CELL CULTURE DEVICE, DEVICE FOR LONG-TERM MONITORING OF CELL CULTURE, METHOD FOR LONG-TERM CELL CULTURE, AND METHOD FOR LONG-TERM MONITORING OF CELL CULTURE

摘要

To provide a cell culture apparatus, an apparatus for long-term observation of cell culture, a method for long-term cell culture, and a method for long-term observation of cell culture, which are capable of continuously culturing and observing cells under a uniform environmental condition without variation in physiological state associated with aging of the cultured cells, and also tracing the history (genealogy) of a certain cell. A cell culture apparatus comprising a cell culture substrate, a semipermeable membrane, and a culture solution supply means, in which the cell culture substrate has, on a surface thereof, a narrow culture groove for holding and culturing cells and wide flow grooves for discarding the cells held and cultured in the culture groove, the both ends of the culture groove being connected to the flow grooves and the flow grooves being larger in width and depth than the culture groove; the semipermeable membrane is used so as to cover the culture groove and the flow grooves of the cell culture substrate; and the culture solution supply means is capable of continuously supplying culture solution to the cell culture substrate covered with the semipermeable membrane.