JPH0570426B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to electrodes, particularly electrodes for cell electroprocessing.

[Conventional technology]

As a cell electroprocessing device for performing cell fusion and gene transfer, there is a device that is configured integrally with a container for accommodating a cell suspension and an electrode for applying voltage to the cell suspension. ing. However, with this cell electroprocessing device, there is a limit to the amount of cell suspension that can be processed. Therefore, as a cell electroprocessing device capable of processing a large amount of cell suspension, a device in which a container containing the cell suspension and an electrode are separated is provided. This cell electroprocessing device has many containers for accommodating cell suspension.
A large amount of cell suspension can be processed by sequentially inserting electrodes into each container.

The electrodes used in the cell electroprocessing device are mainly composed of a plurality of electrode plates arranged in parallel at regular intervals and a support for supporting these electrode plates. This cell electroprocessing electrode is used by placing an electrode plate in a cell suspension.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In electrodes for cell electroprocessing, in general, cells can be electrically processed more efficiently when the spacing between electrode plates is narrower. However, if the spacing between the electrode plates is narrow, in the conventional configuration described above, it becomes difficult to remove the cell suspension that has entered between the electrode plates when the electrode is pulled up from the cell suspension.

Furthermore, if the spacing between the electrode plates is narrow, manufacturing becomes difficult with the conventional configuration.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cell electroprocessing device that can easily remove a cell suspension that has entered between electrode plates, is easy to manufacture, and can efficiently electroprocess cells.

[Means to solve the problem]

The cell electroprocessing device of the present invention is a device for applying a voltage to the cell suspension by immersing it in the cell suspension from above, and includes a lower member and an upper member.

The lower member has a plurality of first electrode plates arranged in parallel, and the spaces between the first electrode plates are open downward. The upper member has a plurality of second electrode plates assembled and arranged in parallel on the lower member. The space between the second electrode plates is also open downward, and each second electrode is disposed on the upper member so as to be disposed between each first electrode plate in the assembled state.

[Effect]

In the present invention, when the lower member and the upper member are combined, the distance between each first electrode plate and each second electrode plate is as follows:
Since the spacing is smaller than the spacing between the first electrode plates or the spacing between the second electrode plates, cells can be treated efficiently. Furthermore, since the spaces between the first and second electrode plates are both open downward, the cell electroprocessing device can be immersed in the cell suspension from above with the upper and lower members combined. Therefore, for example, cell suspensions housed in microplates can be efficiently subjected to cell electrolysis one after another.

After processing cells, if you separate the upper member from the lower member, the gap between the electrode plates will return to its original width, making it easy to remove the cell suspension that has entered between each electrode plate. .

Furthermore, since the electrode plates can be arranged at wide intervals during manufacturing, manufacturing is easy.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention in a divided state, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views of an upper member and a lower member thereof, respectively.

In FIG. 1, a cell electroprocessing electrode 1 is composed of upper members 2 and 3. As shown in FIG.

The upper member 2 has a cylindrical main body part 11, and a lower part of the main body part 11 is a fitting part 12 having a reduced diameter on the outer peripheral side. A locking groove 13 is provided in a part of the fitting portion 12 from the inner peripheral surface to the outer surface. A stepped portion 14 is provided on the inner side of the upper surface of the main body portion 11 . A transparent glass plate 15 is arranged on the stepped portion 14 so as to seal the opening on the upper surface side of the main body portion 11 . An annular electrode 1 is provided on the inner surface of the main body 11.
6 is placed. Inside the annular electrode 16, resins 17, 17 are arranged on the left and right sides in FIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, the annular electrode 1
Reference numeral 6 indicates four electrode plates 1 extending below the main body 11.
It has 8. The electrode plates 18 are arranged parallel to each other and are fixed to the outer part of the inner surface of the annular electrode 16 by spot welding. The main body portion 11 has a terminal mounting hole 19 in a direction perpendicular to the electrode plate 18 . This terminal mounting hole 19
is open to the outer surface of the main body portion 11 and the inner surface of the annular electrode 16 . A plug 20 is attached to the terminal attachment hole 19. The plug 20 has a flange portion 20a at the center, and a threaded groove is formed at one end. And this plug 20
is inserted into the terminal mounting hole 19, and is fixed by being tightened with a nut 21 inside the main body portion 11. Here, the nut 21 is in contact with the annular electrode 16, so that the plug 20 and the annular electrode 16 are electrically connected. In addition, in the main body portion 11, a pair of insertion holes 22 and 23 for inserting tweezers are provided above the electrode plate 18 (see FIG. 4).

The lower member 3 has a cylindrical main body portion 31 having approximately the same diameter as the upper member 2 . The outer part of the main body part 31 is
The outer portion is a reduced diameter portion 32 having a reduced diameter.
A fitting portion 12 of the upper member 2 is provided on the upper surface side of the main body portion 31.
A fitting portion 33 is formed for receiving. The fitting portion 33 is provided with a locking piece 34 at a position corresponding to the locking groove 13 of the main body portion 11 . Main body part 3
An annular electrode 35 is arranged on the inner surface of the electrode 1 . The annular electrode 35 has five electrodes arranged parallel to each other.
It has two electrode plates 36. Each electrode plate 36 is
When the upper member 2 is placed on the lower member 3, the upper member 2
The electrode plates 18 are arranged at equal intervals so as to be arranged between the electrode plates 36, respectively. Each electrode plate 36 is fixed to the lower part of the annular electrode 35 inside by spot welding, and its lower end is flush with the lower surface of the reduced diameter part 32. Note that a resin 37 is disposed between the electrode plates 36 , 36 located on both sides of the drawing and the annular electrode 35 extending to the reduced diameter portion 32 . The main body portion 31 has a terminal attachment hole 38 in a direction perpendicular to the electrode plate 36 . This terminal attachment hole 38 is open to the outer surface of the main body portion 31 and the inner surface of the annular electrode 35 . A plug 39 is inserted into the terminal mounting hole 38.
is installed. The plug 39 has a flange portion 39a at the center and a threaded portion at one end. The plug 39 is inserted into the terminal mounting hole 38 and is fixed by being tightened with a nut 40 inside the main body portion 31. Here, the nut 40 is in contact with the annular electrode 35, so that the plug 39 and the annular electrode 35 are electrically connected. In addition, in the main body part 31, a positioning hole 41 for a connector, which will be described later, is provided on the outside of the plug 39.
is provided.

Next, a method of using the cell electroprocessing electrode 1 will be explained. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the state in which the cell electroprocessing electrode 1 is used.

In the figure, a microplate 50 is made of a transparent member and has a plurality of wells 51. Each well 51 is formed into a circular shape that allows the reduced diameter portion 32 of the lower member 3 of the cell electroprocessing electrode 1 to be inserted therein, and contains a cell suspension to be processed.

When processing the cell suspension in the well 51, first the lower member 3 of the cell electroprocessing electrode 1 is placed in the well 51 after the connector 52 is attached to the terminal plug 39.

The details of the connector 52 will be explained with reference to FIG. The connector 52 has a cylindrical main body portion 53. A power cord 54 is inserted into the main body portion 53 from one opening. This power cord 54 is fixed within the main body 53 by a filler 55 . Note that one end of the power cord 54 is connected to a power supply device (not shown). The other opening of the main body portion 53 is provided with an insertion hole 56 into which the terminal plug 39 is inserted. Insertion hole 5
A plate spring-shaped electrode 57 is disposed within the electrode 6 . The ends of power cords 54 are connected to the electrodes 57, respectively. Further, a support base 58 for the connector 52 is arranged approximately at the center in the length direction of the main body portion 53 . The support stand 58 includes a support part 59 that supports the main body part 53, and leg parts 60 attached to the lower part of the support part 59. The leg portion 60 is screwed onto the support portion 59 and is movable up and down. Furthermore, a fixing member 61 is disposed on the upper surface of the main body portion 53 at the end on the side of the insertion hole 56 . The fixing member 61 has a stop pin 62 that fits into the positioning hole 41 of the cell electroprocessing electrode 1 .

