CA1181319A - Manually operable washer for multi well plates - Google Patents

Manually operable washer for multi well plates

Info

Publication number
CA1181319A
CA1181319A CA000415477A CA415477A CA1181319A CA 1181319 A CA1181319 A CA 1181319A CA 000415477 A CA000415477 A CA 000415477A CA 415477 A CA415477 A CA 415477A CA 1181319 A CA1181319 A CA 1181319A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
liquid supply
channel
suction
washer
block
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000415477A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Jýrgen Cappelen
Býrge Nielsen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Nunc AS
Original Assignee
Nunc AS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=8138846&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=CA1181319(A) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Application filed by Nunc AS filed Critical Nunc AS
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1181319A publication Critical patent/CA1181319A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B08CLEANING
    • B08BCLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
    • B08B3/00Cleaning by methods involving the use or presence of liquid or steam
    • B08B3/02Cleaning by the force of jets or sprays
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47LDOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L17/00Apparatus or implements used in manual washing or cleaning of crockery, table-ware, cooking-ware or the like
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L13/00Cleaning or rinsing apparatus
    • B01L13/02Cleaning or rinsing apparatus for receptacle or instruments
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L2300/00Additional constructional details
    • B01L2300/08Geometry, shape and general structure
    • B01L2300/0809Geometry, shape and general structure rectangular shaped
    • B01L2300/0829Multi-well plates; Microtitration plates
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01LCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE
    • B01L3/00Containers or dishes for laboratory use, e.g. laboratory glassware; Droppers
    • B01L3/50Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes
    • B01L3/508Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes rigid containers not provided for above
    • B01L3/5085Containers for the purpose of retaining a material to be analysed, e.g. test tubes rigid containers not provided for above for multiple samples, e.g. microtitration plates

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A manually operable washer for simultaneously washing a number of wells of a multi well plate comprising a manifold (1) com-prising a liquid supply channel (2) and a suction channel (3), said channels being connected with a number of liquid supply pipes (9) and suction pipes (18), respectively, each suction pipe (18) being mounted parallel with and adjacent to a liquid supply pipe (9), a valve through which the liquid supply channel (2) can be connected with a source of liquid, and means for connecting the suction chan-nel (3) with a source of vacuum.
The washer permits a quick and efficient selective washing of a number of wells of a multi well plate.

Description

This invenlion relates -to a manually operable washer for washing the wells of multi well plates with a liquid.
Automatic washers for simultaneously washing all wells of a mul-ti well plate with a liquid, such as water, are commercially avail-5 able.
When multi well plates which typically comprise ~ wellsarranged in 8 rows, each comprising 12 wells are used for testing purposes, only some rows of wells are ordinarily used in each test series. ~lowever, -the prior ar-t washers do not permit part o-F -the 10 wells to be selectively washed. This is a serious drawback of the prior art washers because the unused washed wells ordinarily cannot be used for fur-ther test series. Consequently, the whole test plate has to be thrown away. This drawback is particularly serious in case the interior surface of the wells is coated with a substrate or the 15 plate has been subjected to other treatments.
The problem discussed above could be solved by washing each well separately. However, such a procedure would be slow and !abour-consuming and might cause -test errors due to a non-uniform washing of the wells. Therefore, there is a need for providing a 20 washer for simultaneously and uniformly washing part of the wells ot a multi well plate.
This need is -Fulfilled with the washer of the inven-tion, said washer being characterized in that it comprises a manifold comprising a liquid supply channel and a suction channel, said liquid 25 supply channel being connected with a single row of parallel liquid supply pipes and the suction channel being connected with a similar number of suction pipes, each suction pipe being located paral lel with and adjacent to a liquid supply pipe, that the liquid supply channel via a valve is connected with means for connecting said 30 liquid supply channel with a source for washing liquid and that the suction channel is connected wi th means for connecting the suction channel with a source of vacuum.
When the washer of the invention is connected with a source of washing liquid and the valve is opened, washing liquid 35 may be supplied to the liquid supply pipes and from these pipes it Flows into the wells to be washed.
In the initial phase of a washing procedure the washer is preferably held at such a distance above the wells that the free ends o-F the suction pipes are locatecl at the level of the upper edges of -~he wells so as to prevent excessive amounts of washing liquid -from flowing from one well in-to an adjacent well.
When the wells have been filled, the valve is closed so as to stop the supply of liquid and the apparatus of the invention is moved downwardly to a position in which the lower ends of the suc-tion pipes are located a short distance above the bottoms of the wells. During this movement liquid is continuously sucked out of the wells and the wells ordinarily are empty when the above mentioned lower position has been reached. The apparatus is then raised to the starting position and the washing operation may be repeated e. g . 2-3 times .
The ends of -the suction pipes, which pipes preferably are made from stainless steel, are prefsrably located at 3 longer distance from the manifold than the ends of the liquid supply pipes so as to allow the ends of the suction pipes to be moved down to the bottoms of wells having round bottoms without risking contact between -the ends of the liquid supply pipes and the rounded bot-tom parts of said wells .
The manifold preferably is a block, e.g. of a plastics material, in which a bore forrns a liquid supply channel which is located parallel to another bore forming the suction channel. The liquid supply pipes, e.g. thin pipes of stainless steel, are preferab-ly mounted in the lower part of distributor channels in the form of bores extending -from the top surface through the liquid supply channel to the bottom surface oF the manifold block, the upper ends of said distributor channels being closed by removable closure means.
The closure means are preferably screws, such as Umbraco~ screws, having an external thread corresponding to an internal thread in the upper ends of said ciistributor channels.
By providing distributor channels extending all way through the block manifold, a dis-tributor channel can reaclily be cleaned in case a liquid supply pipe is blocked during use. Thus, the screw in the upper end of -the distributor channel is merely removed and a wire or a similar thin member is introcluced into the distributor channel and the blocked liquid supply pipe.
The number of liquid supply pipes may vary within broad ranges but when the washer of the invention is to be used in con-~lt~

