A CULTURE PLATFORM FOR CULTIVATING TISSUE AND METHOD FOR OBSERVING TISSUE CULTIVATED THEREIN

Abstract

In various embodiments a culture platform for cultivating tissue is provided, comprising: a first component (2) comprising at least one culture chamber (21) formed therein, the culture chamber (21) comprising a bottom (23), a sidewall and an open top (22); and a second component (2) comprising a base (31) and at least one pair of posts (32) extending from the base (31); wherein the first component (2) and the second component (3) are sized and configured to be mated with one another such that when the second component (3) is placed on the first component (2), the at least one pair of posts (32) is inserted into the at least one culture chamber (21). Furthermore, a method for observing tissue cultivated therein is provided.

Claims

1. A culture platform (1) for cultivating tissue, comprising: a first component (2) comprising at least one culture chamber (21) formed therein, the culture chamber (21) comprising a bottom (23), a sidewall and an open top (22); and a second component (2) comprising a base (31) and at least one pair of posts (32) extending from the base (31); wherein the first component (2) and the second component (3) are sized and configured to be mated with one another such that when the second component (3) is placed on the first component (2), the at least one pair of posts (32) is inserted into the at least one culture chamber (21); and wherein the bottom (23) of the at least one culture chamber (21) comprises glass.

2. Culture platform (1) of claim 1, wherein the bottom (23) of the at least one culture chamber (21) comprises a microscopy coverslip.

3. Culture platform (1) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the cross section of at least a portion of the culture chamber (21) has an elliptic shape.

4. Culture platform (1) of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first component (2) comprises a block, preferably a cuboid, in which the at least one culture chamber (21) is provided.

5. Culture platform (1) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the material from which first component (2) is manufactured comprises PMMA.

6. Culture platform (1) of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the length of each of the at least one pair of posts (32) is such that when the second component (3) is placed on the first component (2), each one of the at least one pair of posts (32) extends substantially down to the bottom (23) of the culture chamber (21).

7. Culture platform (1) of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each of the posts (32) has a diameter of 1 mm or less.

8. Culture platform (1) of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first component (2) comprises at least one first alignment element (24) and the second component (3) comprises at least one corresponding second alignment element (34), wherein the first and second alignment elements (24, 34) are configured to interact with one another such that they define the position in which the second component (3) comes to rest on the first component (2) when placed thereon.

9. Culture platform (1) of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the base (31) of the second component (3) comprises at least one through opening (33) which is arranged in a region above the at least one culture chamber (21) when the second component (3) is placed on the first component (2).

10. Culture platform (1) of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first component (2) comprises multiple culture chambers (21) provided therein and the second component (3) comprises, correspondingly, multiple pairs of posts (32) such that when the second component (3) is placed on the first component (2), each pair of the posts (32) is inserted into the corresponding culture chamber (21).

11. Method for observing tissue provided in the at least one culture chamber (21) of the culture platform (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the second component (2) is arranged on the first component (3) with the at least one pair of posts (32) being inserted in the at least one culture chamber (21), the method comprising: observing the tissue provided in the at least one culture chamber (21) of the culture platform (1) through the bottom (23) of the culture chamber.

12. Method of claim 12, wherein the tissue provided in the at least one culture chamber (21) comprises muscle tissue.

13. Method of claim 12, wherein observing the tissue provided in the at least one culture chamber (21) includes registering differences in distance between the pair of posts (32) located in the culture chamber (21).

Description

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the culture platform according to various embodiments of the invention.

[0029] FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional side view of the first component of the culture platform according to various embodiments of the invention.

[0030] FIG. 2B shows a top view of the first component of the culture platform according to various embodiments of the invention.

[0031] FIG. 3A shows a cross-sectional side view of the second component of the culture platform according to various embodiments of the invention.

[0032] FIG. 3B shows a top view of the second component of the culture platform according to various embodiments of the invention.

[0033] In FIG. 1, a perspective view of the culture platform 1 according to various embodiments is shown. In FIGS. 2A-3B, detailed cross-sectional side views and top views of the first component 2 and the second component 3 are shown. It is noted that the dimensions of various elements of the first component 2 and the second component 3 as given in FIG. 2B and FIG. 3B, respectively, are exemplary values which are provided to obtain a better overall image of the culture platform 1 according to various embodiments. The exemplary values are by no means understood as exact parameters which are necessary to execute the invention.

[0034] The culture platform 1 for cultivating tissue shown in the figures comprises the first component 2 with a total of eight culture chambers 21 formed therein. The culture chambers 21 are arranged in two rows, each row having four culture chambers 21. Each culture chamber 21 comprises a bottom 23, a sidewall and an open top 22. In the exemplary embodiment of the culture platform 1 shown in the figures the bottom 23 of each culture chamber 21 has an elliptic shape. Furthermore, each culture chamber 21 has a staggered bottom in the sense that the shape of the bottom 23 of the culture chamber 21 defines a first volume which opens into second volume which is larger than the first volume to maximize the amount of medium that can be applied to the culture well 21. The size and height of the first volume may vary to change the final volume of the microtissue depending on the respective requirements. The second volume has a cylindrical shape with a round ground surface which corresponds to the opening 22 of the culture chamber 21. At the transition between the smaller first volume with the elliptic ground surface and the larger second volume with the round ground surface two steps 25 are formed. The bottoms 23 of the culture wells 21 comprise glass which may be provided in the form of at least one piece of glass, or example a microscopy coverslip, and be attached to the bottom of the first component 2.

[0035] The culture platform 1 further comprises the second component 3 comprising a base 31 and a number of pairs of posts 32 extending from the base 31. The first component 2 and the second component 3 are sized and configured to be mated with one another such that when the second component 3 is placed on the first component 2, each pair of posts 32 is inserted into a corresponding culture chamber 21. Each pair of posts 32 is arranged such that when the second component 3, also functioning as a lid, is placed on the first component 2, the tips of a pair of posts 32 are arranged within the surface corresponding to the bottom 23 of the corresponding culture chamber 21.

[0036] The culture platform 1 further comprises an alignment and/or positioning mechanism which relies on the interaction between first alignment elements provided in the first component 2 and second alignment elements provided in the second component 3. In this example, each of the first alignment elements corresponds to an alignment opening 24. Each of the alignment openings 24 is sized and arranged to receive an alignment rod 34. Placing the second component 3 on the first component 2 results in the alignment rods 34 sliding into the alignment openings 24. In that manner, the interaction between the alignment openings 24 and the alignment rods 34 guarantees that each time the position in which the second component 3 comes to rest on the first component 2 is the same. It is noted that more that the principle of the alignment mechanism may be also realized by using more than two rod-opening pairs. In further embodiments it is also possible to use only one rod-opening pair. In such a case the cross-section of the alignment opening 24 and, correspondingly, the alignment rod 34 would have a shape which prevents rotation of the alignment rod 34 within the alignment opening 24, such as a polygonal or other shape. Implementing two or more rod-opening pairs obviously allows for round alignment elements since the rotation of the first component 2 relative to the second component 3 is not possible.

[0037] In order to be able to access the inside of the culture chambers 21 once the second component 3 has been placed on the first component 2, the second component 3 comprises openings 33 of various shapes and sizes which are arranged in a region above the culture chamber 21 when the second component 3 is placed on the first component 2.