EP1383862A2

EP1383862A2 - Incubator and incubation method monitoring the organism to be incubated

Info

Publication number: EP1383862A2
Application number: EP02706840A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Daniel Attias
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-02-09
Filing date: 2002-02-11
Publication date: 2004-01-28
Also published as: JP2004528020A; FR2820756A1; US20040064013A1; WO2002064728A2; FR2820756B1; WO2002064728A3

Abstract

The invention concerns an incubator comprising a sealed heat chamber provided with a door, a culture box with several wells, an organism and, more particularly an embryo, being in one of the wells of said box. The invention is characterised in that it comprises externally controlled means for removing the organism from the well wherein it is to place it in another well filled with a new culture medium. The invention also concerns a method for incubating organisms.

Description

INCUBATOR AND METHOD OF INCUBATION HOUSING THE ORGANIZATION TO BE INCUBED

The present invention relates to incubators and methods of incubating organisms. It is particularly applicable for putting embryos in culture and monitoring them under the best possible temperature and atmospheric conditions of development.

During in vitro fertilization, sperm and eggs are put together. After this fertilization by conventional in vitro fertilization or micro-injection, the gametes are placed in culture media and stored in an incubator. They are taken out daily, once or twice a day, for a change of environment, observation under a microscope, or any other manipulation, until the transfer in utero of the embryo. During these different media changes and observations under a microscope or any other operation, embryonic cultures are exposed to many problems which are: thermal shock from 37 ° C (incubator temperature) to 20 ° C (room temperature change of medium and observation under the microscope), variations in the concentration of C0 ₂ which cause variations in the pH of the culture media, the alteration of the nutritive properties of the media, by temperature variations with the appearance of toxic products for the embryo, the light of the embryos during their observations under the microscope, traumatic embryonic manipulations, the risks of bacterial and mycological contamination, the late change of environments which leads to an increase in the concentration of free radicals and a decrease in the concentration of substrate, manipulation errors with loss of embryos.

Some of the above-mentioned problems faced by embryos can have very detrimental effects on them. Indeed, it has been shown that an embryo placed for more than three minutes at a temperature of 22 ° C is no longer capable of developing.

The invention remedies these drawbacks by an incubator and by an incubation method which eliminates thermal shock and the risk of bacterial and mycological contamination while facilitating the change of environments and automating it so as to reduce handling errors. and traumatic manipulation. The invention used in the context of in vitro fertilization therefore makes it possible to improve the number of viable and good quality embryos.

In the context of the invention, the term “organism” means not only the gametes (oocytes and spermatozoa), the fertilized oocytes, the embryonic cultures and the embryos but also any cell culture such as stem cells, pathogenic or non-pathogenic microorganisms , etc ....

The subject of the invention is therefore an incubator comprising a sealed oven equipped with a door, a culture box with several wells placed in the oven, an organism being in one of the wells of said box, characterized in that it comprises a controlled means of the exterior, intended to exit from the well in which the organism is located, to put it in another well filled with a new culture medium. Advantageously, in the context of the present invention, the means, controlled from the outside, intended to exit from the well the organism to put it in another well filled with a culture medium is a pipette.

Thus, one no longer has to take out the culture dish to take out the organism, and in particular the embryo, from its well, replace the culture medium and replace the embryo in the well. We can now, without removing the embryo from the incubator, remove it from the well in which it is located to put it in a next well filled with a culture medium which has not yet been in contact with an embryo and which is therefore free of toxins, this medium being hereinafter called "new culture medium". The passage of the embryo from one culture well to the next can be carried out in a precise manner, although the oven remains closed, thanks to a microscope which makes it possible to monitor the operations on the display screen. We can follow the evolution of the organism as often as desired without the operations involved in this monitoring being harmful to it.

According to the invention, the microscope is mounted inside or outside the oven so as to observe the culture of the organism and to monitor the various manipulations (transfer of the organism from a well to the 'other and filling of wells), the microscope being connected to a display screen placed outside the oven. Whether the microscope is inside or outside the oven, in both cases, the microscope stage is located inside the oven. If the microscope is inside the oven, a protective case may be necessary to its operation under the conditions of temperature and concentration of N _{_2/2} and 0 in C0 ₂ within one oven. The microscope advantageously used in the context of the invention has a filter which protects the organism from the deleterious effects of light, when it is observed under a microscope. In addition, the incubator object of the present invention accepts variants with a microscope with a fixed or mobile stage and / or a microscope with a fixed or mobile axis.

The incubator which is the subject of the present invention can be divided into zones and include at least: an "interventional zone" which is dedicated to the observation and to the various manipulations of the embryos (filling of media and changing of wells),

- an “incubation area” dedicated to the storage of culture dishes.

- an additional zone which can be common with the "interventional zone" and which is dedicated to the storage of consumables (media, cones) and to the evacuation of waste.

The three different zones can be on the same level or on different levels.

The incubator object of the present invention comprises means, controlled from the outside of the oven, for moving step by step in one oven culture dishes with several wells. Any means of stepwise movement of a culture dish can be used in the context of the present invention. Advantageously, the means of movement used consists of:

- either an endless conveyor belt driven by a motor roller, itself rotated by a stepping motor controlled by a computer via a command line,

- or an articulated manipulator arm, controlled by a computer, capable of taking the culture dish to be treated and of routing it towards the interventional zone, the manipulator arm being able to have a linear or rotary movement.

Provision may be made to fill all the wells of the culture medium oven in advance. However, to prevent the culture medium from evaporating or becoming contaminated before the embryo has even been placed in the well, it is preferable for the incubator to include a source of culture medium communicating with a valve conduit opening at the above a well and valve control means so as to pour into the well a prescribed quantity of the culture medium. The source of medium may be outside the incubator or may be provided therein, for example, in an area dedicated to the storage of consumables. Just before the well in question receives the embryo, it is filled with the culture medium. Preferably, the conduit opens out above the well located at said location, which again makes it possible to monitor the operations using the microscope. According to another preferred embodiment also, the conduit opens above the well just upstream of the well located at said location. It is thus possible to simultaneously fill this well upstream and remove the embryo from the well located at said location by aspirating it using the pipette. There is also more room to bring the conduit over the well.

It is also conceivable that the incubator which is the subject of the present invention comprises means for displacement of the valve useful for filling medium from one well to another.

In the context of the present invention, other means for filling the wells of the culture dishes with medium are conceivable. One can also consider the use of a motorized syringe and controlled from the outside which draws the medium directly into a bottle located in the area dedicated to the storage of consumables and distributes it in the well by reversing the motorization of the syringe. The medium to be dispensed can also be withdrawn from a bottle by an externally controlled sampling system, such as, for example, a disposable cone, and then distributed into the well.

The oven advantageously has conditions of temperature and concentration of N ₂ , 0 ₂ and C ₂ ideal for the development of cell cultures and, more particularly, embryonic cultures. These conditions are advantageously a temperature at 37 ° C and an atmosphere at 5% O ₂ , 5% CQ, and 90% N ₂ . Advantageously, the incubator which is the subject of the present invention is equipped with sensors allowing self-regulation and monitoring of the atmosphere inside the oven. Thanks to these sensors, it is possible to control, during the entire duration of the culture, the temperature and the concentration of N ₂ , of 0 ₂ and of C0 ₂ . Any sensor capable of measuring variations in temperature and concentration of N ₂ , 0 ₂ and C0 ₂ , under the conditions of the oven, can be used in the context of the present invention.

The invention also relates to a method of incubating an organism, which consists in placing the organism in a sealed oven, in incubating it in a culture well filled with a culture medium and to change it n times the culture medium, n being an integer greater than 1 and less than 50, characterized in that it consists of i) putting the organism in the 'one of a series of (n + 1) wells from a box placed in the oven, while the n other wells of the series are free of any organism, ii) to be moved, without removing it from the oven , the organism of the well in which it is to put it in the next well of the series filled with a new medium and iii) to repeat the displacement at most as many times as there remain of available wells.

All operations are carried out inside the incubator under the supervision of the microscope and can be controlled automatically by a computer.

To remove the embryo, put the pipette in the well located at the location observed by the microscope, aspirate the organism, take the pipette out of the well, bring the next well to said location, immerse the pipette into this new well, the embryo is released from the pipette into the well and the pipette is removed from the well. The manipulation of the embryo is thus very sparing, assisted and even automated, which greatly reduces the danger of accidents and trauma.

According to a variant, the process which is the subject of the present invention consists in observing under a microscope the color change in the culture medium containing an indicator and contained in the well of a series of (n + 1) colored wells in which the organism and to change the well organism during this turn. Indeed, we observe, preferably often or continuously, at microscope the color change in the culture medium to which a colored indicator, in particular of pH, for example phenol red, has been added. We are thus warned of the exact moment when it is necessary to change the well. It is also possible, for the purpose of monitoring the color change, to provide in the oven an optical densitometer inside the oven and means for bringing the signal supplied by the densitometer outside the oven. , including acoustic means by an alert.

We can provide other manipulations than the change of culture medium in this device suitable for embryonic cultures such as the search for oocytes in follicular fluid, the preparation of gametes, oocyte decoronization, micro-injection, assisted hatching and oocyte maturation ...

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear from the following examples concerning particular embodiments of the present invention in which reference is made to: FIG. 1 which represents a schematic sectional view of an incubator according to invention,

- Figures 2 and 3 which represent two different types of incubator object of the invention.

The schematic sectional view of one incubator according to the invention, shown in Figure 1 shows that it comprises a sealed oven 1 provided with a door 2 which can be closed in a sealed manner. Inside the oven 1 is mounted an endless conveyor belt 3 driven by a motor roller 4 and passing over a return roller 5. The motor roller 4 is rotated by a motor 6 located outside of the oven 1, but can also be provided inside thereof, and which, in in this case, is connected to the motor roller 4 by a line 7. The stepping motor 6 is controlled by a computer 8 via a control line 9. On the upper strand of the conveyor 3, a culture dish 10 is placed comprising three wells 11a, 11b and 11e. The well 11a is upstream from the well 11b in the direction of movement F of the conveyor, while the well 11a is downstream. The box 10 is held on the conveyor 3 by buttresses 12 which prevent it from moving inadvertently. Above the location where the well 11b is shown in the figure, a fixed microscope 13 is mounted which is connected by a line 14 to a display device 15 making it possible to see the well 11b located at this location. At this same location also arrives a pipette 16 controlled by the computer 8 via a line 17. The computer 8 is connected by a line 18 to a handle 19 making it possible to control the pipette and in particular to lower it into the well located at said location, in this case in the well 11b, or to take it out and allowing to suck out part of the content of the well 11b, or to take it out and allowing aspirate part of the contents of well 11b or release part of the pipette into the well which will be at this location. On a console 20 provided inside

1 the oven 2 is carried a bottle 21 of culture medium which, by a conduit 22 provided with a valve 23, opens above the well 11a or, according to a variant which is also shown in the figure, above the well 11b on the understanding that one of these variants is used, but not both at the same time.

An optical densitometer 24 with threshold striking makes it possible to follow the optical density of the culture medium of well 11b. To put the embryo in culture, the door 2 of the oven 1 is opened and it is placed in the linked well, filled with culture medium, in the oven 1, while the wells 11a and 11b are empty, being understood that they could also be already filled with culture medium. We therefore have a series of three wells 11a, 11b and 11e of which only one contains an embryo. Door 2 is closed. It will not be opened again until cultivation is complete. The embryo is allowed to grow in the linked well which is then below the microscope 13 with the possibility, thanks to this microscope and possibly of the densitometer 24, of observing what is happening there and, if necessary, of deciding on the best time to change the culture medium. We can also decide to change the culture medium after a fixed period. When we decide to change the middle of. culture, the pipette 16 is lowered into the linked well, the embryo is passed from the linked well into the pipette 16, the pipette 16 is removed from the linked well and the conveyor 3 is advanced by one step to bring now the well 11b opposite the microscope 13 at the location where the linked well was previously located. The pipette 16 is then lowered into the well 11b to obtain the position shown in the figure. The well 11b is filled with culture medium using the bottle 21 of the conduit 22 and the valve 23, if this operation had not already been carried out before, then the pipette 16 is lowered and the mixture is released. embryo in the well 11b by observing on the display device 15 that these operations are carried out correctly. The pipette 16 is then removed from well 11b. The operations which have just been indicated are then repeated, but the well 11a taking the place of the well 11b and the well 11b playing the role that the well 11 previously played.

