IP Library Granted Patent US 11,376,587
Granted Patent B2
US 11,376,587 · App. 17/331,556 · Granted Jul 5, 2022

Fluid connector

Inventors: Bharat S. Thakkar (Campbell, CA); Fabian Gerlinghaus (South San Francisco, CA); Brian Alexander Pesch (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: Cellares Corporation
B01L3/502715A61L2/04A61L2/20A61L2/206A61L2/208B01J19/004B01L13/00C12M23/44C12M23/50C12M41/48A61L2/08A61L2202/11A61L2202/122A61L2202/123A61L2202/14B01J2219/0002B01J2219/0074B01L2200/027B01L2300/049
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,376,587
App. No.
17/331,556
Granted
Jul 5, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed herein are cell processing systems, devices, and methods thereof. A system for cell processing may comprise a plurality of instruments each independently configured to perform one or more cell processing operations upon a cartridge, and a robot capable of moving the cartridge between each of the plurality of instruments.

Claims (38)

1. A system, comprising:

a fluid connector, comprising:

a first connector comprising a first proximal end configured to couple to a first fluid device, and a first distal end comprising a first port; and

a second connector comprising a second proximal end configured to couple to a second fluid device, and a second distal end comprising a second port configured to couple to the first port,

wherein the first distal end comprises a first lumen and a first valve, the first valve configured to translate within the first lumen; and the second distal end comprises a second lumen and a second valve, the second valve is configured to translate within the second lumen, and one of the first valve and the second valve is configured to translate within the first lumen and the second lumen;

a robot configured to operate the fluid connector; and

a controller comprising a memory and a processor, the controller coupled to the robot, the controller configured to:

generate a first port signal to couple the first port to the second port using the robot.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first valve and the second valve are configured to transition from a closed configuration to an open configuration only when the first valve couples to the second valve.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first port and the second port are configured to transition between an open configuration and a closed configuration.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first connector comprises a first port actuator and/or the second connector comprises a second port actuator.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second port coupled to the first port defines a chamber.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein one or more of the first connector and the second connector comprises a sterilant port configured to couple to a sterilant source, the sterilant port configured to be in fluid communication with the first distal end and the second distal end when the second port is coupled to the first port.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the chamber is configured to receive one or more of a fluid and a sterilant from the sterilant port.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the sterilant port is configured to receive a sterilant such that the sterilant sterilizes the first connector and the second connector.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first connector comprises a first valve, and the second connector comprises a second valve configured to couple to the first valve.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein a first seal comprises the first port coupled to the second port, and a second seal comprises the first valve coupled to the second valve.

11. The system of claim 6 , wherein the sterilant comprises one or more of vaporized hydrogen peroxide, ionized hydrogen peroxide, and ethylene oxide.

12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising one or more robot engagement features.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first connector comprises a first alignment feature and the second connector comprises a second alignment feature configured to couple to the first alignment feature in a predetermined axial and rotational configuration.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first fluid device and the second fluid device comprises an instrument.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a first valve signal to translate the first valve relative to the second valve using the robotic arm, and generate a second valve signal to transition the first valve and the second valve to the open configuration.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a second port signal to decouple the first port from the second port, wherein a sterility of the fluid connector is maintained before coupling the first port to the second port and after decoupling the first port from the second port.

17. The system of claim 6 , further comprising a fluid pump coupled to a sterilant source, wherein the controller is configured to generate a first fluid pump signal to circulate a fluid into the chamber through the sterilant port.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a second fluid pump signal to circulate the sterilant into the chamber through the sterilant port to sterilize at least the chamber.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a third fluid pump signal to remove the sterilant from the chamber.

20. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a thermal sterilization signal to thermally sterilize the fluid connector.

21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a radiation sterilization signal to sterilize the fluid connector using radiation.

22. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robot is configured to couple a fluid connector between at least two of a plurality of instruments and a cartridge.

23. The system of claim 1 ,

wherein the controller is further configured to:

generate a port signal to couple the first port to the second port using the robotic arm;

generate a first valve signal to translate the first valve relative to the second valve using the robotic arm; and

generate a second valve signal to transition the first valve and the second valve to the open configuration.

24. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first fluid device and the second fluid device comprises one or more of a counterflow centrifugal elutriation (CCE) instrument, a magnetic-activated cell selection (MACS) instrument, an electroporation instrument, and a bioreactor instrument.

25. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first fluid device and the second fluid device comprises one or more of a counterflow centrifugal elutriation (CCE) module, a magnetic-activated cell selection (MACS) module, an electroporation module, and a bioreactor module.

26. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first fluid device and the second fluid device comprise a liquid transfer bus.

27. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first fluid device and the second fluid device comprise a reagent vessel.

Assignments (2)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 5, 2026
From: CELLARES CORPORATION
To: TRINITY CAPITAL INC.
Reel/Frame 075545/0558 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 6, 2021
From: GERLINGHAUS, FABIAN; PESCH, BRIAN ALEXANDER; REIMNITZ, NICHOLAS SCOTT; TOY, WILSON WAI; MALLEO, DANIELE; CHANG, CHIHWEI; THAKKAR, BHARAT S.; BIZ, TONY
To: CELLARES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 057721/0602 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 17198134 · Mar 10, 2021
Provisional Application 63093038 · Oct 16, 2020
Provisional Application 62987745 · Mar 10, 2020
Related Publication 20210283606A1 · Sep 16, 2021
Cited By (14)
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