An apparatus (8) for isolating corneal endothelial cells (34) (CECs) includes a base portion (10) having an interior recessed opening (14) with a bottom surface (16). A convex projection (18) is centrally located on the bottom surface (16) and is configured to receive an inverted cornea (32). A top portion (12) is configured to mate with the base portion (10). The top portion (12) includes a fluid chamber (24) with a lower surface (20). The lower surface (20) has an opening (22) therein in which the convex projection (18) projects when the top portion (12) is mated with the base portion (10).

Disclosed herein is a tissue harvester comprising a substrate having an airfoil shape; and a textured surface disposed upon the substrate, where the textured surface comprises a spatial array of nanometer or micrometer sized pillars of varying cross-sections. Disclosed herein too is method comprising disposing upon a substrate a textured surface; where the substrate has an airfoil shape and where the textured surface where the textured surface comprises nanometer or micrometer sized pillars; contacting the tissue harvester with biological cells whose proliferation under different conditions is desired; and disposing the tissue harvester in a flow field such that cells disposed on the tissue harvester at different locations may experience different flow fields.

A biological cell preservation or culturing arrangement (20) comprises a chamber defining a fluid retaining space (30) for retaining in use a body of fluid (34) and a deformable membrane (36) in communication with the fluid retaining space, and being manipulable by an electroactive polymer actuator arrangement (38) to undergo a defined topology change to induce in the fluid a pattern of fluid flow by which fluid is exchanged between a sub-region (46) immediately proximal the deformable membrane and a sub-region (48) removed from the deformable membrane.

Activated dissolvable supports are provided comprising an ionotropically crosslinked compound comprising a polymer material having at least one repeating unit comprising an ionically crosslinked carboxylic acid group, and an activated hydroxyl group, wherein the hydroxyl group is activated by N,N-disuccinimidyl carbonate (DSC) or N-hydroxy succinimidyl chloroformate in a solvent to form succinimidyl carbonate groups for ligand binding. Methods of forming activated dissolvable supports, culturing cells on activated dissolvable supports, and harvesting cells from dissolvable supports are provided.

A device for aseptically obtaining a physical sample of an adherent cell culture substrate from an adherent cell culture bioreactor. This enables the operator to directly evaluate e.g., cell density/confluence on the substrate without contaminating the cell culture.

A cell processing system comprising an enclosure 601, an outer enclosure 701 that envelops the enclosure 601, an intake air purification filter 602 provided in the enclosure 601, that purifies gas that has been drawn in from outside the enclosure 601, a circulating apparatus, inside the outer enclosure 701, that circulates gas inside and outside the enclosure 601 in such a manner that gas in the outer enclosure 701 is drawn into the enclosure 601 through the intake air purification filter 602 and gas inside the enclosure 601 is discharged into the outer enclosure 701, and a cell processing apparatus for processing of cells, disposed inside the enclosure 601.

The disclosure provides for multilayered organ-on-a-chip systems that can be used to generate topographic neural organoids, and uses thereof, including as models to study neurological disorders.

A sample preparation method includes: irradiating a first region of a sample with light at a time t1; irradiating a second region different from the first region with the tight at a time t2 after the time t1; and fixing the sample at a time t3 after the time t2. A sample preparing apparatus includes: a light radiating unit that irradiates a first region of a sample with light at time t1 and irradiates a second region different from the first region with the light at a time t2 after the time t1; and a fixing unit that fixes the sample at a time t3 after the time t2.

The present invention features an on demand programmable machine and process for producing synthetic vaccine or other protein product(s). This system includes modular machine components with programmable inputs to responsively and rapidly synthesize selected protein product(s) in desired amounts. When the device is programmed to produce multiple proteins in a single run, the amount of each protein produced is independently controlled. The programmability and modularity is scalable permitting e.g., low volume output to manage an incipient local outbreak, and in cases where higher production volumes are necessary to prevent epidemic or pandemic events, high levels of production can be planned at the outset or scaled up as greater need is recognized.

A manufacturing assembly has at least a sterilizable chamber containing at least one of a three-dimensional printing device (additive manufacturing), a Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) finishing head (subtractive manufacturing), a vacuum-forming unit, an injection-molding unit, a laser-cutting unit, a ultrasonic-welding unit, a robotic arman analysis device, a sampling device or a combination thereof. A plurality of individual sterilizable chambers may be aseptically connected into a network of sterilizable chambers that provides additional functionality for the manufacturing assembly. A sterilizable printer assembly may include at least one printing head, a printing platform, and a driving mechanism adapted to perform a movement of the at least one printing head relative to the printing platform along three degrees of freedom; a printer housing enclosing the printer assembly in a sterile manner, at least one aseptic connector fluidly connected to a corresponding one of the at least one printing head.