Systems and methods are provided for growing algae and/or other microorganisms in a controlled environment while reducing or minimizing the amount of energy required for maintaining desired conditions in the growth medium. The systems can be based on a photobioreactor having a “tube-in-tube structure”, where an outer cylindrical tube contains a heat regulation fluid that surrounds one or more inner cylinders that contain microorganisms in growth media. The heat regulation fluid in the outer cylinder, as well as the outer cylinder itself, can assist with regulating the temperature of the growth media in the inner cylinder(s).

A culture material including a 4-methyl-1-pentene polymer for cells, tissues, or organs, the culture material having a water contact angle at a culture surface of 50° to 100°, a sagging distance by a test method described below of 0 to 5 mm, and an oxygen permeation rate at a temperature of 23° C. and a humidity of 0% of 4500 to 90000 cm.sup.3/(m.sup.2×24 h×atm). A test piece having the same material as the culture material and the same thickness as the culture surface of the culture material and having a flat plate shape of 100 mm long and 10 mm wide is made. The test piece is fixed onto a test board in a state where the test piece protrudes lengthwise in a horizontal direction from a top surface of the test board, the top surface being horizontal.

The present disclosure provides systems, devices, and methods for flow focusing in a microfluidic device. Flow focusing may be used in detection of objects, for example cells, in a stream of fluid passing through a fluidic device. The systems and devices may comprise a flow channel positioned between two sheath channels configured to direct fluid across the flow channel. Flow focusing microfluidic systems and devices disclosed herein may be robust to alignment errors. Systems and devices of the present disclosure may reduce the displacement of flow from the intended locations due to alignment errors. Also disclosed herein are methods for using such microfluidic systems and devices.

A culture container for activating lymphocytes includes immobilized anti-CD3 antibodies and an anti-CD3 antibody solution including anti-CD3 antibodies, wherein the culture container is formed in a bag-like shape and is formed of a soft-packaging material, the immobilized anti-CD3 antibodies are immobilized at a density of 10 to 300 ng/cm.sup.2 on one surface of opposing inner surfaces within the container, and the anti-CD3 antibody solution is enclosed in the container in an amount of 0.25 to 400 ng of the anti-CD3 antibodies in 0.1 to 800 μl of the solution per 1 cm.sup.2 of a culture surface formed of the one surface.

This invention is to provide a means capable of providing excellent cell proliferation activity to a hydrophilic polymer substrate. Provided is a cell culture substrate comprising a coating layer on at least one surface of a hydrophilic polymer substrate, wherein the coating layer includes a polymer comprising a structural unit derived from furfuryl (meth)acrylate represented by Formula, and a ratio of mass of the polymer contained per unit area of the coating layer is more than 2 μg/cm.sup.2.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for producing fermented soybean meal, which produces fermented soybean meal for monogastric animals and ruminant selectively or together. An apparatus for producing fermented soybean meal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a solid-liquid separating part, which mixes raw material soybean meal and an extraction solvent and extracts the soybean meal, and separately produces a remaining soybean meal and a soybean meal extract; a lactic acid bacteria culturing part, which produces the lactic acid bacteria by putting inoculum into the soybean meal extract, and supplies the lactic acid bacteria to the solid-liquid separating part; a solid substrate fermenting part, which is selectively supplied with and mixes at least two of the remaining soybean meal supplied from the solid-liquid separating part, the raw material soybean meal supplied through bypass, and lactic acid bacteria supplied from the lactic acid bacteria culturing part to produce a mixed material, and solid-substrate ferments the mixed material to produce primary solid substrate fermented soybean meal; and a drier, which dries the primary solid substrate fermented soybean meal supplied from the solid substrate fermenting part to produce secondary solid substrate fermented soybean meal.

Disclosed is a spheroid forming culture container using a temperature-sensitive glycol chitosan derivative and a spheroid forming method using the same. In the disclosed spheroid forming culture container, a surface of a culturing space is coated with a glycol chitosan derivative having reversible sol-gel transition characteristic depending on temperature.

In the present invention, a photobioreactor and process for producing and harvesting microalgae involves a vessel for cultivating microalgae that is at least partially transparent to admit light into the vessel. At least a portion of the transparent part of the vessel is coated with a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer. The TCO layer is transparent to visible light necessary for algae growth, but is opaque to infrared light thereby reducing thermal heating load in the photobioreactor. The TCO layer also acts as an electrode, which when combined with a counter-electrode can provide a potential difference across at least a portion of the interior of the vessel between the TCO layer and the counter-electrode. The electrode arrangement can be utilized in an electrochemical process (e.g. electrodeposition and/or electroflotation) to dewater and harvest the microalgae in the same apparatus as the microalgae was cultivated.

The invention concerns a robotic method for coating the bottom surface of at least one well of a multiwell plate by a polyelectrolyte multilayer film, the multiwell plate obtainable according to the method and the use thereof for cell culture.

The present disclosure provides a culture device for enumerating colonies of sulfate-reducing microorganisms. The device includes a body having a waterproof base, a waterproof coversheet attached to the base, and a growth compartment disposed therebetween. The growth compartment has a perimeter and an opening. A portion of the perimeter is defined by a waterproof seal. The portion can include >50% of the perimeter. Disposed in the growth compartment are a dry cold water-soluble gelling agent, a dry culture medium selected to facilitate growth of a sulfate-reducing bacterium or indicator reagent for detecting hydrogen sulfide production by a sulfate-reducing bacterium, and a dry first oxygen-scavenging reagent.