Claims
- 1. A bioreactor comprising:a cell culture surface having a multiplicity of microwells defining, upon enlargement in a range of 200 to 1000 magnifications, a honeycomb structure including a plurality of rows of irregular hexagons, each having a transverse x-axis, a longitudinal y-axis, and a z-axis which defines a depth of each microwell, in which parallel major bases of said hexagons define a directionality of anticipated cell growth, and pairs of equilateral minor bases define an x-axis width of each microwell, to thereby define an arrow-like geometry, in which said equilateral pairs of minor bases which also define an x-axis separation between opposing major bases of each hexagon to further induce cell growth directionality.
- 2. The bioreactor as recited in claim 1 in which:an acute angle exists between said arrow-like geometry of said minor bases, and an obtuse angle exists between contiguous major and minor bases, whereby an irregular hexagonal geometry of said microwells contributes to a convenient offset between x-axis rows of microwells relative to each other, so that tagging and observation thereof is simplified, and the potential for overgrowth of a cell or cell colony within a given microwell to an adjoining microwell of a different x-axis column of said cell culture surface is diminished.
- 3. The bioreactor as recited in claim 2 in which:said z-axis depth of each microwell wall comprises about four micrometers, said x-axis width thereof comprises about 5 to about 15 micrometers, and a y-axis length thereof comprises about 1 to about 8 times said value of said width.
- 4. The bioreactor as recited in claim 3 in which:a y-to-x aspect ratio of length-to-width of each microwell comprises a range of about 1:1 to about 8:1, in which a thickness between adjacent major bases of adjacent microwells within a single x-axis now is about one micrometer.
APPLICATION FOR LETTERS PATENT
BE IT KNOWN THAT We, John L. Ricci, Harold Alexander and John Grew, all citizens of the United States of America, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in a Bio-reactor and Cell Culture Surface with Microgeometric Features, of which the following is a Specification:
This application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 60/346,497, filed Jan. 9, 2002.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/346497 |
Jan 2002 |
US |