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The MATE was designed with tissue culture in mind, including its patented top-loading design.
The MATE has a patented top-loading design* for ease of sample handling. It has a seamless, continuous enclosure for ease of cleaning and sterilization. To prevent contamination, actuators and sensors are sealed inside the MATE.
The culture tray mimics a standard 6-well culture tray configuration. It is autoclavable and has a grip line to ensure secure handling. The culture tray is available in 4 colors to increase throughput with parallel experiments.
The culture lid is transparent and autoclavable. It has anti-contamination ridges and air-venting gaps for controlled gas exchange with low evaporation. Tracking of well positions is supported by numbering on the MATE, tray, and lid. An asymmetric lid and tray design ensures correct assembly.
Custom culture wells were designed with unique features required for stimulation and analysis in unconfined compression:
- Flat bottom for accurate loading of samples.
- Sample fins confine samples in loading region.
- Maximum fill line to prevent accidental spilling of culture media during testing.
Fig 1: MATEbox
Fig 2: MATE culture tray, shown with 6 culture wells and transparent culture lid
Fig 3: MATE culture well
*U.S. Patent 8,609,366