A system and method for studying cell injury mechanisms by applying biologically relevant mechanical impact to in vitro cell culture are disclosed. This approach is for maintaining consistent in vitro conditions during experiments, accommodating multiple cell populations, and monitoring each in real-time while achieving amplitude and time scale of input acceleration that mimic blunt injury cases. These multiplexed, environmental control capabilities enable characterizing the relationships between mechanical impact and cell injury in multivariate biological systems.

The present disclosure provides an automated method of producing viral vectors, utilizing engineered viral vector-producing cell lines, or packaging cells, within a fully-enclosed cell engineering system. Exemplary viral vectors that can be produced include lentivirus vectors, adeno-associated virus vectors, baculovirus vectors and retrovirus vectors.

Cells may be cultured by a method including the following steps: a first step of preparing a population of cell aggregates having a major axis of not more than 400 μm, and a second step of suspension culturing the population of cell aggregates obtained in the first step.

A method of performing antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) on a sample uses a reader device that mounts on a mobile phone having a camera. A microtiter plate containing wells preloaded with the bacteria-containing sample, growth medium, and drugs of differing concentrations is loaded into the reader device. The wells are illuminated using an array of illumination sources contained in the reader device. Images of the wells are acquired with the camera of the mobile phone. In one embodiment, the images are transmitted to a separate computing device for processing to classify each well as turbid or not turbid and generating MIC values and a susceptibility characterization for each drug in the panel based on the turbidity classification of the array of wells. The MIC values and the susceptibility characterizations for each drug are transmitted or returned to the mobile phone for display thereon.

A cell evaluation method evaluates the quality of a cell population including a plurality of cells. The cell evaluation method comprises: an index calculation step of calculating an index, based on a captured image of the cell population, the index including at least any one of an average distance representing a packing degree of the cells, a spring constant representing a degree of consistency in distances between the cells, and a hexagonal order parameter representing a degree to which an arrangement of the cells resembles a regular hexagon; and an evaluation step of evaluating the cell population, based on the index calculated in the index calculation step.

A measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present technology includes a light source, a filling portion, and a detector. The light source emits illumination light. The filling portion includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion which are provided on an optical path of the illumination light and are opposite to each other, the filling portion enabling a cavity between the first and second surface portions to be filled with liquid including a cell. The detector detects an interference fringe of the illumination light passing through the cavity, the interference fringe being caused by the liquid including the cell.

An example apparatus includes a well plate having an array of wells, a light encoding layer positioned under the well plate, an imaging layer to capture an image of the well plate encoded by the light encoding layer, an array of electrodes positioned on a surface of a bottom floor of the at least one well, and a controller. The light encoding layer is to encode light passing through a microscopic object in at least one well of the array of wells. The light encoding layer has a substantially flat form. The controller is to direct electrical voltage to the electrodes to generate a non-rotating, non-uniform electrical field, the electrical field being to rotate an object in the electrical field.

Disclosed is a method for detection and/or quantification of microorganism in a liquid sample, in particular in a water sample, the method comprising the steps of: (a) distributing the liquid sample into a number of different discrete volume portions in a linear distribution pattern, or diluting the liquid sample into a number of dilution samples by a dilution factor of a linear distribution pattern; (b) allowing the microorganism to grow; and (c) applying the Most Probable Number method to the linearly distributed volume portions or the linearly diluted dilution samples to detect and/or quantify the microorganism. The invention also discloses a sample holder for detection and/or quantification of microorganism in a liquid sample, wherein the sample holder is structured to hold the liquid sample in a number of different compartments, wherein the different compartments respectively define a linear volume distribution.

A method for optimizing a process (PROC) to produce a biochemical product (P) defined by a quality attribute, the process being controlled by an actuation parameter (C) and being monitored to get a measured value (T). The method includes training a predictive model (PRED) on a training database; and deploying the trained predictive model (PRED) to provide a correction actuation parameter (dC) when a predicted quality attribute (pQA) is out of a targeted quality attribute interval (QAmin, QAmax). The method also includes a step of designing a physical model of the process (PROC) able to provide a simulated quality attribute, the training database comprising simulated quality attributes computed from the physical model and experimental quality attributes computed from biochemical products (P) previously produced.

Aspects of the invention relate to cell culture vessels and method for using the vessels to agitate and maintain cells in suspension. In some embodiments, the vessel has a body configured to hold a volume of liquid containing cells to be cultured, the vessel body having a deformable portion arranged to induce movement of the liquid sufficient to maintain the cells in suspension. In some embodiments, the deformable portion is in at least one of a base and sidewall of the vessel body. In some embodiments, the deformable portion is deformed according to a deformable pattern. In some embodiments, the deformable portion is deformed via a deformation plate having one or more movable members that contact the deformable portion.