ข้อถือสิทธิ
1. A culture chamber ซึ่งประกอบรวมด้วย a plurality of recesses each formed of a bottom portion and an opening portion, wherein
5 the bottom portion has one of a hemispherical shape and a truncated cone shape,
the opening portion is defined by a wall that surrounds an area from a boundary between the opening portion and the bottom portion to an end of each of the recesses, the wall having a taper angle in a range from 1 degree to 20 degrees,
an equivalent diameter of the boundary is in a range from 50 gm to 2 mm and a depth 10 from a bottom of the bottom portion to the end of each of the recesses is in a range from 0.6 or
more times to 3 or less times the equivalent diameter, and
the wall defining the opening portion forms a surface continuous to the bottom portion, and an inclination of the continuous surface changes at the boundary.
15 2. The culture chamber according to ข้อถือสิทธิ 1, wherein the end of each of the recesses
has one of a hemispherical shape, a trapezoidal shape, and an inverted triangular shape.
3. The culture chamber according to ข้อถือสิทธิ 1 or 2, wherein an area between two
adjacent recesses is flat and a distance between the two recesses is in a range from 5 pm to 50 20
4. The culture chamber according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 1 to 3, wherein the culture
chamber is a resin molding formed of one or a combination of two or more selected from the
group consisting of acrylic resin, polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, styrene resin, acrylic styrene 25 copolymer resin, polycarbonate resin, polyester resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, ethylene vinyl
alcohol copolymer resin, thermoplastic elastomer, vinyl chloride resin, and silicon resin.
5. The culture chamber according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 1 to 4, wherein a functional
group is formed on the recesses by a surface modification treatment method of any one of
30 plasma treatment, glass coating, corona discharge, and UV ozonation, or a combination thereof
and the treatment is performed so that a water contact angle becomes 45 degrees or less.
6. The culture chamber according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 1 to 5, wherein a hydrophilic
polymer chain that inhibits cell adhesion is immobilized in the recesses.
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7. The culture chamber according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 1 to 6, wherein a phospholipid or a phospholipid-polymer complex is immobilized in the recesses.
5 8. The culture chamber according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 1 to 7, wherein each of the
recesses has a cell non-adhesive surface on which at least one polymer of a hydrophilic polymer
chain that inhibits cell adhesion, and a phospholipid, or a phospholipid-polymer complex is
immobilized after a functional group is formed in the recesses by a surface modification
treatment method of any one of plasma treatment, glass coating, corona discharge, and UV
10 ozonation, or a combination thereof and the treatment is perfoiined so that a water contact angle
becomes 45 degrees or less.
9. The culture chamber according to ข้อถือสิทธิ 8, wherein the hydrophilic polymer chain is poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate).
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10. The culture chamber according to ข้อถือสิทธิ 9, wherein an average molecular weight of the poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) is 100,000 or more.
11. A culture method that uses a culture chamber according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 1 to 20 10, the culture method ซึ่งประกอบรวมด้วย:
dispersing cells into a medium, a total number of the cells being equal to or greater than a number N of the recesses of the culture chamber and equal to or less than a number obtained by multiplying the number N of the recesses by a value obtained by dividing a volume V1 of a
space defined by each of the recesses by a volume V2 of cells to be seeded; and
25 adding the medium to the culture chamber.
12. The culture method according to ข้อถือสิทธิ 11, wherein one spheroid is formed in one space defined by each of the recesses.
30 13. The culture method according to ข้อถือสิทธิ 12, wherein a spheroid is formed in the
space and the spheroid is allowed to grow.
14. The culture method according to ข้อถือสิทธิ 12 or 13, wherein a spheroid is formed in the space and is differentiated and induced.
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15. The culture method according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 11 to 14, wherein 60% or more of a total number of spheroids formed in the culture chamber have a diameter in a range of 15% of an average spheroid diameter.
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16. The culture method according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 11 to 15, wherein cells in the recesses are recovered by agitating the medium.
17. The culture method according to ข้อถือสิทธิ 16, wherein the agitation of the medium is 10 done by any one of the following means: agitation of the medium by shaking the culture
chamber; agitation of the medium by sucking and discharging the medium; agitation of the
medium by disposing a stirring blade in the culture chamber; and agitation of the medium by
placing a stirrer in the culture chamber, or a combination thereof
15 18. The culture method according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 11 to 17, wherein the medium
is replaced at least once, and 20% or more of the medium is replaced.
19. A culture method for cell seeding, cell culture, replacement of a medium, and
harvesting of cells by using a culture chamber according to any one of ข้อถือสิทธิ 1 to 10, the culture 20 method ซึ่งประกอบรวมด้วย the steps of:
a) dispersing cells into a medium, the number of the cells being equal to or greater than a number n of recesses of the culture chamber and equal to or less than a number obtained by multiplying the number n of the recesses by a value obtained by dividing a volume V of each of the recesses by a volume v of cells to be seeded, and adding the medium to the culture chamber;
25 b) culturing the cells in the culture chamber for 12 hours or more to form a spheroid;
c) sucking 20% or more of the medium and then injecting the same amount of fresh medium;
d) repeating the steps a) to c) a plurality of times to allow the spheroid to grow;
e) allowing the spheroid to grow to a desired size and then agitating the medium to 30 suspend the cells within the recesses in the medium; and
f) sucking the medium including the cells by a suction machine to recover the cells.
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ABSTRACT
A microspace structure for highly efficiently producing spheroids of uniform size and
easily replacing and recovering culture medium is designed, and a culture vessel having the designed microspace structure is provided. A plurality of recesses (10) comprising a bottom part (11) and an opening part (12) are arranged in the culture vessel. The
bottom part (11) has the shape of either a hemisphere or a truncated cone, and the
opening part (12) is constituted by walls having a taper angle of from 1° to 20° and
surrounding an area from the boundary with the bottom part (11) to the end part of the recess (10). In addition, the equivalent diameter at the boundary is from 50 pm to 2 mm, the depth from the bottom of the bottom part (11) to the end part is 0.6 to 3 times the equivalent diameter, the walls constituting the opening part (12) form a continuous
surface with the bottom part (11), and the slope of the continuous surface changes at the boundary.