Methods and systems for processing suspensions of biological cells and microcarriers are disclosed. The biological cells are separated from the microcarriers by introducing the suspension into a spinning membrane separator whereby the biological cells pass through the membrane and the microcarriers do not pass through the membrane.

An apparatus for collecting or culturing cells or cell colonies includes: a common substrate formed from a flexible resilient polymeric material and having a plurality of wells formed therein; and a plurality of rigid cell carriers releasably connected to said common substrate, with said carriers arranged in the form of an array, and with each of the carriers resiliently received in one of the wells. A method of collecting or culturing cells or cell colonies with such an apparatus is carried out by depositing a liquid media carrying cells on the apparatus so that said cells settle on or adhere to said the carriers; and then (c) releasing at least one selected carrier having said cells thereon by gradual application of release energy to each carrier from the cavity in which it is received (e.g., by pushing with a probe).

The present invention relates to methods and devices for monitoring events occurred in a single cell or examining cell characteristics in a single cell in a massive parallel and real-time manner. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a single-cell culturing system for culturing and monitoring a large number of cells independently at single-cell level. In one embodiment, the present invention provides methods and devices for studying or monitoring single-cell response to an external stimulus in a massive parallel and real-time manner. In one embodiment, the present invention provides methods and devices for studying or monitoring drug response at single-cell level in a massive parallel and real-time manner.

A separation device for separating a solid separation target contained in a suspension obtained by suspension culture of adherent cells by using a fine scaffold material, and a separation method. The separation device has a separation chamber having a first chamber and a second chamber, and the first chamber and the second chamber are divided by a mesh structure for separation. The mesh structure for separation has mesh-holes with a predetermined size to suppress passage of the separation target, and a mesh structure for separation is configured in the separation chamber such that the liquid in the aforementioned suspension has a vertically upward directional component in the advancing direction of the liquid when the liquid passes through the mesh-holes.

An apparatus for collecting or culturing cells or cell colonies includes: a common substrate formed from a flexible resilient polymeric material and having a plurality of wells formed therein; and a plurality of rigid cell carriers releasably connected to said common substrate, with said carriers arranged in the form of an array, and with each of the carriers resiliently received in one of the wells. A method of collecting or culturing cells or cell colonies with such an apparatus is carried out by depositing a liquid media carrying cells on the apparatus so that said cells settle on or adhere to said the carriers; and then (c) releasing at least one selected carrier having said cells thereon by gradual application of release energy to each carrier from the cavity in which it is received (e.g., by pushing with a probe).

The present disclosure provides ex vivo chamber-specific cardiac tissues, methods for generating the cardiac tissues in a bioreactor, and methods of using the cardiac tissues. Examples of cardiac tissues that can be generated include, but are not limited to, atrial tissues, ventricular tissues, and composite tissues having an atrial tissue connected to a ventricular tissue.

A microfluidic apparatus can comprise a dielectrophoresis (DEP) configured section for holding a first liquid medium and selectively inducing net DEP forces in the first liquid medium. The microfluidic apparatus can also comprise an electrowetting (EW) configured section for holding a second liquid medium on an electrowetting surface and selectively changing an effective wetting property of the electrowetting surface. The DEP configured section can be utilized to select and move a micro-object in the first liquid medium. The EW configured section can be utilized to pull a droplet of the first liquid medium into the second liquid medium.

A cell culture apparatus includes an introduction-side flow path arranged to allow a culture solution introduced to flow therethrough and be introduced therethrough into each of a plurality of concave wells of a flexible strip circumferentially wound, and a first introduction-side seal provided on an outer circumferential side of the introduction-side flow path, the first introduction-side seal being configured to block flow of the culture solution from the introduction-side flow path to an outer circumferential side of the flexible strip.

The disclosure relates generally to a cell culture apparatus and a cell culture method. One aspect of the disclosure is an oxygen-permeable bag comprising one or more polymer films defining a boundary of an interior compartment of the bag, each of the one or more polymer films comprising an inner layer adjacent the interior compartment of the bag, the inner layer comprising a fluoropolymer, and adhered to the inner layer, an outer layer comprising polymer; a first port formed in an exterior surface of the bag and in fluid communication with the interior compartment; a second port formed in an exterior surface of the bag and in fluid communication with the interior compartment; and contained in the interior compartment, a plurality of microcarriers.

A method of testing an antibiotic susceptibility includes dispensing and cultivating sample solution into culture wells including one or more comparative wells and a plurality of antibiotic wells receiving two or more kinds of antibiotics, respectively, receiving the sample solution into a plurality of preprocessing wells each including magnetic particles and fluorescent particles that bond to one or more kinds of bacteria such that the bacteria and the magnetic particles and fluorescent particles bond to each other, receiving the sample solution into a plurality of image wells having magnetic members thereunder such that the magnetic particles bonding to the bacteria are arranged on the bottoms of the image wells, removing the sample solution from the image wells that have undergone the planarizing step, taking fluorescent images of the image wells washed in the washing step, and determining an antibiotic tolerance/susceptibility of the sample solution by analyzing the fluorescent images.