Abstract: A cell culture support is first prepared that is coated on a surface with a polymer the hydration force of which changes in a temperature range of 0-80° C.; cancer cells are then cultivated on the support in a temperature region where the polymer has weak hydration force; thereafter, the culture solution is adjusted to a temperature at which the polymer has a stronger hydration force, whereby the cultured cancer cells are detached; the detached cancer cells are then transplanted to a specified site of an animal on which transplantation is to be performed; this method is an efficient way of cancer cells transplantation.

Abstract: An anterior ocular segment related cell sheet or three-dimensional structure that have only a few structural defects as they have been recovered retaining the intercellular desmosome structure and the basement membrane-like protein between cell and substrate. The anterior ocular segment related cell sheet or three-dimensional structure is produced by a process comprising the steps of cultivating cells on a cell culture support comprising a substrate having its surface covered with a temperature responsive polymer having an upper or lower critical dissolution temperature of 0-80° C.

Abstract: Provided is a temperature responsive adsorbent prepared by immobilizing a copolymer containing at least N-isopropylacrylamide to a base material surface. The copolymer has at least a strong cation exchange group. In addition, the copolymer contains the strong cation exchange group in an amount of 0.01 to 5 mol % relative to N-isopropylacrylamide in terms of monomer.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to obtain an alternative to a substitute of the mucosa in the middle ear which is engrafted on the surface of the bone in the middle ear, hyperplasia of the granulation tissue and the bone and the development of the fibroblast cell sir the middle ear are suppressed, and to obtain a middle ear mucosa-like cell sheet retaining cilia in the surface layer, comprising culturing nasal epithelium cells on a cell culture substrate coated with a polymer whose hydration force changes within a temperature range of 0 to 80 ° C., wherein the cells are cultured within a temperature range where the hydration force of the polymer is weak, and then changing the temperature to a temperature at which the hydration force is strong to recover the cultured cell sheet.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a cell culture support making the detachment of a cell sheet easy as well as enabling the formation of a uniform cell sheet.

Abstract: A measuring unit which is to be attached to a cell culture container configured to accommodate cells to be cultured and a culture solution, includes: a measurer which is configured to measure information related to the cells and the culture solution, in a non-contact manner; and a sensor which is configured to detect at least one of a position, a posture, an impact, an orientation, and vibration.

Abstract: A method of measuring a liquid level of a cell culture solution stored in a cell vessel, includes: irradiating the cell culture solution with at least two kinds of light beams including a first light beam having a first wavelength and a second light beam having a second wavelength; measuring a first absorbance of the cell culture solution with respect to the first light beam, and a second absorbance of the cell culture solution with respect to the second light beam; and determining a liquid level of the cell culture solution based on the first absorbance and the second absorbance.

Abstract: A method tor producing multilayered cell sheets, including producing a vascular bed which includes an artery-vein loop and in which a capillary vascular network is constructed; layering cell sheets on the vascular bed; and perfusing a culture medium in vitro to construct a vascular network in the cell sheets. The production method enables vascular networks to he constructed in cell sheets and enables thick multilayered cell sheets to foe easily produced by layering the cell sheets. Such thick multilayered cell sheets are useful as in vivo tissue-like products for regenerative medicine for various tissues and for evaluation of drugs and the like.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a multilayered cell sheet characterized in fabricating a vascular bed that constructs a vascular network extending to the surface from a channel for perfusing a medium, the channel being embedded in a gel; and layering a cell sheet onto the vascular bed to construct a vascular network in the cell sheet. This manufacturing method makes it possible to construct a vascular network in the cell sheet and to fabricate a thick multilayered cell sheet in a simple manner by layering cell sheets. Such a thick multilayered cell sheet is useful as an in-vivo tissue substitute in regenerative medicine involving a variety of tissues.

Abstract: Provided are a cell sheet and a three-dimensional structure thereof that include at least mesenchymal stem cells and myoblasts isolated from a cell culture support and that are to be applied to heart disease. Use of the cell sheet and the three-dimensional structure thereof including mesenchymal stem cells and myoblasts can notably improve cardiac functions compared with a conventional technology, i.e., use of cell sheets composed of myoblasts only or mesenchymal stem cells only. Furthermore, the cell sheet itself has high strength, and the transplantation procedure is also improved.

Abstract: A cell isolation instrument includes: a first container which has an opening in an upper portion; a filtration member which defines at least a part of a lower portion of the first container; an isolation member which is movably housed in the first container to collide with a tissue, thereby isolating cells; and a second container which houses the first container in a manner that the first container can be taken out.

