JP3051631B2 - Liquid container for space - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used when conducting experiments or the like under microgravity, and can inject and discharge a liquid into a container without mixing gas and liquid, and observe the inside of the container from outside. Further, the present invention relates to a space liquid container capable of determining a container volume.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a liquid is poured into and out of a container without mixing the gas and liquid under microgravity, the gas and liquid are not mixed by using a soft container in which the volume in the container changes. Was like that. That is, in the cell culture container for space shown in FIG. 5 as an example of the liquid container for space, the space 07 for storing the liquid is formed by the oval-shaped frame 07, and on the front and back surfaces of the frame 07, Silicon film 0
A transparent plate 09 is adhered through an intermediary 8 to form an observation window, and a polycarbo sheet A05 and a polycarbo sheet B06 are attached to their outer surfaces, and a liquid injection / injection port 04 is provided in a frame 07. By doing this,
Under microgravity, frame 07, silicon film 08, transparent plate 0
9 can prevent air bubbles from being mixed in the liquid between the inside and the outside of the space 03 formed by the transparent plate 09 supported by the flexible silicon film 08. Therefore, the volume of the space 03 is not constant, and it is difficult to perform an experiment that requires a quantitative comparison.

In some cases, a soft bag called a soft bag is used. However, even in this soft bag, in order to prevent gas-liquid mixing due to liquid injection and pouring, use a flexible material to prevent gas from mixing into the liquid due to its volume change. Because of this, the observability from the outside is poor, the internal volume is not constant, and it is difficult to quantitatively compare in experiments etc. under microgravity using multiple containers under the same environmental conditions. Was.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention
In order to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, to maintain a stable gas-liquid interface and prevent liquid from being mixed into the liquid while injecting the liquid into the space in which the liquid needs to be injected, or in the space. To provide a liquid container for space that enables discharge of liquid from the outside to the outside, improves the observability of the inside of the space, and allows the quantitative experiment to be performed without changing the volume of the space by the injection and discharge of the liquid. As an issue.

[0005]

Therefore, the liquid container for space according to the present invention has the following means. (1) The liquid storage space is made of a material that has good wettability and does not deform due to the pressure of the liquid injected into the space formed inside, and stores the liquid in the center of the middle plate formed in a thin plate material. The recessed space was made. (2) The space formed in the middle plate and storing the liquid was of a substantially rhombic shape having two sharp edges. (3) Opening at two sharp edges of the space for storing liquid,
A liquid injection / injection port for communicating the inside of the space with the outside was formed in the middle plate. (4) At least the front surface of the middle plate, in which the space for storing the liquid is formed, is made of a transparent material that is hard enough not to be deformed by the pressure of the liquid injected into the space and that allows the inside of the space to be seen from the outside. A top plate was attached.

[0006]

According to the above means, the space liquid container of the present invention is
Since the space for storing liquid has been made concave in the middle plate with a continuous and gentle change in the cross-sectional area from the liquid injection / injection port, the liquid is injected into or out of the space. Fluctuation of the liquid surface can be moderated, and the incorporation of bubbles into the liquid can be prevented. In addition, the middle plate, which forms the space for storing the liquid, and the top plate with which the liquid comes into contact, are formed of a material with good wettability,
In addition, because the space for storing liquid is formed thin,
Bubbles are not caught in the liquid when the liquid is injected or poured, and the liquid surface can be stabilized. As a result, despite the fact that the space liquid container is made of a material that is hard enough not to be deformed by the liquid to be injected, it is possible to prevent gas-liquid mixing due to the liquid entering and leaving the container, and to stabilize the gas-liquid interface. Can be operated.

In addition, since it is formed of a transparent material which is hard enough not to be deformed by the pressure of the liquid injected into the top plate and the space,
The observability inside the space becomes extremely good in combination with the thinning of the space for storing the liquid.

Further, since the middle plate forming the space for storing the liquid together with the top plate is formed of a hard material, the volume of the space for storing the liquid does not change when the liquid is injected and discharged, and the injection and the discharge are performed. Liquid quantification can be achieved, and experiments performed under the same environmental conditions can be performed very easily and accurately.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A liquid container for space according to the present invention will be described based on embodiments. 1 and 2 are views showing a cell culture container for space as one embodiment of the liquid container for space of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 (A) is a plan view and FIG. 1 (B) is FIG. ) Is an AA front view, and FIG. 1 (C) is an arrow BB of FIG. 1 (A).
It is a side view. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an intermediate plate formed of a polycarbonate having a good wettability and a certain rigidity strength and formed as an extremely thin plate material of 10 mm or less. In the center of the middle plate 1, a substantially rhombus having two ridges 4 formed at an acute angle of about 60 ° is punched in the plate thickness direction to form a space 3 for storing a liquid, An injection / spout port 5 which opens at a portion where the ridge 4 is formed is provided to penetrate through the inside of the plate thickness. Reference numeral 2 denotes a top plate having a certain rigidity and made of transparent plastic. The top plate 2 is provided in a liquid-tight manner on the front and back surfaces of the middle plate 1 using a silicon-based seal packing or the like. Although not shown, the top plate 2 and the middle plate 1 are fixed by screws.

Although examples have been given in which the materials of the middle plate 1 and the top plate 2 are respectively made of polycarbo and plastic, the middle plate 1 may be made of metal, glass or the like having good wettability and a certain rigidity. The top plate 2 has the material characteristics of the middle plate 1,
It may be a material to which transparency is limited, and is not limited to the above embodiment. Sufficient stiffness is sufficient as long as it is not deformed by the pressure of the liquid injected into and discharged from the space. Further, the diamond-shaped space provided in the center of the middle plate 1 in the thickness direction is not necessarily required to be provided in the center, and the space is engraved on the surface side of the middle plate 1 by machining or the like. However, the planar shape is not limited to the rhombus, and has continuity from the injection / injection port 5,
It suffices if the volume increases toward the center.

