Biotech, a company that focuses on alternative packaging, has created a new container. This is called the InSphero, which is an InFloat container that keeps everything upright, regardless of the orientation of the packaging. Being able to ship microtissues to bio and pharmaceutical companies along with academic laboratories, this is a strange machine that looks like a gyroscope, with a floating ball that keeps an internal temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, and 40 degrees Celsius all year round, which is good for the contents since they can handle the with pressure changes that go through the air cargo compartments.
InSphero is one of the biggest leaders in specialized and functional 3D types of microtissue, aiding with drug discovery. These handle delicate microtissues in plates that involve various tiny wells, which are used in drug screeners and researchers. This does preserve the psychological function of the shipping, making sure it’s not trivial. The microtissue plates are totally vertical during all of this, but even then, they can sometimes flip, which is a challenge for a lot of 3D cell cultures since you can’t control everything that happens within the boxes after they leave the bioproduct in places.
But this product was inspired by seafarers, and this type of system helps with the weights, preventing them from capsizing, using a principal that hasn’t been used in other packaging solution. The InFloat system does reduce the risks of shipping along with uncertainty, since they allows for the carefully packaged plates of tissues to float in water until they get to the destination. They fully patented the concept, and just recently InSphero did approach someone to demonstrate it. It’s been developed and manufactured by a company called Taracell AG, which is in Switzerland, which is also a company that specializes in particle foam shipping and packaging for sensitive items.
You may wonder if they’re going to license any of this to other companies, and the answer is yes. They want to create a more adapted version based on this concept so that more companies can benefit from this. Right now, the shipper itself will keep the microtissues alive for up to 3 days between the two locations, however this is dependent on the type of microtissue that they’re going to be transporting. For oxygenated microtissues, they’re still working on the logistics of this since the containers normally aren’t oxygenated. But in one instance, a shipper was held up during a snowstorm in Boston, where the plates were kept intact. The cargo wasn’t live microtissue, but the shipper seemed to hold the contents pretty easily, and hopefully, as they continue to work on getting this together, and making this more functional, they’ll be able to do a whole lot more with this.
With this type of container, right now there isn’t a total singular type of price on that, and right now, if you’re already working with the company, and have purchased the in vitro models in the labs, you’ll get this, otherwise it’s best to enquire to them what exactly the costs is, and what it would take for you to get this one. As for the sizes, there is currently only one size, and it’s only sized to fit each of these components, since the microtissues do sit with the assay plate technology, sealed in sterile, film conditions, and they’re wrapped to keep the sterility there. But it does come with differ boxes for each of these cultures. Hopefully, as we see more use from this, more people are able to take advantage of this cool type of packaging option.
No comments:
Post a Comment