Disclosed is a 3D porous medium and a method of manufacture. The 3D porous medium includes (i) a support structure of transparent hydrogel particles or emulsion droplets, (ii) bacterial nutrient in open volumes between the transparent hydrogel particles, as well as within micropores in the transparent hydrogel particles, and (iii) bacterial cells within the open volumes in the support structure.

The present invention describes methods for quantifying and analyzing cell migration and drug screening. Such methods include a gel (or a hydrogel) comprising a polymer, and cells that forms an oxygen gradient within the gel by controlling the balance of the diffusion of oxygen through the top of the gel and by the consumption of oxygen uptake by the cells. The migration of the cells is determined while the cells are grown in the gel of the present invention.

An extracellular potential measurement device includes multiple insulating films each of which is made from an electric insulating material, the insulating films being stacked and bonded to each other; and multiple electrode wires each of which is made from an electroconductive material, the electrode wires being arranged in multiple heights. Each of the electrode wires is interposed between an upper insulating film and a lower insulating film. Each of the insulating films, except for a lowermost insulating film, has an opening penetrating the insulating film. The opening in a lower insulating film has a size that is less than that of the opening in an upper insulating film, the openings in the insulating films being overlapped to form a recess having a size reducing downward, the recess being adapted to store a collection of cells. Each of the electrode wires has an end that is located near an opening in an insulating film that is immediately below the electrode wire, the ends being exposed in the recess.

An array platform for three-dimensional cell culturing and drug testing and screening is disclosed. In the array platform, a hydrogel-cell mixture injection area is configured to inject a plurality of kinds of hydrogel-cell mixtures. Cell observation areas are connected to the hydrogel-cell mixture injection area. Electrodes are disposed under the cell observation areas and automatic cell quantification and three-dimensional cell co-arrangement of the plurality of kinds of hydrogel-cell mixtures in the cell observation areas through the electrodes to imitate a structure of body's tissues. A drug injection area is configured to inject a plurality of kinds of drugs. Drug combination generators respectively correspond to the cell observation areas and are connected to the drug injection area. Each drug combination generator has a microfluidic channel structure and configured to generate drug combinations according to the plurality of kinds of drugs.

The technology is provided to effectively visualize culture statuses related to a plurality of culture targets. Provided is a control device including a display control unit that controls dynamic display related to a culture status of a culture target including a cell having a division potential, the culture status being estimated along a time series by morphological analysis using a learned model generated on the basis of a machine learning algorithm, in which the display control unit controls comparative display of the culture statuses of a plurality of the culture targets. Furthermore, provided is a control method including controlling, by a processor, dynamic display related to a culture status of a culture target including a cell having a division potential, the culture status being estimated along a time series by morphological analysis using a learned model generated on the basis of a machine learning algorithm, and controlling the display further including controlling comparative display of the culture statuses of a plurality of the culture targets.

A bioreactor (1) for the culture of cells (C) comprising a stack of carriers (7) for cell (C) adherence and liquid medium (M) distribution. The carriers (7) are stacked so as to define levels (6) between adjacent carriers (7) for the flow of the liquid medium (M). Adjacent levels (6) are fluidly interconnected via open spaces (2) so that the liquid medium (M) can flow from one level (6) to an adjacent level (6). The open spaces (2) between a first and an adjacent second level (6′) do not overlap with the one or more open spaces (2) between the second level (6′) and an adjacent third level (6″). One or more of the carriers may also include an area adapted to prevent cell adhesion or growth, thereby allowing for the viewing of cell growth on adjacent carriers from a vantage point external to the bioreactor. Related methods are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to methods and systems for performing perfusion cell culture whereby the supernatant of the bleed stream is recovered.

An in vitro endothelial cell culture system for optimizing the pulsatile working mode of a continuous flow artificial heart belongs to the technical field of artificial organs. The system includes three parts: 1) a cell culture model on a microfluidic chip and an off-chip multielement aortic arch afterload fluid mechanics circulation loop; 2) devices for simulating the power source of a cardiovascular system: a fluid loading device is realized by a pulse blood pump, and an artificial heart device is connected in parallel to both ends of the pulse blood pump; and 3) a peripheral detection and feedback control system, comprising pressure and flow sensors, a fluorescence microscope, a CCD high-speed camera system and a proportional-integral-derivative feedback control system. The system can accurately simulate the real hemodynamics microenvironment of vascular endothelial cells in different parts of the aortic arch.

Provided are a cell culture process search method, a cell culture process search program, and a cell culture process search device capable of searching for an optimal culture condition. A cell culture process search method includes a process condition generation step of generating a plurality of process conditions for culturing a cell, a culture result prediction step of acquiring a culture prediction result of the cell for each of the plurality of process conditions generated in the process condition generation step, and an optimized process condition acquisition step of finding out an optimal process condition from the culture prediction result obtained in the culture result prediction step. A cell culture process search program to be executed and a cell culture process search device are provided. The process condition includes at least either of a plurality of culture medium compositions or a plurality of culture conditions.

An apparatus for in-situ monitoring and measuring of general corrosion and localized microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in a simulated environment is provided. The apparatus includes a chamber containing an electrolyte solution and a microbe specimen. The chamber includes a pair of electrical resistance (ER) probes that measure a current flowing through the electrolyte solution and a general corrosion rate on the surface of the ER probes. The chamber also includes a pair of electrochemical noise (EN) probes. The EN probes are aligned to face one another such that the EN probes measure a localized corrosion rate on the surface of the EN probes and measure the influence of gravity on MIC. The apparatus measures the general and localized corrosion rates simultaneously without polarizing the surface of the ER and EN probes.