The present embodiment thus constructed is used as a space cell culture vessel as follows. First, the MEM medium (Medium E
culture medium such as ssencial medium) in space 3
Inject into. In this case, the space 3 for storing the culture solution formed in the middle plate 1 is formed as a rhombus having sharp edges 4,
Moreover, since the injection / injection port 5 is opened at the portion where the sharp ridge 4 is formed, and the middle plate 1 forming the space 3 is made of a material having good wettability, as shown in FIG. The liquid enters the space 3 along the wall that forms the space 3, and it is possible to prevent gas from being mixed with the liquid due to the injection. This is shown in FIG.
It is clear from the comparison of the behavior of the injection liquid when the space 3 'is formed in the middle plate 1' as a rectangle and the liquid is injected from the injection / injection port 5 'provided on one side of the rectangle.

Further, since the thickness of the space 3 for storing the culture solution is reduced and the top plate 2 covering the surface of the space 3 is formed of a material having good wettability, as shown in FIG. The injected culture solution is filled in the space 3 while wetting the top plate 2, thereby preventing the gas from being mixed with the injection. This difference is clear from the case where the top plate 1 ′ is formed of a water-repellent material, as shown in FIG.

Next, the cells to be cultured are injected into the space 3 from the injection / injection port 5 using a syringe. Cells in culture are:
It absorbs nutrients from the medium and produces waste products. Therefore, nutrients in the medium become insufficient and waste products accumulate, so that after a certain period of time, the medium needs to be replaced. In this case, in the present embodiment, the space for storing the liquid is formed by the hollow 1 and the top plate 2 formed of a hard material that does not deform due to the pressure of the injected liquid.
The exchange of the medium can be quantified and performed, and the exchange operation can be facilitated. That is, in this embodiment, a new medium is injected from one injection / injection port 5, and an old medium in the space 3 is discharged from the other injection / injection port 5, and the medium is exchanged. Here, the cultured cells are solidified on the inner wall of the container, and the medium alone can be replaced. In addition, when the medium is injected, gas-liquid mixing does not occur, so that the medium can be exchanged smoothly and the old medium does not remain. In addition, when the old medium remains, nutrients are insufficient only in that part, and the growth and growth of the cells are stopped, and it becomes difficult to quantitatively observe the cell culture. When the cells have grown to some extent, an enzyme such as trypsin can be injected from one injection / injection port 5, the cells can be peeled from the inner wall of the container, and collected from the other injection / injection port 5. Thus, according to the present embodiment, an experiment requiring a quantitative comparison can be extremely easily and accurately performed.

For quantitative measurement / observation during cell culture, a light source is provided on one top plate 1 and a camera is provided on the other top plate 1, so that measurement can be performed together with image analysis. . In this case as well, the space for storing the liquid is thinly formed by the middle plate 1 made of a hard material, and the top plate 2 as the observation window does not deform due to the filling of the fluid. Since an image can be acquired through an unobserved observation window, precise observation is possible.

[0016]

As described above, according to the space liquid container of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by the structure described in the claims.

(1) By providing a space for storing a substantially diamond-shaped liquid having a liquid injection / injection port at an acute angle portion, the sectional area can be continuously expanded from the injection / injection port, and It is possible to inject and pour out a liquid in which the liquid interface is stabilized, and it is possible to prevent gas-liquid mixing due to infusion and pour out of liquid.
Further, by using a material having good wettability and making the thickness extremely thin to form a space for storing a fluid, the gas-liquid interface can be further stabilized.

(2) Since the top plate is formed of a hard transparent material, the observability inside the space for storing the fluid is improved.

(3) Since the whole container is made of a hard material, the volume of the space for storing the liquid does not change, thereby enabling a quantitative experiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of a space liquid container according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 (A) is a plan view, FIG. 1 (B) is a front view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 (A), FIG. 1 (C) is an arrow B- of FIG. 1 (A).
B side sectional view,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the behavior of the injected liquid according to the angle near the injection port in the space for storing the liquid, FIG. 3 (A) is a behavior diagram of the injected liquid according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Is the behavior diagram of the liquid injected into the rectangular space,

4A and 4B are diagrams showing the behavior of the injected liquid due to the wettability of the material of the top plate. FIG. 4A shows the behavior of the injected liquid according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the behavior of the injection liquid at the time of using a top plate.

5A and 5B are views showing a cell culture container for space as an example of a conventional liquid container for space, FIG. 5A is a plan view showing a partial cross section, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Middle plate 2 Top plate 3 (Liquid storage) space 4 Edge 5 Injection / spout 6 Air bubbles

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshimasa Ochiai 1-1-1, Wadazakicho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe City Inside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Kobe Shipyard (72) Inventor Shigeaki Negishi 1-1-1, Wadazakicho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe-shi No. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Kobe Shipyard (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C12M 1/00-1/34 B01L 3/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A space liquid container for injecting and discharging a liquid in a microgravity space without gas-liquid mixing,
The middle part of a thin plate material made of a material that has good wettability and is not deformed by liquid injection is concavely formed in a substantially rhombic shape to form a space for storing the liquid, and a middle plate formed in the middle plate and recessed in the space. An injection / injection port that communicates the two sharply shaped ridges of the diamond with the outside, and a material that is formed of a material that has good wettability and is not deformed by liquid injection and that is attached to the front surface of the middle plate so that the inside of the space is formed. A space liquid container comprising a transparent top plate.