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Publication Number
US-12290067-B2
Publication Date
2025-05-06
Expiration Date
Abstract
Systems and devices with enhanced stability to kinetic impact for the containment of cryogenically preserved material. A device comprising a vessel with increased surface to volume ratio when compared to cylindrical vessels of like capacity, and further comprising a material that remains resistant to shock and impact at cryogenic temperatures while providing a continuous barrier of a single material surrounding the vessel contents. The device further comprising a design that may be readily modified to include internalized sensors, enhanced interfacing to external instruments, provide optimized thaw rate, and post-thawing sample processing capabilities.
Core Innovation
The invention is a vessel comprising a first shell part and a second shell part, each defining a first or second major surface area with rounded corners. The perimeter of each shell part includes a swept rim profile extending therefrom and a flange that is parallel to its major surface area, wherein the enclosed volume is defined by the space between inner surfaces of the shell parts when face surfaces of the flanges are joined and the enclosed volume is isolated from the exterior.
A core structural feature is that each swept rim profile comprises a changeable curvature with a length that is extendable to permit an increase or contractable to permit a decrease in a distance between the first and second major surface areas. This change in distance increases or decreases the enclosed volume while allowing the first and second major surface areas to remain planar through the increase or decrease. The geometry includes rounded corners, and the swept rim profile and flanges work together with joined face surfaces to maintain isolation of the enclosed volume.
The invention further includes vessel-related methods using corner depressions and changeable-volume access. For storing a liquid, a corner having a depression is elevated, the depression is punctured, and a filling needle is inserted to introduce liquid while simultaneously removing displaced gas, followed by withdrawing the filling needle and occluding the punctured depression. For withdrawing a liquid, a venting tool punctures a first depression while an extraction tool punctures a second, opposite depression, and the liquid is withdrawn.
For thawing solidified contents and transferring cells, the invention includes clamping a flanged, changeable-volume vessel between heater blocks and activating a magnetic source to magnetically attract an element disposed within the enclosed volume to bias solidified contents against an interior surface corresponding to a major surface area. For cell transfer between cryoprotectant media and recovery or injection media, the invention uses an enclosed volume comprising a plurality of chambers, with pathways including a gate and a valve, where a closed state of the gate is changed to an open state by subjecting the vessel to centrifugal force and gas passage through the valve is also configured to respond to centrifugal force.
Claims Coverage
The provided excerpt identifies five independent claims. Across these independent claims, the coverage centers on a vessel with flanged, changeable-curvature swept rim profiles that vary an enclosed volume while maintaining planar major surfaces, and on methods for storing, withdrawing, thawing, and transferring using corner depressions, magnetic biasing, and centrifugal-force-driven gate/valve interconnection of chambers.
Flanged changeable-curvature swept rim vessel with planar major surfaces
A vessel comprising first and second shell parts defining first and second major surface areas with rounded corners, flanges that are parallel to the major surface areas and joined together to define an enclosed volume isolated from the exterior, where the swept rim profiles comprise changeable curvature with a length extendable to permit an increase or contractable to permit a decrease in the distance between the major surface areas such that the enclosed volume is increased or decreased while allowing the major surface areas to remain planar through the increase or decrease.
Corner depression puncture filling with displaced-gas removal and occlusion
A method for storing a liquid in a vessel wherein a corner of the vessel has a depression, the corner is elevated to a position higher than any remaining corner, the depression is punctured to access the enclosed volume, a filling needle is inserted into the punctured depression to introduce liquid via a first portion of the filling needle while simultaneously removing displaced gas from the enclosed volume via a second portion of the filling needle, and then the filling needle is withdrawn and the punctured depression is occluded.
Corner depression venting and opposite-depression extraction for liquid withdrawal
A method for withdrawing a liquid from a vessel by locating a first corner with a first depression, elevating the first corner higher than any remaining corner, puncturing the first depression with a venting tool, locating a second depression on a second corner positioned opposite the first corner, puncturing the second depression with an extraction tool, and withdrawing the liquid from the vessel.
Magnetic-source thawing with heater-block clamping and magnetic attraction of an interior element
A method for thawing solidified contents including clamping the vessel between a first heater block in contact with the first major surface area and a second heater block in contact with the second major surface area, the second heater block further comprising a magnetic source, increasing a temperature of the first and second heater blocks, activating the magnetic source, magnetically attracting an element disposed within the enclosed volume to an interior surface corresponding to the second major surface area, and biasing the solidified contents against the interior surface via the element and the magnetic source.
Centrifugal-force gate/valve chamber interconnection for cell transfer between media
A method for transferring cells from a cryoprotectant media to a recovery media using a vessel with an enclosed volume comprising a plurality of chambers, filling a first chamber with a cell suspension and a second chamber with a media selected from recovery media and injection media, interconnecting the chambers by a first pathway having a gate with a closed state and an open state where the closed state is changed to the open state by subjecting the vessel to centrifugal force, interconnecting the chambers by a second pathway comprising a valve configured to permit passage of gas in response to the centrifugal force, and subjecting the vessel to the centrifugal force so that the cell suspension passes into the second chamber via the gate and gas passes into the first chamber via the valve.
The independent claims collectively define a flanged vessel geometry with swept rim profiles providing changeable curvature to increase or decrease an enclosed volume while keeping major surfaces planar, and methods that access the enclosed volume via corner depressions, thaw solidified contents with heater blocks and magnetic biasing, and transfer cells between media using multi-chamber interconnection where centrifugal force actuates a gate and controls gas transfer through a valve.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
Storing a liquid in a vessel using elevated corner depression puncturing, filling with simultaneous displaced-gas removal via a filling needle, and occluding the punctured depression.
Withdrawing a liquid from a vessel by puncturing first and opposite corner depressions with a venting tool and an extraction tool and then withdrawing the liquid.
Thawing solidified contents in a vessel by clamping between heater blocks, heating, activating a magnetic source, magnetically attracting an interior element, and biasing the solidified contents against an interior surface.
Transferring cells from a cryoprotectant media to a recovery media by filling first and second chambers with cell suspension and recovery or injection media and using centrifugal force to open a gate for cell movement while a valve permits gas passage in response to centrifugal force.
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