Of course, it is possible to modify the device for moving the wells in order to bring them to the location located under the microscope 13, for example using a turnstile or the like. And it is also possible to provide several series of wells 11a, 11b and 11e with a greater number of wells per series and its own means of moving each series of wells.

Figures 2 and 3 show two types of incubators capable of each containing several culture dishes.

The incubator of Figure 2 is an incubator in which the intervention area (A1), the area dedicated to the storage of consumables (A2) and the incubation area (B) are on the same level. An articulated and motorized arm takes the box to be treated in the incubation area (B) dedicated to the storage of the boxes and routes it to the interventional area. In this interventional area, the various operations of the process take place, which are the change of embryo wells and the filling with culture medium of the wells. In this case of implementation of the invention, only the box to be treated is handled. In addition, each of the boxes is defined by its position (x, y) in the incubation area which allows them to be stored in a logical and consistent manner and to avoid errors between boxes and therefore between cultures.

The incubator in Figure 3 is a system consisting of two stages. On the first (El), the dishes are stored, this stage therefore corresponding to the incubation zone (A). The tray is fixed. An airlock allows the introduction of 4 boxes simultaneously. The second floor

(E2) is the intervention stage to which we pass via a manipulator arm. The axis of the microscope is fixed and the microscope stage on which the box to be observed is placed moves in x and in y, the microscope moving in z for focusing. In the center of the tray (C) are stored the consumables and the operations for removing media and cones and removing them are carried out.

Claims

1) Incubator comprising a sealed oven provided with a door, a culture box with several wells placed in the oven, an organism being in one of the wells of said box, characterized in that it comprises a means controlled from the outside, intended to leave the well in which it is the organism to put it in another well filled with a new culture medium.

2) incubator according to claim 1, characterized in that said means controlled from the outside, intended to leave the well in which it is the organism to put it in another well filled with a culture medium is a pipette .

3) Incubator according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a microscope which makes it possible to observe the culture of the organism on a display screen placed outside the oven.

4) Incubator according to claim 3, characterized in that the stage of said microscope is located 1 inside 1 oven.

5) Incubator according to any one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that said microscope has a filter which protects the organism from the deleterious effects of light.

6) Incubator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means, controlled from the outside of the oven, of step by step movement in the oven of a culture dish with several wells.

7) Incubator according to claim 6, characterized in that the means for moving the culture dish step by step consists of:

- either an endless conveyor belt driven by a driving roller, itself driven in rotation by a stepping motor controlled by a computer via a control line,

- Either an articulated manipulator arm, controlled by a computer, capable of taking the culture dish to be treated and transporting it to an interventional zone, the manipulator arm being able to have a linear or rotary movement.

8) Incubator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a source of culture medium communicating with a valve conduit opening above a well and means for controlling the valve so as to discharge in the well a prescribed amount of the culture medium.

9) Incubator according to claim 8, characterized in that it comprises means for moving said valve from one well to another.

10) Incubator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is equipped with sensors allowing 1 'self-regulation and monitoring of the atmosphere inside the oven.

11) Method for incubating an organism, which consists of placing the organism in a sealed oven, incubating it in a culture well filled with a medium of culture and changing it n times the culture medium, n being an integer greater than 1 and less than 50, characterized in that it consists of i) putting the organism in one of a series of (n +1) well of a box placed in the oven, while the n other wells of the series are free of any organism, ii) to move, without removing it from the oven, the organism of the well in which it is to put it in the next well of the series filled with new medium and iii) to repeat the displacement at most as many times as there are available wells.

12) Method according to claim 11, characterized in that it consists in observing under a microscope the color change in the culture medium containing an indicator and contained in the well of a series of (n + 1) colored wells in which find the organism and change the well organism during this turn.

13) Process according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that it consists in monitoring the optical density in one incubator and in changing the wells when the optical density exceeds a prohibited threshold.