged to the outside for reasons such as opening the door of the cell incubator), and the first pressure regulating plate moves toward the cell incubator. At this time, as the first pressure regulating plate moves to the cell incubator side, the volume of the cell incubator and the pressure regulating unit is reduced, so that the air pressure increases as the volume is inversely proportional to the volume. As a result, .

4 shows that the cell incubator is regulated to a desired pressure by moving the first pressure regulating plate 310 directly using a motor or an actuator 330 without using an elastic body. The actuator is configured to apply a predetermined pressure to the first pressure regulating plate in a predetermined power or mechanical configuration, and is connected to one end of the first pressure regulating plate. The actuator moves the first pressure regulating plate toward the inside of the cell incubator by providing a predetermined pressing force to the first pressure regulating plate and when the pressure inside the cell incubator is changed by a desired pressure through the means for detecting the pressure regulation of another gas Stop the movement. As in the embodiment where the elastic body is provided, when the air pressure inside the cell incubator is lowered, the actuator moves the first pressure regulating plate toward the cell incubator, thereby reducing the volume and increasing the pressure. Conversely, when it is necessary to lower the pressure, the actuator lowers the pressure by moving the first pressure regulating plate to the outside of the cell incubator to increase the volume. For example, the actuator and the first pressure regulating plate are connected to each other through a connection part 340 having a screw thread, and the first pressure regulating plate can be moved by winding a screw thread by the rotation of the actuator.

5 is a view showing a cell incubator having a second pressure regulating plate according to the present invention.

In order to reduce gas waste caused by continuous supply of gas in order to match specific gas concentrations or specific gas mixing ratios, which is a problem of conventional cell culture apparatuses, the cell culture apparatus according to the present invention has a plate Shaped second pressure regulating plate.

The second pressure regulating plate 410 is configured to be vertically movable along one or more guide rails 420 (four in FIG. 421, 422, 423, and 424 in FIG. In this embodiment, the cell incubator receives gas at the top.

This embodiment is for changing the cell incubator to a new environment (for example, changing to a specific gas concentration), in which gas is supplied through a gas supply nozzle provided at the top of the cell incubator, and the second pressure regulating plate 410 are vertically moved downward. That is, the upper end of the second pressure regulating plate has a new environment due to the newly supplied gas, and the lower end of the second pressure regulating plate has a spherical environment based on the existing gas. At the same time as the new gas is supplied, the second pressure regulating plate moves downward while maintaining a constant environment at the upper end with respect to the second pressure regulating plate. As a result, when the second pressure regulating plate reaches the bottom of the cell incubator, the cell incubator is placed in a whole new new environment. At this time, the gas detection unit 130 is located at the top of the cell incubator, and performs this operation while measuring whether the new environment is continuously maintained.

At this time, the peripheral length of the second pressure regulating plate is preferably smaller than the inner peripheral length of the cell incubator. That is, since the upper and lower ends are not completely blocked based on the second pressure regulating plate, the gas under the old environment enters the new environment. Therefore, it is economical because the amount of gas to be supplied can be reduced accordingly. In addition, if the gas under the fresh environment is directly supplied without the second pressure regulating plate, the gas is not mixed immediately, and the environment in the incubator continuously changes during mixing, which makes it difficult to set the environment quickly .

According to a preferred embodiment, the second pressure regulating plate may be vertically moved downward by the pressure of the gas supplied from the upper end of the cell incubator, but may be vertically moved through another driving means (for example, a linear actuator) desirable. That is, as the second pressure regulating plate moves downward while maintaining the new environment and the gas of the old environment enters the new environment, the downward movement range of the second pressure regulating plate or the inflow of the new gas is regulated, So that it can be maintained throughout the incubator.

Hereinafter, the glove unit provided in the cell incubator will be described with reference to FIG.

In order to handle manual manipulation of the cultured material inside the cell incubator, the operation of the cell incubator was performed by directly opening and closing the door through hands or tools. However, in this case, there has been a problem in that a certain environment can not be maintained due to changes in air pressure or temperature due to the opening and closing of the door. Accordingly, the present invention may include a glove portion that can prevent the inner pressure of the door from changing as the door is opened or closed. That is, the cell incubator is provided with a glove part for physically sealing the cell incubator from the opening and closing of the door, the entrance of foreign foreign substances not desired by the user, and for moving or experimenting the culture to be placed in the cell incubator, The glove portion is provided on the side of the cell incubator as an example. The glove portion may be made of a material having a certain elasticity so as not to be torn or damaged by deformation. The glove portion may be made of rubber or a material having elastic properties such as fibers.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Should be regarded as belonging to the above-mentioned patent claims.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventive concept as defined by the appended claims. But is not limited thereto.

In the above-described exemplary system, the methods are described on the basis of a flowchart as a series of steps or blocks, but the present invention is not limited to the order of the steps, and some steps may occur in different orders . It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that the steps shown in the flowchart are not exclusive and that other steps may be included or that one or more steps in the flowchart may be deleted without affecting the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

As a cell incubator capable of changing internal environmental conditions,
A gas supply unit for independently supplying at least one gas of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide to the cell incubator; And
And a gas sensing unit capable of sensing an amount of each gas component supplied to the inside of the cell incubator,
Wherein the gas supply unit is provided with solenoid valves for each of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, and is capable of controlling the amount supplied to each gas. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the cell incubator is provided in a closed type in which gas does not flow out to the outside. The method according to claim 1,
The cell incubator
And a humidity control unit for controlling humidity of the inside of the cell incubator or a temperature control unit for controlling the temperature.
The method according to claim 1,
The gas supply unit
Wherein the gas is supplied from the top of the cell incubator.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a pressure regulator having a predetermined internal space, one end of which is connected to a side of the cell incubator and the other end of which is formed with a first pressure regulating plate,
Wherein the first pressure regulating plate moves to the inside or outside of the cell incubator to regulate the pressure inside the cell incubator.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein one end of the first pressure regulating plate is connected to an elastic body, and a constant force is applied by an elastic force of the elastic body.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the first pressure regulating plate is connected to the actuator at one end thereof and moves to the inside or outside of the cell incubator by an operation of the actuator.
5. The method of claim 4,
One or more guide rails extending in the vertical direction and
And a second pressure regulating plate moving in the vertical direction along the guide rail,
And the second pressure regulating plate moves downward as the gas is supplied from the upper end of the cell incubator.
9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the peripheral length of the second pressure regulating plate is smaller than the inner peripheral length of the cell incubator.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a hand glove provided on a side surface of the cell incubator and having an elastic material.

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