The present disclosure provides a cell culture automation system that provides enclosed culture conditions that may reduce the risk of contamination and automatically culture cells in large scale. Particularly, the cell culture system comprises (i) one or more removable microfluidic microwells and (ii) a culture device holding the microfluidic microwells, wherein each microfluidic microwell has one or multiple hollow units compartmentalized, and containing microfluidic channels with no bottoms throughout the microfluidic microwell, wherein the microfluidic channels contain one or more cell inlets.

Disclosed herein is a colony analysis apparatus, which cultures microorganisms collected from food subject to microbial collection on a plurality of Petri substrates and analyzes colors and the number of the cultured microorganisms by image recognition, thereby accurately determining and analyzing the contamination level of the food subject to microbial collection by an average value of the analysis.

Structures and methods for tissue engineering include a multicellular body including a plurality of living cells. A plurality of multicellular bodies can be arranged in a pattern and allowed to fuse to form an engineered tissue. The arrangement can include filler bodies including a biocompatible material that resists migration and ingrowth of cells from the multicellular bodies and that is resistant to adherence of cells to it. Three-dimensional constructs can be assembled by printing or otherwise stacking the multicellular bodies and filler bodies such that there is direct contact between adjoining multicellular bodies, suitably along a contact area that has a substantial length. The direct contact between the multicellular bodies promotes efficient and reliable fusion. The increased contact area between adjoining multicellular bodies also promotes efficient and reliable fusion. Methods of producing multicellular bodies having characteristics that facilitate assembly of the three-dimensional constructs are also provided.

Devices, systems, and methods can be used for the automated production of dendritic cells (DC) from dendritic cell progenitors, such as monocytes obtained from peripheral blood. The invention makes it possible to obtain sufficient quantities of a subject's own DC for use in preparing and characterizing vaccines, for activating and characterizing the activation state of the subject's immune response, and to aid in preventing and/or treating cancer or infectious disease.

Devices, systems, and methods can be used for the automated production of dendritic cells (DC) from dendritic cell progenitors, such as monocytes obtained from peripheral blood. The invention makes it possible to obtain sufficient quantities of a subject's own DC for use in preparing and characterizing vaccines, for activating and characterizing the activation state of the subject's immune response, and to aid in preventing and/or treating cancer or infectious disease.

Structures and methods for tissue engineering include a multicellular body including a plurality of living cells. A plurality of multicellular bodies can be arranged in a pattern and allowed to fuse to form an engineered tissue. The arrangement can include filler bodies including a biocompatible material that resists migration and ingrowth of cells from the multicellular bodies and that is resistant to adherence of cells to it. Three-dimensional constructs can be assembled by printing or otherwise stacking the multicellular bodies and filler bodies such that there is direct contact between adjoining multicellular bodies, suitably along a contact area that has a substantial length. The direct contact between the multicellular bodies promotes efficient and reliable fusion. The increased contact area between adjoining multicellular bodies also promotes efficient and reliable fusion. Methods of producing multicellular bodies having characteristics that facilitate assembly of the three-dimensional constructs are also provided.

A cell cultivation apparatus for cultivating microorganisms and growing cells at high density is provided. The apparatus includes a membrane comprising multiple surface features on a first side of the membrane for cell placement. The surface features comprising one or more compartments within which a cell can be located. The membrane includes a material that is at least partially permeable to gas. A second side of the membrane defines a gas region. The second side of the membrane is separated from the first side of the membrane by the membrane. The apparatus further includes a media region for receiving media. The compartments are configured to at least partially reduce media flow shear forces on one or more cells in the compartments. The surface features may be ridges, protrusions, fins, wells, and/or posts.

A production device including an isolator housing to receive functional components of the production device and products in an interior of the production device and to hermetically seal the components from the surroundings. The production device includes at least one robot received in the isolator housing, wherein the robot is one or more of operable to carry out specific tasks or operable to be remotely controllable by means of a remote controller. The production device includes at least one linear movement unit received in the isolator housing and configured to move the at least one robot long a linear movement axis. The production device includes at least one control unit to control one or more of a movement or an operation of the at least one robot.

A cover is provided for a Petri dish including a base portion having a continuous peripheral sidewall for holding a layer of a gel medium having a predetermined depth for growing micro-organisms. The cover comprises a top portion having an inner surface, and a depending integral peripheral flange for receiving the sidewall of the base portion in a closed position. A plurality of posts depend orthogonally from the inner surface of the top portion to free distal ends. The posts are sufficiently long such that the free distal ends of the posts extend into the liquid gel medium when the cover is in the closed position. The posts cause an array of wells to form in the surface of the hardened gel medium corresponding to the depth of penetration of the posts into the medium.

A method and apparatus for locating and selecting a colony of microorganisms on a culture dish and identifying microorganisms in said selected colony using MALDI. The method comprises the automated steps of locating and selecting a colony of microorganisms on a culture dish; obtaining a sample of said selected colony of microorganisms; depositing at least some of said sample of said selected colony of microorganisms on a target plate; and transferring said target plate with said sample in an apparatus for performing MALDI for identification of said sample of said selected colony of microorganisms. A sample of a colony of microorganisms is automatically deposited on a depositing spot such that the sample covers at most approximately half of said one of the depositing spots of the target plate. A suspension of a sample of microorganisms is automatically prepared by automatically picking the sample with a picking tool and submerging the picking tool with said sample in a suspension, after which the picking tool is vibrated in vertical sense only to release the sample from the picking tool.