Abstract:
An assembly for culturing cells includes a housing defining a reservoir for containing cell culture media and an opening in fluid communication with the reservoir. The cell culture assembly further includes a filter valve assembly configured to sealingly engage the opening. The filter valve assembly includes a flexible membrane, a contiguous side wall, an end wall, and a microbial filter. The end wall has an opening and extends across one end of the side wall to form a major cavity within the side wall and the end wall. The flexible membrane has a slit spanning the membrane and is disposable within the major cavity such that the membrane sealingly divides the major cavity into (i) a chamber formed between the end wall and the membrane and (ii) a minor cavity formed by the membrane and a portion of the side wall. The minor cavity is in fluid communication with the reservoir. The slit is biased in a closed position to prevent fluid from passing from the minor cavity into the chamber and is configured to open to allow gas to pass from the minor cavity into the chamber when the pressure differential across the membrane is above a threshold. The filter is disposed between the membrane and the opening such that air flowing through the opening in the end wall into the chamber passes through the filter.
Abstract:
A class of designs is provided for a permeable support where the design principle includes a permeable support layer (250), such as a membrane, bonded midway between two arrays of wells (110, 130) or multiwell plates, attached at their bottom portions, forming a double-sided multiwell plate. Thus, opposite facing wells on either side of the permeable support layer are accessible by inversion of the double-sided multiwell plate. Well fluid is held in place in the novel multiwell plate by capillary forces in the case of aligned upper and lower well arrays or by surface tension on patterned well regions on a permeable membrane layer. No additional components are necessary to form compartments for fluid retention. These new plate designs allow the surface area of the permeable support layer to be maximized, eliminate potential wicking and. cross contamination issues that may arise from multiple component sidewalls, and take advantage of the small well diameters to retain fluid by utilizing the effects of surface tension or capillary forces.
Abstract:
The present invention provides a multi-layer cell culture device having a rectangular footprint and having multiple cell culture chambers separated by tracheal air spaces, each cell culture chamber having a port and a port cover or an external manifold structured and arranged to allow for transfer of fluid into and out of the cell culture device with reduced risk of contamination, and methods of using the device.
Abstract:
A cell culture apparatus includes a cell culture chamber formed by a first major surface, an opposing second major surface spaced apart from the first major surface, and a first side wall around the first chamber and extending between the first and second major surfaces. A portion of the first sidewall proximate the first major surface comprises an infrared absorbent material, and a portion the first sidewall proximate the second major surface is formed from substantially non-infrared absorbent material. The first major surface is formed by a gas permeable polymeric film that is impermeable to cell culture liquid.
Abstract:
A cell culture vessel includes a housing defining a reservoir, an inlet and an outlet in fluid communication with the reservoir, a valve assembly, and an antimicrobial filter. The valve assembly includes (i) a side wall defining a passageway for fluid flow between the reservoir and the outlet, (ii) a floating element disposed in the passageway and configured to float on the culture medium, (iii) a stop feature configured to sealingly engage the floating element to prevent the culture medium from flowing from the reservoir through the outlet, and (iv) a capture feature configured to retain the floating element within the passageway and to allow fluid to flow from the reservoir through the passageway. The microbial filter is positioned such that air flowing in the outlet to the passageway passes through the filter.
Abstract:
A multilayered cell culture apparatus for the culturing of cells is disclosed. The cell culture apparatus is defined as an integral structure having a plurality of flexible cell culture compartments in combination with a spacer material maintaining air space(s). The expandable compartments of the cell culture apparatus have imparted therein gas permeable membranes in combination with air spaces that will allow the free flow of gases between the cell culture compartments and the external environment. Furthermore an interconnecting passageway is provided between each compartment and between the cell culturing vessel and the external environment. The expandable vessel promotes the growth of large numbers of adherent or suspension cells by providing the volumes of nutrient medium and gaseous exchange.