BIOLOGICAL FLUIDIC SYSTEM

Abstract

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.

Claims

1. A system for cultivating microorganisms or performing biological processing, comprising: a fluid driving mechanism; and a processing arrangement formed between two pliable polymeric sheets, the processing arrangement comprising: a processing chamber, a duct extending between two ports of the chamber to permit flow of fluid between the two ports through the duct, and a flow-driving region defined within the duct, flow-driving region is configured for engagement with the fluid driving mechanism to thereby propel fluid flow between the two ports in response to selective pressure on different pliable regions of the flow-driving region.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the flow-driving region is generally circular and the fluid driving mechanism is configured to peristaltically propel the fluid.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the driving mechanism comprises a driving motor with a magnetic element configured for magnetic coupling with an engaging element that is engaged with and configured to propel fluid through the flow-driving region.

4. The system claim 1, comprising a venting arrangement permitting gas exchange between the interior of the processing arrangement and the exterior.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the venting arrangement is configured to permit gas exchange without passage of microorganism therethrough.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the venting arrangement comprises a filter for filtering solid particles.

7. The system of claim 1, comprising an inoculation port for introducing living matter into the chamber.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein opposite walls of the processing chamber are fixed to one another in one or more regions other than the edges of the chamber.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing arrangement is disposable.

10. The system of claim 1, comprising a base structure that comprises the driving mechanism and configured for association with the processing arrangement, the driving mechanism comprises a driving motor for driving one or more magnetic engagement elements; the one or more magnetic engagement elements are physically separated from the driving mechanism and are configured for being magnetically coupled to the driving motor to be driven thereby and to propel the fluid, upon the engagement with the flow-driving region.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the two polymeric sheets are welded to one another to form a structure of internal spaces confined between the two sheets that are not welded to one another, defining the structure of said processing arrangement.

12. The system of claim 1, comprising a temperature control unit configured to control the temperature within the processing chamber.

13. (canceled)

14. The system of claim 1, comprising at least one of a temperature sensor or a light sensor, wherein the at least one of temperature sensor or light sensor is in data communication with a communication module configure to communicate the sensed data.

15.-16. (canceled)

17. The system of claim 1, comprising at least one light source configured to at least illuminate the processing chamber.

18. (canceled)

19. A cultivating arrangement formed between two pliable polymeric sheets, the cultivating arrangement comprising: a cultivation chamber, a duct extending between two ports of the chamber to permit flow of fluid between the two ports through the duct, and having a flow-driving region defined within the duct that is configured for engagement with a fluid driving mechanism to thereby propel fluid flow between the two ports in response to selective pressure on different pliable regions of said flow-driving region.

20. A biological fluidic system comprising: a fluid driving mechanism; and a biological arrangement formed between two pliable polymeric sheets, the biological arrangement comprising: at least one chamber, at least one duct to permit flow of fluid between two ports of a chamber and/or between two chambers, and a flow-driving region defined within the at least one duct that is configured for engagement with the fluid driving mechanism to thereby propel fluid flow between the two ports in response to selective pressure on different pliable regions of said flow-driving regions.

21.-24. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0033] FIGS. 1A-1C are perspective views of schematic illustrations of examples of the macro-fluidic system of the present disclosure. FIG. 1A shows separately the cultivation arrangement and the base structure of the macro-fluidic system; FIG. 1B shows the cultivation arrangement associated with the base structure, together with the engaging elements engaging the flow-driving region; FIG. 1C shows the working scheme of a stretching mechanism macro-fluidic system of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 2A-2B are top views of schematic illustrations of examples of the fluidic system of the present disclosure for carrying out chemical reactions. FIG. 2A shows a two chambers structure of the system; FIG. 2B shows a three chambers structure of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0035] The present disclosure concerns a macro-fluidic system for performing biological processing such as microorganisms cultivation or a plurality of biological assays. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a schematic illustration of the macro-fluidic system configured for cultivating microorganisms. The system 100 includes a cultivating arrangement 102 formed between two polymeric sheets 104 and 106 welded to one another by laser welding. The two sheets are welded to one another to form a structure of internal spaces confined between the two sheets that are not welded to one another. This spaces form, among other structures, a cultivation chamber 108 configured for accommodating microorganisms and biological components such as bacterial cells, growth media, antibiotics, viral particles, nucleic acids, enzymes, etc. to thereby serve as a basis for cultivation. The cultivation chamber 108 has two ports 110A and 110B, at a top and a bottom portion of the chamber 108 respectively. The two ports 110A and 110B are linked one to the other by a duct 112 that is configured to permit the flow of fluids therethrough, such as liquid and gases. The duct 112 has a generally circular region that is configured to serve as a flow-driving region 114.

