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Method of testing the safety and efficacy of a drugRelated Patent Categories: Chemistry: Molecular Biology And Microbiology, Measuring Or Testing Process Involving Enzymes Or Micro-organisms; Composition Or Test Strip Therefore; Processes Of Forming Such Composition Or Test StripMethod of testing the safety and efficacy of a drug description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070172814, Method of testing the safety and efficacy of a drug. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/751,983 filed on Jan. 7, 2004, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/754,327 filed on Dec. 29, 2005, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/518,331 filed Nov. 10, 2003, which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to tissue culture vessels and, more particularly, comprises a new and improved tissue culture vessel for co-culturing of multiple types of cells and tissues and the application of the cell culture device in biological studies, including application in drug discovery and development. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Culture tools, such as, for example, dishes, plates, flasks, and other types of vessels, are widely used in the laboratory for a variety of purposes. In normal use, cell and tissue culturing involves the use of agar or medium, which covers the bottom of a well. Cells are routinely cultured in research laboratories for basic biochemical and cell biology research to further understand natural biological processes. More recent uses of cell culture systems have been in drug discovery and development in order to test for pharmacological and toxicological effects of drug candidates. This work generally is a monoculture test process, for example, cells of one type are grown in a suitable medium in a tissue culture vessel such as a well, a plate or a flask. [0004] A normal cell culture plate consists of a chamber with a flat bottom surrounded by vertical walls to allow filling of the chamber with liquid and a removable cover to retain humidity and to protect against contamination. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a commonly used multi-well plate 100 has six identical wells 110. Although the wells 110 can be formed integrally, as by injection or blow molding for example, a preferred method of manufacture is to form the plate 100 with an upper tray 120 which defines the volume contained in each well and a lower or bottom tray 130 which defines the bottom surface of each well. The well 110 depth, together with the diameter of the well 110, determines the fluid capacity of each well 110. Typically for example, each well 110 in a six well plate is about 0.35 cm. in diameter and 2.0 cm. deep and the wells are preferably arranged in a 2 by 3 regular rectangular array. [0005] As shown in FIG. 1B, cells 140 are deposited in the bottom of each of the wells 110. A fluid 150 is then added to cover the cells 140. [0006] Cell culture systems, commonly known as in vitro systems, are used extensively in drug discovery and development for the evaluation of drug properties. For example, cell culture systems are used to evaluate drug efficacy, drug metabolism, or drug toxicity. However, it is also recognized that an in vitro system may not accurately predict in vivo effects due to the lack of the complexity and interplay of biological processes for in vitro systems. For example, by using primary liver cells (hepatocytes) in culture, the effect of a substance on liver cells can be evaluated. However, in vivo, the substance may be metabolized by other organs such as the kidneys, and the resulting metabolite may have a different effect on liver cells which would not be detected by using liver cells alone. For this reason, interest has developed in the co-culture of cells. Co-culturing involves growing one population of cells in the presence of another population of cells. Cell co-culturing has been applied in a myriad of biological studies. In pharmacology and toxicology, co-culturing of a target cell, such as, for example, cancer cells, with cells from a critical organ, such as, for example, the liver, allows the evaluation of the effect of a chemical on the target cells after its modification by cells from the critical organ, such as, for example, liver metabolism of a specific drug or drug candidate. Using the normal cell culture plate, co-culture methods are achieved by mixing the different cell types or by the use of membranes to allow two cell types to be cultured on both sides of the membrane. Evaluation of the individual cell types after being physically mixed or by using membranes can be highly difficult and tedious. Thus, a need exists for a new cell culture tool that facilitates cell co-culturing. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] In one general aspect, a cell culture tool includes a body, an outer wall extending from the body, and more than one vessel defined by the configuration of the body. Each vessel has a top edge below a rim of the outer wall. [0008] Implementation may include one or more of the following features. For example, the body may have a flat surface with each vessel comprising a depression in the flat surface of the body, the depression configured to contain a volume of fluid. The vessel may have a cylindrical wall and a circular bottom and the outer surface of the body may be in the shape of a rectangular plate. The height of the outer wall may be about 20 millimeters. [0009] In one implementation, each vessel comprises a cup connected to the body, each cup having a top edge below the rim of the outer wall. In another implementation, the vessel includes a container having a container wall with a top edge, the height of the container wall being about 4 millimeters. In a further implementation, each vessel comprises a partition wall dividing the space defined within the perimeter of the outer wall, the partition wall having a top edge. [0010] In another general aspect, a multi-well culture dish includes a base having a flat surface with a plurality of wells and an outer wall surrounding the base. Each of the wells includes a containing wall with a height lower than the height of the outer wall. Implementation may include one or more of the features described above and the dish may also include six wells. [0011] In another general aspect, multiple culture vessels can be connected using tubing with or without a device, such as, for example, a pump, to circulate the fluid. [0012] In another general aspect, a method of interacting a substance with more than one type of cell material in a culture dish having a plurality of wells includes depositing a different type of the cell material in separate wells of the culture dish, interconnecting the wells with a fluid medium, and adding the substance to the fluid medium. In various implementations, the substance may include a chemical or a drug. [0013] In another general aspect, a method of metabolizing a drug in a multi-well culture dish includes depositing different types of cell material in separate wells of the multi-well culture dish, connecting the separate wells with a fluid media, and introducing the drug into the fluid media. [0014] Implementation may include one or more of the following features or any of the features described above. For example, the cell material may include liver, kidney, spleen or lung cells, any cells that can be cultured, and/or tissue fragments or fractions. [0015] In another general aspect, a method of metabolizing a drug in a cell culture dish having a body with six wells and a wall surrounding the six wells includes depositing kidney cells in a first of the six wells, liver cells in a second of the six wells, heart cells in a third of the six wells, lung cells in a fourth of the six wells, spleen cells in a fifth of the six wells, and brain cells in a sixth of the six wells, filling the dish with a fluid medium to fluidly interconnect the six wells, and introducing the drug into the fluid medium. [0016] In another general aspect, a method of co-culturing different cells in individual wells includes overfilling each well to fluidly interconnect the wells so the different cells in the individual wells communicate through a common fluid medium. [0017] The method may include various implementations. For example, the different cells in the individual wells comprise liver cells in a first well, kidney cells in a second well, heart cells in a third well, spleen cells in a fourth well, brain cells in a fifth well, and lung cells in a sixth well. In another implementation, the different cells in the individual wells comprise liver cells in a first, second and third well and heart cells in a fourth, fifth, and sixth well. In a further implementation, the method includes introducing a substance into the common fluid medium so that the different cells in the individual wells are in contact with the same substance. [0018] In another general aspect, a method of testing the safety and efficacy of a drug in a culture dish having separate wells includes depositing different cells of an organism in the separate wells of the culture dish, depositing a harmful agent in another of the separate wells, interconnecting the separate wells with a fluid medium, and introducing a dose of the drug into the fluid medium. [0019] The method may include one or more of the following features or any of the features described above. For example, the method may include determining whether the different cells of the organism are harmed by the dose of the drug, determining whether the harmful agent is diminished by the dose of the drug, and/or increasing the dose of the drug if the different cells of the organism are not harmed and the harmful agent is not diminished. [0020] The harmful agent may include tumor cells and the drug may include an anti-tumor medication. The different cells of the organism may include liver, kidney, heart, lung, spleen, and/or brain cells of the human body. Continue reading about Method of testing the safety and efficacy of a drug... Full patent description for Method of testing the safety and efficacy of a drug Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Method of testing the safety and efficacy of a drug patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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