This invention describes a design for a multiwell plate that contains integrated pumps that are used to stir each well of the plate. The device employs microfluidic logic technology to drive each peristaltic pump. This enables the plates to run autonomously, requiring only a static vacuum supply for power. The devices are entirely constructed out of low-cost polymers, with no electronics, and yet contains simple digital logic circuits to control the pumps. A stack of these plates may be run continuously in a standard cell culture incubator, allowing high-throughput culture of organoids.

A cell culture vessel comprising a housing in which a culture chamber is provided. In the housing, at least two holes that connect the outside of the housing and a culture chamber are provided.

The present invention concerns the field of high-efficiency, quality-controlled production of blue-green algae for direct human consumption, for extraction of proteins, vitamins, and amino acids, and for production of organic materials loaded with the special isotope 13C.

It is an object of the present invention to describe a high-efficiency photobioreactor.

Provided is a biological fluidic system that provides a high degree of sterilization by performing the biological processing in a closed system in which the fluid is contained in chambers that are isolated from the environment in a manner that does not permit ingress of contaminants.

Bioreactors and components of bioreactors are described as may be beneficially utilized in development and conditioning of cellular materials for study or implant. The bioreactors are modular, and components of the bioreactors can be easily assembled with alternatives provided to develop specific, predetermined conditioning environments for cellular materials (e.g., implantable tissue). By selection of one of multiple alternative compliance chambers, a bioreactor can be utilized to condition tissue in a low-pressure circuit (e.g., a pulmonary heart circuit), and by utilization of an alternative compliance chamber, the bioreactor can instead condition tissue in a high-pressure circuit (e.g., an aortic heart circuit).

A horizontal flow bioreactor facilitates continuous flow conditions to cells grown on a tissue engineered scaffold. More particularly, interstitial fluid flow conditions are mimicked around cells inside the body, thereby improving the mass transfer rates of cells and providing physical stimulus to the cells. Unlike the available perfusion based vertical bioreactors where flow is vertical through scaffolds, the horizontal flow reactor enables studies on attachment of cells to substrates, tissues, and bone mimetic scaffolds. The horizontal bioreactor further aides study of cell proliferation, cell migration, cell clustering, biology of cell growth, cell response, cell filtration techniques for capturing tumor cells, the testing of drugs, and drug delivery under flow conditions. The horizontal bioreactor can mimic in vivo conditions, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), and mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET).

Cell culture apparatus for emulating gastrointestinal tract conditions and comprising at least two adjacent, microfluidic, cell cultivation channels separated by a permeable or semipermeable membrane, a first channel carrying gastrointestinal tract epithelial cells or tissues and a second channel carrying luminal and preferably mucosal microbiota, and wherein said second channel comprises one or more dwell chambers capable of providing a location for unattached luminal flora to reside away from any direct flow in said second channel, permits modelling of multiple sections of the gastrointestinal tract and control of retention times.

The invention provides a fluidic device that comprises at least two separate testing units, each of which is adapted to expose living cells to a moving fluid. The fluidic devices are useful for testing cell types such as kidney cells that are sensitive to shear stress, and can be configured for high-throughput testing. The fluidic device is adapted to receive a multi-well cell culture plate to which the living cells can be adhered or affixed. In some embodiments, flow channels in the fluidic device are positioned to expose the living cells to moving fluid, and the flow wells are adapted to provide substantially uniform shear stress across the area where the living cells are exposed to the moving fluid.

Bioreactors and components of bioreactors are described as may be beneficially utilized in development and conditioning of cellular materials for study or implant. The bioreactors are modular, and components of the bioreactors can be easily assembled with alternatives provided to develop specific, predetermined conditioning environments for cellular materials (e.g., implantable tissue). By selection of one of multiple alternative compliance chambers, a bioreactor can be utilized to condition tissue in a low-pressure circuit (e.g., a pulmonary heart circuit), and by utilization of an alternative compliance chamber, the bioreactor can instead condition tissue in a high-pressure circuit (e.g., an aortic heart circuit).

A protocol created in such a format that a series of operations in cell culture are executable by a robot 10 is acquired (S1). The robot 10 is controlled to implement the operations according to the protocol (S2). In order to modify the protocol after the implementation of the operations, modification information on at least one action among basic actions which serve as bases for implementing the operations and is performed on an instrument used by the robot 10 in the operations, and complementary actions which complement the basic actions is acquired (S5). The robot 10 is controlled to produce cells by using the protocol modified based on the modification information (S7).