Hitachi, Ltd.

Other

Norio Shimizu

Yoji Odawara

Shinichi Fukuzono

Tadashi Ishibashi

Hideo Kawaguchi

Nobuko Nishimura

Kenji Yasuda

Youji Odawara

Tetsuo Yamaguchi

Setsuo Saitou

Yasunori Masaki

Mitsuru Tamura

Kouji Takeuchi

Kiyoshi Fujimori

Kazuo Sato

Kazuo Takeda

Shin-ichiro Umemura

Shuji Imazeki

Masahiko Ishida

Teruhiko Beppu

Kiyoshi Fujiwara

Kazuaki Ichihashi

Tomoaki Sumitani

Hiroyuki Takei

Yoshinori Harada

Azuma Nakaoka

Tadashi Muroi

Takeshi Uozumi

Masao Ueno

Katsuhiko Nishimori

Jun Fukuda

Noboru Yanagida

Yooji Odawara

Takejiro Ushiroda

Yoshiyuki Kawaguchi

Hiroaki Kezuka

Motoyuki Tsuda

Saeko Yoshino

Toshiharu Kurihara

Keiko Masuda

Yoshitaka Oguri

A chamber for exerting an ultrasound beam on a sample solution containing particles to be concentrated, separated or arranged is provided with a view toward arbitrarily controlling the shape of a spatial distribution of potential energy created by the ultrasound beam and concentrating, separating or periodically arranging the particles. In contrast to the chamber, irradiation ultrasound sources for generating ultrasound beams are provided to create an ultrasonic intensity distribution for producing a position potential energy distribution used to exert a force forwarded in a predetermined direction or a force staying at a predetermined region to each particle. Thus, a specific spatial distribution of potential energy can be realized by ultrasound beams each having a specific intensity, a specific frequency and a specific phase or an ultrasound beam formed by superimposing these on one another. Further, at least one suction hole for recovering separated solvents or particles is defined in a wall surface of the tube, which is orthogonal to the flow of the sample solution.

Particle handling method by acoustic radiation force and apparatus

Using a mixed sample of a plurality of phosphoric acid compounds different in chemical structure as a sample for measurement, a .sup.31 P nuclear magnetic resonance signal obtained through polarization transfer between .sup.17 O and .sup.31 P is observed and signals obtained without polarization transfer are eliminated, whereby .sup.31 P nuclear magnetic resonance signal spectrum of an .sup.17 O-labeled phosphoric acid is selectively observed. For this purpose, a double resonance NMR detector capable of exciting .sup.17 O and .sup.31 P at the same time is connected to an NMR spectrometer, and using a pulse train which permits observation of a .sup.31 P nuclear magnetic resonance signal obtained through polarization transfer between .sup.17 O and .sup.31 P, a .sup.31 P nuclear magnetic resonance signal from the .sup.17 O-labeled phosphoric acid is observed, and signals for .sup.17 O-unlabeled .sup.31 P are eliminated.

170-Labeled phosphoric acid compound and method and apparatus for

Expression of a desired gene and production of a product from the desired gene can be obtained effectively by cultivating a microorganism containing a hybrid plasmid comprising the desired gene, a vector and a promoter in its cell, and adding an inducer and a nutriment simultaneously to the culture medium at the time when the nutriment originally present in the culture medium is almost consumed.

Process for controlling cultures of recombinants

A rhodopsin family protein is inserted into an etalon type cavity having partially reflecting mirrors as principal components having a reflectivity of 50% to less than 100% for light having a wavelength in the 650-800 nm region and a transmissivity of 30% or more for light having a wavelength in the 400-600 nm region to form a photo-controlled spatial modulator. By utilizing a change in the refractive index by light of the photo-sensitive protein, near infrared light of a stronger intensity can be controlled by weaker visible light, and the information contained in the light signal on a two-dimension plane can be rapidly controlled by a light signal of weaker intensity of another two-dimension plane by using an optical switch of a simple construction.

Photo-controlled spatial light modulator

This invention relates to an efficient process for culturing recombinant cells which comprises a step of removing a cell proliferation inhibiting substance and/or a substance which inhibits induction of the desired product and a step of inducing production of the desired product.

Process for culturing recombinant cells

The invention relates to a monoclonal antibody which binds to octopus rhodopsin and octopus metarhodopsin wherein said monoclonal antibody binds with higher affinity to metarhodopsin than to rhodopsin and does not inhibit rhodopsin-metarhodopsin interconversion upon exposure to blue or red light. The monoclonal antibody binds to a peptide having the sequence Val-Ile-Gly-Arg-Pro-Met-Ala-Ala-Ser-Lys-Lys-Met-Ser. The photochemical reaction of rhodopsin thin layers may be detected using the anti-rhodopsin monoclonal antibodies of the invention.