[0036] The cultivation arrangement 102 comprises four through-holes 116 in its four corners to permit hanging of the cultivation arrangement 102 on four hanging members 118 on a base structure 120 for being in a close association therewith. The base structure 120 comprises a driving mechanism (not shown) that is configured to be coupled magnetically with engaging members 122A and 122B, which are detachable from the base structure. The engaging members 122A and 122B are configured to engage the flow-driving region 114 and driven by the driving mechanism, while the cultivation arrangement 102 and the base structure are associated, to thereby propel fluids within the cultivation arrangement 102. The cultivation chamber 108 includes a plurality of regions in which opposite walls thereof, namely the two polymeric sheets, are welded to one another. These welded regions 124 prevents swelling of the chamber 108 due to increase of pressure of the fluids therein and the elasticity/flexibility of the walls.

[0037] The cultivation chamber may be manufactured at first with the microorganisms separated from the cultivation chamber. The microorganisms may be stored in a microorganisms chamber 126 separated from the cultivation chamber 108 by a swan-necked region 128 linked to an inoculation port 130, and/or a rupturable or breakable sealing member 132 that upon rupturing or breaking thereof permits the introduction of the microorganisms into the chamber 108.

[0038] The base structure 120 is associated with a heat source 134 that is configured to be in a close association with the cultivation chamber 108 when the cultivation arrangement 102 and the base structure 120 are associated therewith. The heat source 134 is configured to maintain the cultivation chamber at a predetermined range of temperatures such as 32° C.-42° C. The heat source 134 may be in data communication with a temperature control (not shown) unit configured to control the operation of the heat source 134 to maintain the desired range of temperatures. The control unit may comprise one or more temperature sensors for sensing the ambient temperature and/or one or more temperatures of the cultivation arrangement, e.g. the cultivation chamber or the flow-driving region.

[0039] The base structure 120 formed with a slit 136, that upon association of the cultivation arrangement and the base structure, configured to face at least one of the duct 112 and the cultivation chamber 108. A spectrophotometer is comprised within the base structure 120 and configured to measure the spectral profile of the fluids within the cultivation arrangement 104 to obtain data indicative of microorganism growth or density. The spectrophotometer may be configured to illuminate with a wavelength in the range of 500-700 nm. In some embodiments, the spectrophotometer is configured to measure the fluid in the cultivation arrangement of at least 5 different wavelengths.

[0040] The base structure 120 may also comprise a light source configured to illuminate at least portions of the cultivation arrangement. The light source may illuminate through the slit 136 or an additional slit 138 with a wavelength in the range of 425-450 nm and/or 600-700 nm for the cultivation of photosynthetic cells.

[0041] FIG. 1B exemplifies the system of the present disclosure, wherein the base structure 120 is associated with the cultivation arrangement 102 by the insertion of the hanging members 118 into the through-holes 116. In this example, the two engaging elements 122A and 122B are magnetically attracted to the driving mechanism, causing the attachment of the engaging elements to the flow-driving region 112. The engaging elements 122A and 122B are driven by the driving mechanism to rotate along the flow-driving region 112 in the direction of the arrow A, that causes a flow of gas from a top portion of the cultivation chamber 108 into a bottom portion thereof, and the bubbling of the gas into the liquid. When the driving mechanism drives the engaging elements in an opposite direction of the arrow A, liquid from a bottom portion of the cultivation chamber 108 flow through duct 112 to the top portion of the chamber 108. Therefore. the driving mechanism and the engagement elements 122A and 122B are configured together as a bi-directional peristaltic pump.

[0042] The heat source 134 is in thermal contact with the cultivation chamber 108 and configured to heat the chamber 108 to maintain a certain range of desired temperatures suitable for the biological processing, e.g. cultivation of cells.

[0043] The slit 136 faces the duct 112 to allow measurements of the spectrophotometer, or any other optical measurement device that may be accommodated within the base structure 120. A light isolating member 137 is configured to attach to the region of the slit 136 such that it is substantially isolating the measured portion of the duct 112 from ambient light while allowing the flow therein. The member 137 induces repetitive conditions between measurements, increasing the credibility of the measurements.

[0044] FIG. 1C is a schematic illustration of an example of an embodiment of the system of the present disclosure. Four members 140 of a stretching mechanism (not shown) are inserted into the through-holes 116 at the four corners of the cultivation arrangement 102, and configured to move in the direction of at least one of the arrows A1-A4 to apply forces on the cultivating arrangement 102 and stretch thereof, due to its pliable characteristics. This mechanism may enhance the cultivation of some types of cell cultures or tissues, such as muscle tissue or tendon.

[0045] FIGS. 2A-2B are schematic illustrations of two embodiments a system for performing a chemical reaction according to the present disclosure. FIGS. 2A-2B show a reacting arrangement 202 formed between two polymeric sheets. The reacting arrangement 202 has a first and a second chamber 242 and 244, each comprises a chemical component. The chemical component may be a fluid, e.g. in a liquid or gas form or can be made of solid particles. A duct 246 links between ports 248, 250 of the first and second chambers 242 and 244 respectively.

[0046] In FIG. 2A chamber 242 is linked with an additional chamber 252 holding an additional chemical component. The introduction of the additional chemical component to the chamber 242 is prevented a rupturable sealing member 232 and upon rupturing thereof, the chemical component stored in chamber 252 is free to be introduced into chamber 242.