JP2010098971A - Container and method for preserving reproductive cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container for preserving reproductive cells, capable of stably and accurately transporting a plurality of straws packed with the reproductive cells for a long time. <P>SOLUTION: The container for preserving the reproductive cells includes a body part 30 having heat-insulating properties and equipped with a recessed part 35, a lid 40 having the heat-insulating properties, attached to the body 30 and covering the recessed part 35, heat storage materials 60a and 60b loaded on the nearly whole surfaces of the inside faces of the recessed part 35 and the lid 40, a straw-holding part 70 for storing a plurality of the straws 80 packed with the reproductive cells. The straw-holding part 70 has a plurality of storing parts 71 for individually storing the plurality of the straws 80, parallelly arranged at equal intervals, and is nipped with the heat storage materials 60a and 60b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a germ cell storage container and storage method.

  For example, bovine embryo transfer includes fresh embryo transfer in which a bovine embryo is transferred in a fresh state and frozen embryo transfer in which a bovine embryo is frozen and then transferred. When these transplants are compared in terms of conception rate, a higher conception rate tends to be obtained if a cow embryo is transplanted with a fresh embryo without freezing. This is thought to be due to less damage to the cow embryo if the cow embryo is not frozen.

  Thus, since fresh germ cells (egg, semen, embryo, etc.) are sensitive to temperature sensitization, it is necessary to carry them while suppressing temperature changes when performing transplantation or the like. Conventionally, germ cells have been transported by a transport device equipped with a thermostatic chamber (Patent Document 1). However, such a device is expensive because it has electronic components such as a temperature control mechanism and a heater, and this is a common practice. This was thought to be one of the reasons why it was not widely used by transplanters.

  Therefore, the applicant can reduce the time during which the straw filled with germ cells at the transport destination and the transport destination is exposed to the outside air while being inexpensive, and as a transport container that does not cause a sudden temperature change to the germ cells, A heat-insulating transport container in which a straw is sandwiched between vibration-insulating heat insulating materials has been proposed (Patent Document 2).

JP-A-5-310501 (Claim 1) JP 2007-045790 A (Claim 1, [0022] to [024], FIGS. 1 to 3)

  According to the prior art described in Patent Document 2, when germ cells are transported to a relatively short distance, the set temperature can be stably maintained in the transport container, but the transport time is long. When transporting to a distance place, the temperature of the outside air may affect. Further, since only one or two straws can be accommodated in one transport container, when transporting a plurality of straws at a time, a transport container corresponding to the maximum number of straws is required. Further, when transporting a plurality of straws, there is a possibility that the arrangement in the transport container may change during opening and closing, etc., and there is a possibility that it will not be understood what is filled in which straw.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a germ cell storage container that can solve the above-mentioned disadvantages and can stably transport a plurality of straws filled with germ cells stably for a long time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage method for stably transporting a plurality of straws filled with germ cells stably for a long time.

In order to solve such a problem, the germ cell storage container of the present invention has a heat-insulating main body portion provided with a recess, and a heat-insulating main body portion attached to the main body portion so that the recess is provided. A cover part, a heat storage material that is deformable and covers and covers substantially the entire inner surface of the concave part and the cover part, and a straw holding part that houses a plurality of straws filled with germ cells, The straw holding part is characterized in that a plurality of accommodating parts in which the plurality of straws are individually accommodated are connected in parallel at equal intervals and are sandwiched by the heat storage material.
In addition, the heat storage material performs a phase transition between a solid phase and a liquid phase at a predetermined temperature.
Further, the straw holding part is provided with a plurality of entry fields for entering identification symbols, and the plurality of entry fields have a one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of storage parts.
In the germ cell storage method of the present invention, the straw holding part for accommodating a plurality of straws filled with germ cells at an equal interval is formed by a heat storage material that performs a phase transition between a solid phase and a liquid phase at a predetermined temperature. A method for preserving germ cells that is sandwiched in a container having heat insulation properties, wherein the heat storage material sandwiches the straw holding part in a liquid state when the temperature outside the container is lower than the predetermined temperature. When the temperature outside the container is higher than the predetermined temperature, the straw holder is sandwiched in a solid state.

  According to the germ cell storage container and the storage method according to the present invention, since the straw holding part having a plurality of storage parts for storing the straws is sandwiched between the heat storage materials in the heat insulating container, the germ cells are filled. A plurality of straws can be transported stably and accurately for a long time.

  Next, the germ cell storage container and storage method according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings showing embodiments. For convenience, portions having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  1A is a perspective view showing a germ cell storage container 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of. The main body portion 30 includes a bottom portion 31 and side portions 33 made of a heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam, and forms a concave portion 35 that opens to the top. The upper edge portion 37 of the side portion 33 has an outer edge portion 37a formed lower than the inner edge portion 37b, the outer edge portion 37a forms a stepped portion 38a, and the inner edge portion 37b forms a convex portion 38b. The concave portion 35 of the main body 30 can be opened and closed by the lid 40.

  The lid portion 40 has a convex portion 41a on the outer periphery of the lower surface (inner side surface) and a concave portion 41b on the inner side of the convex portion 41a. And all the insides from the recessed part 41b become the convex part 43. Here, the step portion 38a and the convex portion 41a, the convex portion 38b and the concave portion 41b have substantially the same width, and the height of the convex portion 38b and the convex portion 41a is substantially the same. Further, the width (vertical, horizontal) of the convex portion 43 is formed substantially the same as the width (vertical, horizontal) of the concave portion 35. As a result, the main body 30 and the lid 40 can be freely fitted. At this time, since the convex portion 43 is formed on the lid portion 40, the main body portion 30 and the lid portion 40 can be firmly fitted. When the main body 30 and the lid 40 are fitted, a closed space 50 is formed in the storage container 1.

  In the closed space 50, heat storage materials 60a and 60b in which a glycerin-based compound is sealed in a bag are loaded so as to cover substantially the front surfaces of the bottom of the concave portion 35 and the inner surface of the convex portion 43, respectively. 60a and the heat storage material 60b sandwich a straw holding part 70 having a plurality of accommodation parts 71 for accommodating a straw 80 in which germ cells are encapsulated by straw powder or heat seal. Since the height of the closed space 50 is substantially equal to the thickness of the heat storage materials 60 a and 60 b and the straw holding portion 70, the heat storage materials 60 a and 60 b and the straw holding portion 70 are sandwiched between the concave portion 35 and the lid portion 40. . Further, the widths (vertical and horizontal) of the heat storage materials 60 a and 60 b are substantially the same as the bottom of the concave portion 35. Therefore, the heat storage materials 60 a and 60 b and the straw holding part 70 are hardly displaced up and down and left and right in the closed space 50. The closed space 50 is substantially filled with the heat storage materials 60a and 60b and the straw holding part 70, and since there is no extra space, the heat insulation effect is enhanced.

  The straw holding portion 70 is made of plastic such as polypropylene, for example, and a plurality of side surfaces 77 are provided in parallel between a lower surface 73 and an upper surface 75 that are in contact with the heat storage material 60a and the heat storage material 60b, respectively (see FIG. 2). ). As a result, the lower surface 73, the upper surface 75 and the two adjacent side surfaces 77 constitute a plurality of the accommodating portions 71 described above.

  Both the height (the height of the side surface 77) and the width (the interval between the side surfaces 77) of the accommodating portion 71 are formed to be approximately the same as the outer diameter of the straw 80. Thereby, the straw inserted in the accommodating part 71 is hold | maintained by friction, and does not fall out.

  In addition, on the upper surface 75 of the straw holding part 70, an entry field for an identification symbol (not shown) is provided corresponding to each storage part. Since this entry field is provided for one accommodation part, it is possible to easily identify which germ cell is filled with which germ cell is accommodated by entering an identification symbol. It becomes possible.

  The heat storage material 60a can arbitrarily set the phase transition temperature between the solid phase and the liquid phase by changing the type of the glycerin compound. For example, when the phase transition temperature is set to 20 ° C., a solid phase is obtained if the temperature is lower than 20 ° C., whereas a liquid phase is obtained if the temperature is higher. At 20 ° C., the solid phase and the liquid phase are mixed, and the temperature is kept constant during this period. Since the phase transition (melting) from the solid phase to the liquid phase and the phase transition (solidification) from the liquid phase to the solid phase are accompanied by latent heat, the constant temperature is maintained longer than the other temperature zones.

  Therefore, when the air temperature is lower than the set temperature of the heat storage materials 60a and 60b, for example, when the air temperature is 5 ° C, the temperature of the heat storage material 60a is maintained at a temperature slightly higher than 20 ° C, for example 23 ° C, and is in a liquid phase state. In this case, even if the temperature is gradually lowered due to the influence of the air temperature, the temperature range around 20 ° C. at which the phase transition from the liquid phase to the solid phase is maintained long.

  In addition, when the temperature is higher than the set temperature of the heat storage materials 60a and 60b, for example, when the air temperature is 45 ° C, the temperature of the heat storage material 60a is maintained at a temperature slightly lower than 20 ° C, for example 17 ° C, to be in a solid state. In this case, a temperature range of 20 ° C. at which the phase transition from the solid phase to the liquid phase is maintained for a long time even if the temperature gradually increases under the influence of the temperature.

  The solid line in FIG. 3 is a graph showing the temperature change in the straw 80 accommodated in the storage container 1 when the storage container 1 is installed in a cold (5 ° C.) environment (refrigerator). The vertical axis represents temperature, the horizontal axis represents elapsed time, and the broken line is a graph showing temperature transition in a cold environment. An experiment was conducted using a heat storage material having a phase transition temperature of 20 ° C. and an initial temperature of 23 ° C. From this graph, it was confirmed that when the outside air temperature was around 5 ° C., the temperature in the storage container 1 could maintain the set temperature of fresh embryos (around 20 ° C.) even if the elapsed time exceeded 12 hours. . Although not shown, the temperature change in the storage container 1 when the storage container 1 is installed in a hot (45 ° C.) environment is the same as in the case of cold, even if the elapsed time exceeds 12 hours. It was confirmed that the temperature could be maintained at around 20 ° C.

  The germ cell storage container according to the present invention is not only used for storage and transportation, but can also be used for other purposes. For example, when a frozen germ cell is thawed, such as when a frozen embryo is transplanted, it is required to be performed at a certain temperature suitable for each germ cell. For example, when thawing frozen bovine embryos, they may be immersed in 20 ° C. warm water, but in this case, if the warm water is made by relying on the sense without using a thermostatic bath, an error will inevitably occur.

  When the germ cell storage container according to the present invention is used, since the set temperature is maintained in a state where the solid phase and the liquid phase of the heat storage material are mixed, if the heat storage material has a set temperature of 20 ° C., for example, the solid phase When the liquid phase and the liquid phase are mixed, the temperature is around 20 ° C., which can be confirmed visually. Therefore, an error hardly occurs and the target temperature can be easily obtained. Further, after thawing, it can be stored in a storage container as it is.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiment, and there are design changes and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. Is included in the present invention. For example, although the structure which used the polystyrene foam for the main body 30 and the cover part 40 was shown, it is not restricted to this, For example, the structure provided with a vacuum heat insulation layer inside may be sufficient. In addition, it is cheaper to use a polystyrene foam as a material, and since it is lightweight, it is excellent in portability.

  Moreover, although the example whose phase transition temperature is 20 degreeC was shown as a heat storage material, it is not restricted to this, The phase transition temperature between a solid phase and a liquid phase can be arbitrarily set by changing the kind of glycerol type compound. Moreover, although the glycerol type compound was shown as a material of a thermal storage material, it is not restricted to this. In addition, an example in which a glycerin compound is simply enclosed in a bag as the structure of the heat storage material has been shown. For example, a glycerin compound is enclosed in a microcapsule, and the microcapsule and a gel-like or sol-like substance are mixed. You may enclose a mixture in a bag.

