JPH0353676Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a culture device, and particularly to a biological culture device for culturing organisms in a culture tank while supplying gas through a porous membrane.

(Prior Art) Culture devices include a stirred tank type culture device and an air lift type culture device. In these conventional culture devices, the gas necessary for culturing microbial cells, etc.
It is supplied into the culture tank from the outlet provided in the ventilation pipe. However, in such a method, the gas is supplied into the culture tank as a relatively large lump, so the gas is poorly dispersed in the culture solution and therefore difficult to dissolve in the culture solution. In order to improve dispersion, attempts have been made to reduce the diameter of the outlet or increase the number of outlets, but sufficient dispersion efficiency cannot always be obtained. In particular, in a stirred tank type culture apparatus, there is a risk that lumpy gas may adhere to the stirring blades and cause stirring vibrations.

In order to solve these drawbacks, stirred tank culture equipment applies stirring power that is higher than the normal stirring power required for culturing microorganisms and plant tissues, to make lumpy gases into fine bubbles and to disperse them uniformly in the culture solution. Attempts are being made to disperse the Although this improves the gas dispersion efficiency, it requires a large amount of energy, and the shear stress caused by stirring damages the cultured cells, resulting in a decrease in culture efficiency. If such a high stirring power is applied to liquid culture of plant cells or animal cells, the cells are large and therefore susceptible to shear stress, resulting in a significant drop in culture efficiency. Air-lift culture devices do not require stirring, but in order to increase gas dispersion efficiency, a large amount of pressurized gas must be supplied, which requires a large amount of energy and also damages the culture tissue. There is a risk of it being destroyed.

In stirred tank type culture apparatuses and air lift type culture apparatuses, there is also a risk of contamination of various bacteria from the supplied gas, and special filters must be used to prevent this. Furthermore, in order to increase the gas dispersion efficiency, a method has been used in the past in which the gas pores are made finer by passing the gas through ceramics, but the ceramics have the drawback of being damaged by alkali. The pH of the culture solution
The use of alkali is essential when adjusting
Therefore, the ceramics are unsuitable for culture devices.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to effectively disperse gas in the culture solution without requiring a large amount of energy. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a culture device that can absorb water. Another object of the present invention is to provide a culture device that can effectively supply gas to a culture solution without destroying the culture. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a culture apparatus that does not require a special sterilization filter and does not cause contamination due to ventilation.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The culture device of the present invention brings a porous membrane configured as a tube with one end closed into contact with a culture solution, and supplies gas to the culture solution through the porous membrane. , thereby achieving the above objective.

Porous membranes have the function of turning the supplied gas passing through them into ultrafine particles, such as polyimide membranes,
There are polypropylene membranes, polysulfone membranes, polytetrafluoroethylene membranes, and silicone membranes. In particular, fluororesin membranes such as polytetrafluoroethylene membranes are preferred because they have excellent heat resistance and do not deform or soften during sterilization. The pore diameter of the porous membrane varies depending on the material of the membrane, and for example, in a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane, it is 10 μm or less, preferably 0.01 to 1 μm.

The supply gas varies depending on the type of organism to be cultured and includes, for example, oxygen, air, and methane. Aerobic culture uses oxygen and air. Cultures that require a carbon source, such as Pseudomonas methanica, are supplied with methane.

The porous membrane is used in the form of a tube with one end closed. It is recommended to use tubes in bundles to increase the contact area with the culture solution. It is also possible to configure the inner surface of the culture tank with a partially porous membrane and supply gas into the culture solution through this membrane region.

(Example) The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.

Example 1 The culture apparatus of the present invention includes, for example, as shown in FIG.
It has a pump 30 that circulates the air through the air. Gas 21 is supplied to the culture solution 10 through the tube bundle 2 .
The porous membrane constituting the tube bundle 2 is made of, for example, a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane, and supplies the supply gas 21 in the form of ultrafine particles to the culture solution 10. Supply gas 2
1 is pressurized to about 0.1 to 0.2 atm, the supply of gas from the porous membrane tube bundle 2 to the culture solution 10 can be promoted. The circulation pump 30 quietly circulates the culture solution 10 through the circulation path 3, thereby reducing the concentration gradient of the culture solution 10.

The culture tank 1 is provided with a PH sensor, a temperature sensor, a DO sensor, a heater, etc. as necessary. This culture device uses a known culture method to
It is applicable to culturing all kinds of organisms such as microorganisms, plants, and animals.

Example 2 An example of a culture apparatus using slow stirring blades 4 in place of the circulation path 3 and pump 30 of Example 1 is shown in FIG. The stirring blade 4 stirs the culture solution 10 in the culture tank 1 . However, since stirring is not required for gas dispersion, the stirring blade 4
is used only to minimize the concentration gradient of the culture solution, and its rotational speed is kept low. The shape and structure of the blades constituting the stirring blades 4 are not particularly limited, as long as they can uniformly stir the culture solution 10 in the culture tank 1.

(Effects of the invention) The culture device of the present invention is equipped with a porous membrane that supplies ultrafine gas to the culture medium, so the gas is dispersed in the culture medium in the form of ultrafine particles and dissolved. I can do it. In this way, the culture device of the present invention does not require stirring power or pressurized gas, which are essential for conventional culture tanks, so it does not require a large amount of energy and there is no risk of damaging the tissue of the cultured organism. . Moreover, since the pores of the porous membrane are ultra-fine, less than 10 μm, the gas that passes through them is sterilized, so the culture solution can be contaminated due to aeration without using a special filter. There is no risk of waking up Shion. Porous membranes have excellent mechanical strength because they are constructed as tubes with one end closed, and because they have a large surface area with a small volume, they occupy a small area in the culture solution. I can do it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are cross-sectional front views showing one embodiment of the culture device of the present invention. 1... Culture tank, 2... Bundle of porous membrane tubes with one end closed, 3... Circulation path, 4... Stirring blade, 1
0...Culture solution, 21...Gas, 30...Pump.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A culture device in which a porous membrane constituted by a tube with one end closed is brought into contact with a culture solution, and gas is supplied to the culture solution through the porous membrane. 2. The culture device according to claim 1, wherein the tubes with one end closed are configured into a bundle. 3. The culture device according to claim 1, wherein the porous membrane is at least one of a polyimide membrane, a polypropylene membrane, a polysulfone membrane, and a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane. 4. The culture device according to claim 1, wherein the supply gas is at least one of oxygen, air, and methane. 5. The culture device according to claim 1, wherein the porous membrane has an average pore diameter of 10 μm or less.