Portable bioreactor

Inventors

Yang, Wen-Shan • Lin, Ching-Ko • LI, FU-CHUN • CHOU, Pin-Hsing • Tsai, Yun-Lung • Lee, Pei-Yu • CHANG, Hsiao-Fen

Assignees

Genereach Biotechnology Corp

Abstract

A portable bioreactor is provided for driving displacement of at least one stirring sleeve relative to at least one tube cassette in a first direction and includes a machine frame unit and a first elevator. The first elevator includes a first linear movement module, a first transmission module, and a first turning module. The first linear movement module includes a first slider which is slidable on the first guide rail in the first direction between a first top position and a first bottom position. The first turning module is coupled to the first slider through the first transmission module so as to permit turning of the first turning module to be translated by the first transmission module into linear sliding movement of the first slider at a varying speed.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a portable bioreactor for driving displacement of at least one stirring sleeve relative to at least one tube cassette in a first direction. The portable bioreactor includes a machine frame unit for holding the tube cassette(s) and a first elevator that moves the stirring sleeve(s) between a first top position, distal from the tube cassette(s), and a first bottom position, proximate to the tube cassette(s). During movement, a slider coupled to retain the stirring sleeve(s) slides on a first guide rail in the first direction, with displacement driven by the elevator and transmission structure.

The first elevator cooperates with a first transmission module that includes a first transmission member having a first pivotal segment and a first guiding segment. A first guided member coupled slidably to the first guiding segment is arranged so that one of the guided member or the pivotal segment is coupled to the slider, and a first turning module drives turning of the transmission member such that the slider, together with the stirring sleeve(s), is moved to slide linearly at a varying speed in the first direction during turning of the transmission member.

In further embodiments, a transfer unit including an elongated rod with a bottom magnetic attractive portion is used with the portable bioreactor to insert into the stirring sleeves, and a second elevator with a second linear movement module and a second transmission module drives motion so that magnetic beads in the tube cassette(s) are attracted around the stirring sleeve. The tube cassette(s) are arranged with silica-coated magnetic beads and a liquid surface, and an intermediate position behavior can be used so that the bottom of the stirring sleeve is held above and proximate to the liquid surface at a middle position.

Optional structural features include a cassette holder with a sensor and a detachable/replaceable cassette carrier, including an optional heating member with a through hole aligned to the carrier portion.

Claims Coverage

The provided excerpts cover 5 inventive features, centered on a portable bioreactor drive architecture that produces linear, varying-speed displacement of stirring sleeves relative to tube cassettes using an elevator and a pivotal transmission. Additional features include intermediate position-based sleeve control, a transfer unit with a magnetic-attractive rod, detachable cassette carrier structures, and optional heating integration.

The core claim coverage is the portable bioreactor drive architecture that produces linear, varying-speed displacement of stirring sleeves relative to tube cassettes using an elevator plus a pivotal transmission and turning module. The excerpts also explicitly include intermediate position behavior relative to a liquid surface, a transfer unit with an elongated rod having a bottom magnetic attractive portion, and detachable cassette carrier structures with optional heating and aligned through hole.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications