Multiple incubator cell culture system with atmospheric regulation operated by an integrated control system

Abstract

Embodiments of a cell culture incubator system provided herein have two or more individual incubators and atmospheric regulation system configured to regulate atmospheric conditions within the environmental chamber of each individual incubator. The atmospheric regulation system has a single integrated controller system that controls atmospheric regulation of each of the individual incubators independently of the one or more other individual incubators. Atmospheric conditions within each of the individual incubators include at least the oxygen level and the total gas pressure, which are regulated independently of each other.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cell culture incubator system comprising:
 two or more individual incubators, wherein each individual incubator comprises an environmental chamber; and   an atmospheric regulation system configured to regulate atmospheric conditions within the environmental chamber of each individual incubator, the atmospheric conditions comprising an oxygen level and a total gas pressure,   wherein the atmospheric regulation system is configured to regulate the oxygen level and the total gas pressure within each incubator independently of each other, and   wherein the atmospheric regulation system comprises a single integrated controller system configured to command atmospheric regulation of each of the individual incubators independently of the one or more other individual incubators.   
     
     
         2 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 1 , wherein the integrated controller system comprises:
 a single master controller operably linked to each of the individual incubators; and   two or more subcontrollers, each subcontroller dedicated, respectively, to one of the two or more individual incubators,   wherein the master controller is configured to deliver atmospheric condition set point commands to each of the two or more subcontrollers, and wherein each subcontroller regulates the atmospheric regulation system of the individual incubator to which it is dedicated, in accordance with the atmospheric condition set points commands of the master controller.   
     
     
         3 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 2 , wherein each of the two or more subcontrollers is positioned within or proximate the incubator to which it is dedicated. 
     
     
         4 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 2 , wherein each subcontroller comprises two or more atmospheric condition regulation modules, said modules comprising an oxygen module and a pressure module. 
     
     
         5 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 4 , wherein each subcontroller comprises one or more further atmospheric condition regulation modules, said further modules comprising a carbon dioxide module, a temperature module, or a humidity module. 
     
     
         6 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 2 , wherein the master controller is configured to request and receive sensor data from any of the two or more subcontrollers, said sensor data comprising data from any sensed atmospheric condition from any of the two or more individual incubators. 
     
     
         7 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 2 , wherein the master controller, in response to sensor data received from a subcontroller, is configured to send atmospheric regulation commands to an atmospheric regulation module within any of the two or more individual incubators. 
     
     
         8 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 1 , wherein the single integrated controller system being configured to operate each of the individual incubators individually of the one or more other individual incubators comprises being configured to be able to operate two or more of the individual incubators in parallel with respect to the atmospheric conditions within the individual incubators. 
     
     
         9 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 1 , wherein the single integrated controller system being configured to operate each of the individual incubators independently of the one or more other individual incubators comprises being configured to be able to operate the individual incubators such that at least one of the individual incubators differs from at least one other individual incubator with respect to the atmospheric conditions within the individual incubators. 
     
     
         10 . The atmospheric regulation system of the cell culture incubator system of  claim 2 , wherein
 the integrated controller system comprises an oxygen module and a pressure module;   the atmospheric regulation system further comprises:
 an oxygen sensor configured to measure the oxygen level within the environmental chamber and to convey an oxygen signal to the oxygen module; 
 a pressure sensor configured to measure the total gas pressure within the environmental chamber and to convey a pressure level signal to the pressure module; 
 a gas flow system comprising multiple gas sources flowably connected to the environmental chamber, said gas sources comprising a nitrogen source, a carbon dioxide source, and an air source, wherein gas flow from each source is regulated by the controller system; 
 wherein the integrated controller system is configured to regulate each of an oxygen level and a total gas pressure within the environmental chamber, and wherein the integrated controller system is configured to:
 a) provide a hypoxic oxygen set point to the oxygen module; 
 b) provide a hyperbaric total gas pressure set point to the atmospheric regulation system, 
 
 wherein the regulation of the oxygen level to the hypoxic set point prevails despite an oxygen partial pressure-increasing effect of the hyperbaric pressure condition, per the positive pressure set point. 
   
