Microfermentor device and cell based screening method
First Claim
1. A microfermentor device comprising:
- a substrate having at least one surface;
a cell culture chamber having a volume of less than about 1000 μ
l fabricated into the surface of the substrate;
at least a first and a second channel fabricated into the surface of the substrate and fluidly connected to the chamber; and
an optical sensor in optical communication with the chamber.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microfermentor device that can be used for a wide variety of purposes is described. The microfermentor device includes one or more cell growth chambers having a volume of less than 1 ml. The microfermentor device can be used to grow cells used for the production of useful compounds, e.g., therapeutic proteins, antibodies or small molecule drugs. The microfermentor device can also be used in various high-throughput screening assays. For example, the microfermentor device can be used to screen compounds to assess their effect on cell growth and/or a normal or abnormal biological function of a cell and/or their effect on the expression of a protein expressed by the cell. The device can also be used to investigate the effect of various environmental factors on cell growth, biological function or production of a cell product. The device, including various controlling components and sensing components can be microfabricated on a support material.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A microfermentor device comprising:
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a substrate having at least one surface;
a cell culture chamber having a volume of less than about 1000 μ
l fabricated into the surface of the substrate;
at least a first and a second channel fabricated into the surface of the substrate and fluidly connected to the chamber; and
an optical sensor in optical communication with the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for screening a plurality of test compounds, the method comprising:
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providing substrate having a surface into which is fabricated a plurality of cell culture chambers having a volume less than about 1000 μ
l and containing cells, each of the cell culture chambers being fluidly connected to at least a first and a second microchannel fabricated into the surface of the substrate;
culture chambers being fluidly connected to at least a first and a second microchannel fabricated into the surface of the substrate;
introducing each of the plurality of test compounds into at least one of the plurality of cell culture chambers; and
monitoring the effect of each of the plurality of test compounds on a biological response of the cells. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification