Device suitable for vacuum assisted filtration

Inventors

Scott, Christopher A. • Greenizen, Kurt • Sydlowski, Paul

Assignees

EMD Millipore Corp

Abstract

A funnel-less filtration device that attaches directly to a storage container such as a cell culture media bottle. The device includes a filter collar containing one or more membranes, an inlet with a coupling device for attaching the filter device to a supply of liquid to be filtered, an outlet at a lower portion of the collar, a vacuum port in the collar below the membrane(s) and a filtered vent in the collar above the membrane(s).

Core Innovation

The disclosure describes a vacuum filter device usage in which a filter collar has a top portion with an inlet and a lower portion disposed from one another. One or more membranes are tightly sealed within the collar, and the inlet comprises a domed portion forming a gap between the inlet and the one or more membranes. A coupling device at a substantially center portion of the inlet and a reservoir adjacent to an outlet receive filtrate that has passed through the one or more membranes and the outlet.

The inlet further includes a vent comprising a filter containing a passageway in the domed portion of the filter collar. The passageway is substantially perpendicular to the one or more membranes, and the vent is off-center on the domed portion. A line having a bore throughout extends from an interior of the collar adjacent the outlet to an exterior of the collar and is adapted to be connected to a source for drawing a liquid through the one or more membranes and into the reservoir.

In use, a supply container is connected directly to the top portion through the coupling device, with the supply container above the top portion when the vacuum filter device is in use. The supply container is placed vertically upright above the top portion and the filter device is inverted over the opening of the container, forming an assembly by connecting the opening of the container to the inlet of the filter device in a liquid tight manner. The assembly is inverted such that the vent is lower than the upper opening, the coupling device is above the tightly sealed membranes, and the outlet is located beneath the one or more membranes; a driving source applied to the line results in liquid moving through the one or more membranes into the reservoir while gas is pulled through the vent into the gap and inlet on an upstream side of the one or more membranes as the liquid passes through the membrane.

Claims Coverage

The document provides one independent claim directed to a method of using a vacuum filter device, with multiple dependent claims refining the driving source, air handling through the vent, and membrane selection.

Overall, the claim coverage focuses on the combination of a domed inlet gap with an off-center vent having a passageway substantially perpendicular to tightly sealed membranes, drawing liquid through the membranes into an adjacent reservoir via a line connected to a driving source, and using a liquid-tight, direct coupling to a supply container with inversion such that gas is pulled through the vent into the upstream gap as filtration proceeds.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications