Abstract: An actuator device comprising a housing in which there is arranged a permanent magnet extending at 90.degree. from an axially supported member, said member being attached to a driving pawl via a springy leaf, the movement of said magnet being limited by two stop members attached to the bottom plate of the housing, a ratchet wheel with a plurality of teeth pointing downwards and adapted to be engaged by said pawl, another pawl attached to a springy member rigidly attached to said housing, the pawl being adapted to stop a reverse movement of the ratchet wheel, the arrangement being such that application of a magnetic field of adequate strength from a certain distance results in the movement of the magnet and the pawl attached thereto within the range defined by the stop members, each such movement resulting in the stepwise advance of the ratchet wheel by one tooth.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for harvesting cells from a plurality of wells of a standard cell culture plate. Two complementary blocks, a lower and an upper one, are adapted to be attached with each other by suitable mechanical means to form a tight fit, the lower block being provided with a channel-formed conduit attached with an external source of a washing fluid, the flow of which is controlled by valve means. The conduit is connected with a plurality of downwardly pointing tubelets which are spaced in such manner that each one of them fits into a well of the culture plate, thus providing for the possibility of introducing at will washing fluid into the wells in the culture plate. Further tubes are provided which point in the same direction, each of which is connected with an outlet at the upper face of the lower block; an O-ring is provided substantially flush with the upper face of the block at each of the outlets.