In the connector 52, the terminal plug 39 of the lower member 3 is accommodated in the insertion hole 56, and the stop pin 62 is fitted into the positioning hole 41 of the lower member 3.
It is attached to the lower member 3. The terminal plug 39 housed in the housing hole 56 comes into elastic contact with the electrodes 57, 57. The lower member 3 to which the connector 52 is attached is placed in the well 51 by the operator holding the main body 53 of the connector 52. Although the connector 52 protrudes from the lower member 3 disposed in the well 51, the height of the connector 52 is adjusted by the legs 60 of the support base 58, so that it is stable.

In this way, in the lower member 3 disposed in the well 51, each electrode plate 36 is immersed in the cell suspension.

Next, the connector 64 attached to the tip of the power cord 63 is attached to the terminal plug 20 of the upper member 2, and the tweezers are inserted into the insertion hole 22.
Place the upper member 2 on the lower member 3 while supporting the upper member 2. At this time, positioning is performed by engagement between the locking groove 13 and the locking piece 34, so each electrode plate 18 of the upper member 2 and each electrode plate 36 of the lower member 3 are arranged in parallel.

When the power supply device (not shown) is activated, the lower member 3
A voltage is applied between the electrode plate 36 of the upper member 2 and the electrode plate 18 of the upper member 2, and the cell suspension is subjected to electrical treatment (cell fusion treatment or gene introduction treatment). Here, since the electrode plates 36 and the electrode plates 18 alternately face each other at a small interval, the cell suspension can be electrically processed efficiently.

In this example, cells undergoing electrical treatment can be observed with a microscope. For example, the microplate 50 is placed on the stage of a microscope, and the upper member 2
When the objective lens is brought close to the glass plate 15 side, cells can be observed.

When the electrical treatment of the cell suspension is completed, the lower member 3
Remove the upper member 2 from the
Take it out. Note that the upper member 2 has insertion holes 22,
It can be removed from the lower member 3 by inserting the tip of tweezers into 22 and lifting it up.
Here, by dividing the upper member 2 and the lower member 3, the spacing between the electrode plates returns to the original spacing between each electrode plate 36 and between each electrode plate 18, so that there is no leakage between the electrode plates. Cell suspension can be easily removed. Therefore, according to this embodiment, other wells 5
It is possible to quickly move on to processing the cell suspension in 1.

[Other Examples]

(a) In the embodiment described above, several types of upper members 2 having electrode plates 18 of different thicknesses may be prepared. In this case, by replacing the upper member 2, the distance between the electrode plate 36 of the lower member 3 and the electrode plate 18 of the upper member 2 can be changed in accordance with the cell processing conditions and the like.

(b) In the above embodiment, this embodiment was used in a microplate 50 having a plurality of wells 51, but a shear plate containing a cell suspension or the like may also be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the present invention, when the lower member and the upper member are combined, the distance between each first electrode plate and the second electrode plate is smaller than the distance between the first electrode plates or the distance between the second electrode plates. Furthermore, since the spaces between the first and second electrode plates are both open downward, the cell electroprocessing device can be immersed in the cell suspension from above with the upper and lower members combined. Therefore, cells can be processed efficiently. Moreover, if the upper member is separated from the lower member, the cell suspension can be easily removed. Moreover, since the electrode plates can be arranged at wide intervals during manufacturing, manufacturing is easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention in a divided state, Fig. 2 is a plan view of its upper member, Fig. 3 is a plan view of its lower member, and Fig. 4 is a use of the above embodiment. A perspective view showing the state, and FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the connector used when the above embodiment is used. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Electrode for cell electroprocessing, 2... Upper member, 3... Lower member, 18, 36... Electrode plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cell electroprocessing device for applying a voltage to the cell suspension by being immersed in the cell suspension from above, the device comprising: a plurality of first cells disposed in parallel; a lower member having an electrode plate, and a space between the first electrode plates opens downward; a plurality of second electrode plates assembled on the lower member and disposed in parallel; an upper member in which a space between the electrode plates opens downward, and each of the second electrodes is disposed on the upper member so as to be disposed between each of the first electrode plates in a combined state. Electric processing equipment.