Abstract: A cell culture apparatus includes: an isolator in which a sterile space accommodating a cell incubator filled with a culture solution containing cells to be cultured is disposed; a sampling unit configured to sample the culture solution in the cell incubator; a delivery flow path through which an inside of the sterile space and an outside of the sterile space communicate with each other, the delivery flow path configured to limit a flow in the delivery flow path to a direction that is directed from the inside of the sterile space toward the outside of the sterile space; and a culture solution delivering section configured to deliver the sampled culture solution to the outside of the sterile space via the delivery flow path.

Abstract: A pH measuring method includes: illuminating a medium solution, which includes: a first material; and a second material, with a plurality of light beams, which includes: a first light beam, a wavelength of which corresponds to a first absorption peak; a second light beam, a wavelength of which corresponds to a second absorption peak or a second convergence point; a third light beam, a wavelength of which corresponds to a third absorption peak or a third convergence point; and a fourth light beam, a wavelength of the fourth light beam at which an absorbance of at least one of the first and second materials is converged irrespective of a pH; receiving transmitted or reflected light beams of the first to fourth light beams; measuring absorbances at the wavelengths of the received light beams respectively; and calculating a pH of the medium solution based on the absorbances.

Abstract: Pretreatment is performed using a pretreatment cartridge for separating substances that is packed with a stationary phase that is coated on its surface with a polymer whose tendency to hydration will change within a temperature range of 0-80° C. and which is capable of changing the affinity between the substance to be separated and the surface of the stationary phase in response to the shrinkage or swelling of the polymer chain due to temperature change. By using this pretreatment cartridge for separating substances, a convenient operation will suffice for a sample solution to be reduced to a solution containing the substance that need be separated from the specimen. If this method of pretreatment is used, useful substances can be separated intact by merely changing the temperature and it becomes possible to perform the subsequent analyzing or fraction collecting operation efficiently.

Abstract: A method of measuring a pH of a solution includes: emitting light beams of two wavelengths from one side of a measuring region of a solution into which an indicator is mixed, while pulsating the solution in the measuring region; receiving at least one of transmitted light beams and reflected light beams of the emitted light beams on the other side of the measuring region, while pulsating the solution in the measuring region; obtaining absorbances of the two wavelengths based on the received at least one of the transmitted light beams and the reflected light beams; obtaining an absorbance ratio from the obtained absorbances ; and calculating a pH value of the solution based on the obtained absorbance ratio and an absorbance ratio/pH value correspondence database which is previously stored.

Abstract: A cell incubator includes: a culture cell accommodating section which accommodates cells to be cultured and a culture solution; and an RFID tag which is attached to the culture cell accommodating section and which is configured to transmit predetermined information to a communicating apparatus in response to reception of a signal that is wirelessly transmitted from the communicating apparatus.

Abstract: A polymer that changes hydration at a temperature between 0 to 80° C. is coated on the surface of a cell culture support, and islet cells are cultured on the support at a temperature range that causes polymer to have weak hydration, then the temperature of a culture solution is changed to a temperature that causes the polymer to have strong hydration to obtain islet cells in a sheet form. Such islet cells in a sheet form have an insulin producing function even if there is no blood flow.

Abstract: Provided is a temperature-responsive cell culture substrate. A non-crosslinked temperature-responsive polymer having a molecular weight between 10,000 and 150,000 is immobilized on the substrate surface with a density of 0.02 to 0.3 molecular chain per square nanometer. Using the provided temperature-responsive cell culture substrate, cells obtained from various tissues can be efficiently cultured. This culturing method makes it possible to efficiently peel off a cell sheet by just changing the temperature, without causing damage.

Abstract: Differentiation of a large number of embryonic stem cells or artificial pluripotent stem cells such as induced pluripotent stem cells can be readily induced by the following method. A substrate surface having a cell non-adhesive region on the periphery of a cell adhesive region is used, and (1) the cells are allowed to adhere to the cell adhesive region of the substrate surface in a differentiation-inducing medium; (2) the cells are subsequently allowed to grow on the cell adhesive surface to reach confluence; (3) the culture is further continued to three-dimensionally stratify the cells from the boundary with the cell non-adhesive region surrounding the cell adhesive region; and (4) a plurality of the stratified portions formed in the cell adhesive region is finally bound to one another to produce a cell agglomerate spreading over the entire cell adhesive region with a certain thickness.

Abstract: A cell isolation apparatus includes: a chamber body which includes a chamber into which tissue is to be introduced; an isolation member which is moved in the chamber and which is to collide with the tissue to isolate a cell; and a controlling portion which controls an operation of the isolation member in the chamber body.