Patent ID: 8802033

Claim:
A tissue or cell aggregate slicing apparatus comprising a slicing device, the slicing device comprising at least one microgrid, the microgrid made of silica, ceramics, or metal and comprising 2 to 1000 pores having a pore size of 50 to 200 μm and 2 to 200 slicing beams separating said pores from each other, said slicing beams having a width of 2.5 to 40 micrometers, a depth that is equal to a thickness of the microgrid, and sharp upper and/or lower edges forming a cutting edge for slicing tissue or cell aggregate; wherein tissue or cell aggregate larger than the pores is sliced into at least two parts when passing said microgrid to form cell clusters comprising viable cells, the formed cell clusters having a width and height corresponding to dimensions of the pores; wherein said slicing device is embedded in a flow-through unit, said flow-through unit comprising a first and a second opening allowing a stream of tissue or cell aggregate to enter through said first opening, pass through the microgrid within the slicing device, and the resulting cell clusters exit through the second opening; wherein the pores have a rectangular shape; and wherein the cutting edge of the slicing beams is positioned in the stream to slice the tissue or cell aggregate into cell clusters as the stream passes through the microgrid.