nection with mul-ti well plates of the above mentioned -type, ~ or 12 pipes are pre-ferably employed.
In order -to prevent the ends of the liquid supply pipes or suction pipes from contacting the bottoms of the wells which are to 5 be washed or a coating, if any, on said bo-t-toms, the washer of the invention preferably comprises a-t least one and preferably two spa-cers provided at the underside of the manifold block. These spacers rnay consist of a fixed cylindrical core and an interchangeable bush-ing mounted on said core.
An O-ring is preferably provided on the cylindrical cylin-der surFace of the core in order to maintain the bushing thereon in a fixed position. By using interchangeable bushings, -the distance between the underside of the manifold block and the well plates to be washed can be adjusted relative to the depth of the wells.
The valve controlling the liquid supply to the liquid supply channel is preferably a spring activated valve which in its position of rest prevents washing liquid from flowing into the liquid supply channel and which can be opened by a slight finger pressure. The valve is preferably mounted in a further bore in the manifold block 20 and is rnaintained in said bore by a bottom screw which is screwed into said bore. Thus, the valve can easily be dismantled and both the movable parts of the valve and the bore can readily be cieaned.
The means for connecting the liquid supply channel with -the source of washing liquid and -the means for connecting the suc-25 tion channel with a source of vacuum are preferably pipe stubs madefrom a plastics material and inserted into bores in the mani-Fold block .
A further important advantage of the apparatus of -the in-vention is that in case the liquid supply channel or a liquicl supply 30 pipe is blocked, it can be cleaned simply by connecting the pipe stub communicating with the liquid supply channel with -the source of vacuum .
~ suitable source of vacuum is a water jet pump.
The invention will be described in further detail with re-3~ ference to the drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a top view of a preferred embodiment ofthe washer of the invention,Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line ll-ll of the wa-sher illustra-ted in Fi~. 1, except thdt the valve has been removed, Fig . 3 is a sectional view along the line l l l-l l l of the washer illustrated in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view in large scale of a valve and the adjacent par~ of the mainfold block of the washer illustrated in Figs. 1-3.
The washer illustrated in the drawings comprises a mani-fold in the form of a block 1 comprising two internal longitudinally 10 ex-tending channels, viz. a liquid supply channel 2 and a suction channel 3.
The liquid supply channel 2 is a-t one end connected with a bore 4 having provided therein a valve which will be described be-low. ~he opposi-te end of the liquid supply channel 2 is closed by a 15 screw 5 having an external -thread corresponding to an internal thread in said channel.
In the washer illustrated the block 1 comprises 8 channels 6 extending from the top surface of the block 1 -through -the channel
2 and to the bottom surface o-f the block and perpendicular to the 20 channel 2.
The portion 7 of each channel 6 located above the channel 2 comprises an internal thread, and a screw 8 having an external thread is screwed in-~o said portion 7. A liquid supply pipe 9 extend-ing some distance out from ~he block 1 is inser~ed in the lower por-25 tion of each channel 6.
At the bottom surface of the block 1 there is providedholes having inserted therein spacer cores 10 having on their sur-fa-ces annular grooves in which O-rings 11 are mounted. The -two spacer cores 10 are each surrounded by an in-terchangeable bushing 30 12.
-~ A channel ~ connects the bore ~ with the exterior side of the block 1 and a pipe stub 1~ is inserted in said channel 13. Ano-ther channel 15 connects one end of the suction channel 3 with the exterior side of the block 1, and a pipe stub 16 is inserted in the 35 channel 15. The opposite end of the suction channel is closed by a screw 17 having an external thread corresponding to the internal thread of said channel.
The block 1 further comprises 8 channels extending per-pendicularly from -the suction channel 3 and each having inserted therein a suction pipe 1~ extending a few millimetres longer out -From the block 1 -than the corresponding liquid supply pipes 9.
As mentioned above the valve which is illustrated in detail 5 in Fig. 4 is provided in -the bore 4 of the block 1. The valve con-sists of a valve body 19 having a lower portion 20 o-f a greater diametre than the upper portion 21 . I n the zone between the upper portion 21 and the lower portion 20 of the valve body it comprises a zone 22 of reduced diametre. An annular groove in which an O-ring 10 23 is mounted is provided on the ex-terior surface of the upper portion 21 o-F the valve body.
The underside oF the valve body is hollow and the upper end of a coil spring 24 is inserted in said hollow portion. The lower end of the coil spring 24 rests on a bottom screw 25 which is screw-15 ed into the lower portion of -the bore 4 and which is sealed to the block 1 by means o-F an O-ring 26. The lower portion of the bore 4 has a greater diametre than its uppor portion and the lower portion of the valve body 19 canno-t move upwardly through the bcre 4.
The block 1 is sealed relative to the lower portion 19 of -the valve 20 body by means of an O-ring 27 which is provided in the transition zone between the upper and the lower por-tion oF the bore 4.
When the valve body 19 is pressed down, -the zone 22 hav-ing a reduced diametre is moved into the zone in which the channel 13 opens into the bore 4, and the liquid supply means are brought 25 in communication with the liquid supply channel 2, thus permitting washing liquid to flow out -through the liquid supply pipes 9.
When the pressure on the valve body 19 is relieved, -the coil spring 24 will Force the lower portion of the valve body 29 up-wardly and thus disconnect the channels 13 and 2.