  Moreover, although the structure where the height and width of the accommodating part 71 of the straw holding | maintenance part 70 are comparable as the outer diameter of the straw 80 was shown, it is not restricted to this, For example, it may be larger than the outer diameter of the straw 80. . In this case, the straw is held by friction by providing a holding portion made of silicon rubber or the like in the storage portion or at the entrance of the storage portion.

  Moreover, the straw holding | maintenance part 70 is not restricted to a plastics, For example, a silicon rubber may be sufficient. Since silicon rubber is excellent in stretchability, it can simultaneously hold straws having different outer diameters.

  The entry field of the straw holding part 70 may be provided with the width substantially the same as the width of the accommodating part and arranged in the connecting direction of the accommodating part. However, since a general straw has a thin outer diameter, one accommodating part is provided. It is difficult to fill in even if there is an entry field with a width of minutes. Therefore, the width of the entry field may be made larger than the width of the accommodating part, and the entry field may be provided shifted in the longitudinal direction of the accommodating part. For example, the width of the entry column may be set to be the width of two accommodating portions, and the position of the entry column may be alternately provided on the entrance side and the back side of the accommodating portion. In this case, it is desirable to provide a lead-out line or the like from the entry column to the accommodating portion so that it can be clearly recognized which entry column corresponds to which accommodating portion.

  The straw holding part 70 is in direct contact with the heat storage materials 60a and 60b. However, the straw holding part 70 may be protected by a cushioning cushioning material and then sandwiched by the heat storage material. The straw holding part is made of silicon rubber. In this case, the heat storage materials 60a and 60b may be used after being protected by a hard cover.

  Moreover, although the preservation | save or the transportation method different depending on the case where the temperature is higher than the set temperature of the heat storage materials 60a and 60b is different from the case where the temperature is lower, the temperature of the storage container 1 is set lower than the set temperature of the heat storage materials 60a and 60b. If it is stored or transported in a heat insulation container (for example, a heat insulating container containing a cold insulation agent), it will be a storage method when the temperature is always lower than the set temperature of the heat storage material. It can be carried out.

(A) shows the perspective view of the storage container of the germ cell which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. (B) shows AA sectional drawing of (A). (B) shows BB sectional drawing of (A). It is a perspective view of the straw holding | maintenance part which comprises the storage container of the germ cell which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the temperature in a storage container, and elapsed time.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Storage container, 30 ... Main-body part, 31 ... Bottom part, 33 ... Side part, 35 ... Concave part, 37 ... Upper end part, 37a ... Outer edge part, 37b ... Inner edge part, 40 ... Lid part, 41a ... Convex part, 41b ... concave part, 43 ... convex part, 50 ... closed space, 60a, 60b ... heat storage material, 70 ... straw holding part, 71 ... storage part, 73 ... lower surface, 75 ... upper surface, 77 ... side surface, 80 ... straw

Claims (4)

A main body having heat insulation and provided with a recess;
A lid that has heat insulation and is attached to the main body to cover the recess;
A heat storage material loaded on substantially the entire inner surface of the recess and the lid,
A straw holding part for accommodating a plurality of straws filled with germ cells,
The storage container for germ cells, wherein the straw holding part includes a plurality of storage parts in which the plurality of straws are individually stored, connected in parallel at equal intervals, and sandwiched by the heat storage material.   2. The germ cell storage container according to claim 1, wherein the heat storage material undergoes a phase transition between a solid phase and a liquid phase at a predetermined temperature.   The reproduction unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the straw holding part is provided with a plurality of entry fields for entering identification symbols, and each entry field has a one-to-one correspondence with the storage part. Cell storage container. A method for preserving germ cells, wherein a plurality of straws filled with germ cells are sandwiched in a container having heat insulation properties by a heat storage material that performs a phase transition between a solid phase and a liquid phase at a predetermined temperature,
The plurality of straws are accommodated at equal intervals by a straw holder.
When the temperature outside the container is lower than the predetermined temperature, the heat storage material sandwiches the straw holding part in a liquid state, and when the temperature outside the container is higher than the predetermined temperature, it is in a solid state A method for preserving germ cells, comprising sandwiching the straw holding part.

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