Claims for Patent: 5,736,398

Summary for Patent: 5,736,398

Title:	Gas permeable pouches for growing cultures
Abstract:	Cultures, such as bacterial, fungal, and mammalian cells and viruses of the above may be grown without agitation in culture pouch vessels having gas permeable surfaces. The culture pouches may be constructed of gas permeable silicone rubber and may include a sealable filling port and integral cuvette for measuring bacteria density. The culture pouches may be supplied with sterile dry culture medium, and culture growth may be initiated in the pouches by adding cells and sterile water.
Inventor(s):	Giambernardi; Troy A. (San Antonio, TX), Klebe; Robert J. (Helotes, TX)
Assignee:	Board of Regents, The University of Texas System (Austin, TX)
Application Number:	08/784,452
Patent Claims:	1. An apparatus for growing cultures, comprising: a pouch having upper and lower surfaces defining a pouch interior and a pouch exterior, the upper and lower pouch surfaces being comprised of gas permeable silicone rubber; at least one sealable port defined in the upper surface of the pouch, the port extending from the pouch exterior to the pouch interior; a sealing cap, the sealing cap having a closed end and being adapted to be received by the sealable port in sealing engagement; a cuvette having an open end and a closed end, wherein the open end of the cuvette is sealably connected to an opening defined in the closed end of the sealing cap such that the open end of the cuvette is in communication with the interior of the pouch when the sealing cap is sealably engaged with the sealable port. 2. An apparatus for growing cultures, comprising: a pouch having one or more surfaces defining a pouch interior and a pouch exterior, at least one of the surfaces being gas permeable; at least one port defined in a surface of the pouch, the port extending from the pouch exterior to the pouch interior; and at least one observation or measurement device disposed in communication with the interior of the pouch. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the observation or measurement device is an optical path length, the optical path length being at least partially transparent. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the port is sealable. 5. The apparatus of claim 3, comprising only one port. 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the port has a neck for receiving a cap in sealing engagement. 7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the surfaces is a gas permeable polymer. 8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the surfaces is silicone rubber. 9. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the one or more surfaces of the pouch are silicone rubber. 10. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the optical path length is a cuvette. 11. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the optical path length is a cuvette having an open end and a closed end, wherein the cap has a closed end, and wherein the open end of the cuvette is sealably connected to an opening defined in the closed end of the cap such that the open end of the cuvette is in communication with the interior of the pouch when the cap is sealably engaged with the neck. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pouch and cuvette is adapted to be received in a spectrophotometer. 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the cuvette has four sides, each side having an internal width of between about 0.1 cm to about 2 cm each, and wherein the open and closed ends of the cuvette define a longitudinal axis having a length of from about 1 cm to about 10 cm between the open and closed ends of the cuvette. 14. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising culture medium disposed within the pouch. 15. A method for growing cultures, comprising the steps of: providing an apparatus for growing cultures, the apparatus comprising: a pouch having one or more surfaces defining a pouch interior and a pouch exterior, at least one of the surfaces being gas permeable; at least one port defined in a surface of the pouch, the port extending from the pouch exterior to the pouch interior; introducing cells into the pouch; exposing the pouch exterior to a gas; and allowing the cells to grow within the pouch, wherein the pouch is maintained in a static condition during cell growth, wherein the cells are supplied with gas exclusively through the gas permeable pouch surface or by a gas pocket formed within the pouch prior to the step of allowing the cells to grow, and wherein the cells are either supplied with no nutrients or are supplied with nutrients exclusively from a culture medium disposed within the interior of the pouch prior to the step of allowing the cells to grow. 16. A method for growing cultures, comprising the steps of: providing an apparatus for growing cultures, the apparatus comprising: a pouch having one or more surfaces defining a pouch interior and a pouch exterior, at least one of the surfaces being gas permeable; at least one port defined in a surface of the pouch, the port extending from the pouch exterior to the pouch interior; at least one observation or measurement device disposed in communication with the interior of the pouch; introducing cells into the pouch; exposing the pouch exterior to a gas; and allowing the cells to grow within the pouch. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the observation or measurement device is an optical path length, the optical path length being at least partially transparent. 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of maintaining the apparatus in a static condition during cell growth. 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of agitating the cells within the pouch. 20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of sterilizing the pouch prior to introducing the cells into the pouch. 21. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of providing includes the step of providing a sterile culture medium disposed within the pouch, and further comprising the step of introducing sterile water into the pouch. 22. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of: forming a gas pocket within the pouch by introducing a gas into the pouch; and allowing the cells to grow in the presence of the gas pocket. 23. The method of clam 16, wherein the gas comprises at least one of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen or a mixture thereof. 24. The method of clam 16, wherein the pouch is a silicone rubber pouch. 25. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of measuring a density of the cells within the pouch. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the optical path length is a cuvette and wherein the step of measuring a density of the cells within the pouch comprises the steps of: orienting the apparatus so that the cuvette is filled with the growing cells; and measuring the cell density using a spectrophotometer.

Details for Patent 5,736,398

Applicant	Tradename	Biologic Ingredient	Dosage Form	BLA	Approval Date	Patent No.	Expiredate
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.	ZOSTAVAX	zoster vaccine live	For Injection	125123	05/25/2006		2039-09-23