~5

Claims (5)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A manually operable washer for washing the wells of multi well plates with a liquid characterized in that said washer comprises a manifold having a liquid supply channel and a suction channel, said liquid supply channel being connected with a single row of parallel liquid supply pipes and the suction channel being connected with a corresponding number of suction pipes, each suction pipe being located parallel with and adjacent to a liquid supply pipe, that the liquid supply channel via a valve is connected with means for connecting said liquid supply channel with a source of washing liquid, and that the suction channel is connected with means for connecting the suction channel with a source of vacuum.
2. A washer according to claim 1, characterized in that the ends of the suction pipes are located at a longer distance from the manifold than the ends of the liquid supply pipes.
3. A washer according to claim 1, characterized in that the manifold consists of a block in which a bore forms a liquid supply channel which is located parallel to another bore forming the suction channel, and in which the liquid supply pipes are inserted in the lower end of distribution channels extending from the top surface of the block through the liquid supply channel to the bottom surface of said block, the upper portion of the distribution channels being closed by removable closure means.
4. A washer according to claim 3, characterized in that cylindrical spacer cores having interchangeable surrounding bushings are provided on the underside of the block.
5. A washer according to claim 1, characterized in that the valve is mounted in a bore in the block.
CA000415477A 1981-11-13 1982-11-12 Manually operable washer for multi well plates Expired CA1181319A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DK5033/81 1981-11-13
DK503381A DK147254B (en) 1981-11-13 1981-11-13 MANUALLY USED RINSE RINSE APPLIANCE IN A MICRO TEST PLATE

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1181319A true CA1181319A (en) 1985-01-22

Family

ID=8138846

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000415477A Expired CA1181319A (en) 1981-11-13 1982-11-12 Manually operable washer for multi well plates

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0080134B1 (en)
JP (1) JPS5892486A (en)
AT (1) ATE20196T1 (en)
CA (1) CA1181319A (en)
DE (1) DE3271585D1 (en)
DK (1) DK147254B (en)
NO (1) NO151919B (en)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB8522872D0 (en) * 1985-09-16 1985-10-23 Flow Lab Multi-cavity washing apparatus
JPS63128259A (en) * 1986-11-18 1988-05-31 Yasunobu Tsukioka Method and device for cleaning reaction bead for inspecting blood or the like
US5620894A (en) * 1995-06-16 1997-04-15 Glaxo Wellcome Inc. Apparatus for automated biological cell harvesting
WO2000079101A1 (en) 1999-06-18 2000-12-28 Kabushiki Kaisha Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho Rotary cylinder device
JP6216298B2 (en) * 2014-08-29 2017-10-18 株式会社日立ハイテクノロジーズ Automatic analyzer and analysis method using the same

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1582434A (en) * 1976-05-13 1981-01-07 Secr Social Service Brit Analytical apparatus and methods incorporating cuvette cleaning and cleanliness testing
BE856748A (en) * 1976-07-16 1977-10-31 Dynatech Worldmed METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CLEANING MICRO-TEST PLATES
DE3028746C2 (en) * 1980-07-29 1985-11-28 Guido 7919 Bellenberg Oberdorfer High pressure cleaning system
DE3029440C2 (en) * 1980-08-02 1983-01-13 Ernst 4030 Ratingen Fooke Device for washing solids

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0080134B1 (en) 1986-06-04
DK503381A (en) 1983-05-14
JPS5892486A (en) 1983-06-01
ATE20196T1 (en) 1986-06-15
DE3271585D1 (en) 1986-07-10
NO822317L (en) 1983-05-16
DK147254B (en) 1984-05-28
NO151919B (en) 1985-03-25
EP0080134A1 (en) 1983-06-01

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
MKEC Expiry (correction)
MKEX Expiry