Anti-octopus rhodopsin monoclonal antibody

Apertures in a definite shape having a definite width and length are provided on one surface of a plate material having a definite thickness. One end of the apertures is connected with the other surface of the plate material and at the same time, is opened. Another end of the apertures is connected with the plate material on one surface and is also opened toward the other surface of a culture substrate. The plate material is closely contacted to one surface of the culture substrate for allocating nerve cells and observing growth of the neurites. Then, the cell suspension is supplied to the apertures. The cells in the suspension are allocated on the culture substrate in response to the apertures by centrifugation or spontaneous sedimentation. The plate material is then withdrawn.

Method for allocating cells and cell allocation device

Stable, long-term cultures of animal cells are accomplished by calculating the ratio of lactic acid formed by the cells to the glucose consumed by the cells (the L/G ratio) and controlling the cultivation conditions to maintain the L/G ratio between the limits of from greater than 0 to 0.6. When the ratio is outside the desired range, the dissolved oxygen concentration in the medium is increased and/or the glucose concentration in the medium is decreased.

Controlling cultivation conditions for animal cells

By culturing cells in an apparatus containing a first zone in which a cell suspended medium is present and a second zone in which liquid containing a physiological saline solution and/or nutrient sources is present, the first zone being separated from the second zone by a septum with characteristics, such as pores size or electrostatic charges, which impedes the cells from freely permeating through, while allowing at least one of nutrient sources, cell wastes or the product to move between the first zone and the second zone via the septum to proliferate cells in the first zone, wherein a flow rate via the septum is controlled in such a manner that the cell count moved from the first zone into the second zone via the septum does not exceed the cell count increased by cell growth in the first zone. Thus, cell culture at a high cell density can be achieved in a large scale.

Apparatus containing a septum which impedes cell permeation for cell

Cultivation of microorganisms or animal cells or plant cells is carried out to produce high density cultivation, high cell yield and high production of desired metabolite products by monitoring acetate concentration in culture broth and regulating assimilation of acetate in the culture broth by the microorganisms or animal cells or plant cells to control the acetate concentration to a set value or less. Preferably, an acetic acid-producing bacterium that is inhibited by acetic acid and is capable of assimilating acetic acid is cultured to produce biologically active substances such as enzymes. The bacterium may be a recombinant Escherichia coli and an inducer which acts on a promoter in an expression vector is added to produce the desired metabolite product. The inducer is 3-.beta.- indolylacrylic acid when the promoter is trp-promoter or isopropyl-.beta.-D-thiogalactoside when the promoter is lac-promoter or tacpromoter.

Production of substances with an acetic acid-producing and assimilating

A method of controlling culture wherein cells are aerobically cultured to produce metabolite is characterized by adding substrate and/or inducer to the culture broth, judging the endpoint of the growth of the cells and/or the production of the metabolite or terminating the culture under the guidance of a change in the ratio of the first parameter based on the amount of carbon dioxide evolved by the cell culture to the second parameter based on the amount of oxygen consumed by the cell culture. The ratio is a respiratory quotient, for instance.

Method of controlling culture

Expression plasmids containing the full cDNA sequence of calf prochymosin and capable of expressing prochymosin gene in E. coli host cells are disclosed. A method is described for the preparation of said plasmids which comprises altering the spacing between the SD and ATG sequences within the E. coli trp promoter-operator region of the parent expression plasmid, pCR 701, which is known to express prochymosin gene in the E. coli host cells. These modified expression plasmids are designed to provide high expression levels of prochymosin.

Novel expression plasmids containing the full cDNA sequence of calf

Cultivation of microorganisms is controlled by measuring a pressure in a cultivation tank, a flow rate of effluent gas from the cultivation tank, and a concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the effluent gas, calculating a partial pressure of carbon dioxide gas in the cultivation tank and an amount of a carbon dioxide gas produced by the microorganisms, calculating an amount of propagated microorganism cells from the resulting partial pressure of carbon dioxide gas and the amount of produced carbon dioxide gas, thereby calculating an amount of microorganism cells in culture liquor, and supplying a substrate in an amount controlled in accordance with the resulting amount of microorganism cells in culture liquor. Microorganisms can be cultivated in high yield and at a high product concentration.

Process and apparatus for controlling cultivation of microorganisms

The invention relates to an improvement of the floc-formation property of activated sludge contained in waste water. A waste water treatment process comprises steps culturing a novel strain--Alcaligenes faecalis HRL--1--and adding the cultured cells to to-be-treated waste water.

Method for treating waste water

The invention relates to an improvement of the floc-formation property of activated sludge contained in waste water. A waste water treatment process comprises steps culturing a novel strain-Alcaligenes faecalis HRL-1 - and adding the cultured cells to to-be-treated waste water.

Growing community of inventors

Sayama, Japan

Norio Shimizu