     
     
         11 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 2 , wherein the master controller is configured such that when an atmospheric condition within an environmental chamber of one of the incubator chambers is sensed as being out of set point compliance, the master controller drives a transition of the atmospheric condition within the environmental chamber toward the set point, said transition mediated by the subcontroller dedicated to the incubator. 
     
     
         12 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 2 , wherein when an atmospheric condition within an environmental chamber of one of the incubator chambers is sensed as being in-compliance with the atmospheric condition set point, the subcontroller dedicated to the incubator is operable to control the gas flow system without an ongoing atmospheric set point command from the master controller. 
     
     
         13 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 2 , wherein each of the individual incubators comprises at least two atmospheric sensors, said sensors comprising an oxygen sensor and an atmospheric pressure sensor, said sensors disposed within the environmental chamber, said sensors configured to transmit sensed data to the subcontroller of the integrated controller system. 
     
     
         14 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 13 , wherein the subcontroller of the integrated controller system is configured to transmit sensed data to the master controller. 
     
     
         15 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 14 , wherein the subcontroller of the integrated controller system is configured to transmit sensed data to the master controller at a rate that is controllably variable. 
     
     
         16 . The culture incubator system of  claim 1 , wherein the integrated controller system of at least one of the multiple incubators comprises one or more analytic modules configured to non-invasively capture analytic data informative of an aspect of performance of a cell population being cultured within a cell culture vessel disposed within the incubator. 
     
     
         17 . The culture incubator system of  claim 16 , wherein the analytic module of the integrated controller system of at least one of the multiple incubators comprises an impedance mapping module configured to receive grid site-tagged impedance data transmitted from an electrode mapping grid included within a cell culture surface of a cell culture vessel disposed within the cell culture incubator, and wherein the mapped impedance data are processable into a map of cellular attachment to the cell culture surface of the cell culture vessel. 
     
     
         18 . The culture incubator system of  claim 16 , wherein the analytic module of the integrated controller system of the at least one of the multiple incubators comprises an optical module configured to receive optical data captured from the cell culture vessel within the incubator, and wherein the optical data are processable into a measure of cellular presence within the cell culture vessel. 
     
     
         19 . The culture incubator system of  claim 18 , wherein the optical module is configured to receive optical data that is site-tagged, said optical data transmitted from an optical mapping grid, the optical mapping grid included within a cell culture surface of a cell culture vessel disposed within the cell culture incubator, and wherein the mapped optical data are processable into a map of cellular presence on the cell culture surface of the cell culture vessel. 
     
     
         20 . The culture incubator system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the multiple incubators comprises a current delivery module within the integrated control system that is configured to be able to transmit electrical current by way of an electrode array disposed within a cell culture surface of a cell culture vessel disposed within the cell culture incubator, the transmitted current being effective to electroporate a cell adhering to the cell culture surface. 
     
     
         21 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the individual incubators is sized and configured to accommodate a cell culture bag rocker device and a cell culture bag of at least 1-liter volume disposed thereon. 
     
     
         22 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the individual incubators is sized and configured to accommodate a cell flask orbiter and a cell culture flask of at least 500 ml capacity thereon. 
     
     
         23 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 1 , comprising a set of between two and six individual incubators. 
     
     
         24 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 23 , wherein the individual incubators are configured to be freestanding. 
     
     
         25 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 23 , wherein the individual incubators are configured to be stackable, such that each individual incubator is positioned over and/or under another individual incubator. 
     
     
         26 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 23 , consisting of a set of two individual incubators arranged within a single housing. 
     
     
         27 . The cell culture incubator system of  claim 23 , consisting of a set of six individual incubators arranged as two side-by-side stacks of three incubators.