CN216039599U

CN216039599U - PCR instrument

Info

Publication number: CN216039599U
Application number: CN202122070036.5U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 颜菁; 翟峰; 王开林
Original assignee: Jiangsu Huixian Pharmaceutical Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Jiangsu Huixian Pharmaceutical Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-08-30
Filing date: 2021-08-30
Publication date: 2022-03-15
Anticipated expiration: 2031-08-30

Abstract

The utility model discloses a PCR instrument, which can automatically carry out PCR reaction. The PCR instrument includes: a base; the chip mounting mechanism is used for mounting the microfluidic chip and is arranged on the base in a manner of moving along the left-right direction; the first driving mechanism is positioned on the left side of the chip mounting mechanism and comprises a first driving pin which is used for being engaged with a left rotary piston of the microfluidic chip so as to drive the microfluidic chip to rotate; the second driving mechanism is positioned on the right side of the chip mounting mechanism and comprises a second driving pin which is used for being engaged with the right rotary piston of the microfluidic chip so as to drive the microfluidic chip to rotate; the heating mechanism is positioned at the rear side of the chip mounting mechanism and used for heating the microfluidic chip, and comprises a heating component which is movably arranged on the base and can be close to or far away from the microfluidic chip; and a fluorescence detection mechanism located on the lower side of the chip mounting mechanism.

Description

PCR instrument

Technical Field

The utility model belongs to the field of PCR and relates to a PCR instrument.

Background

At present, microfluidic chips are used in the field of biological detection, and can be put into a PCR instrument for reaction to achieve the purpose of detection, such as nucleic acid extraction and amplification. In order to avoid pollution, reagents required for reaction are put into chambers in the microfluidic chip in advance, and during reaction, the flow direction is controlled according to a set reaction program, and the reagents, samples, reaction liquid and the like are controlled to flow into a designated chamber. Therefore, a plurality of pistons for controlling the flow direction of the liquid or the communication between the chambers and/or a piston for driving the flow of the liquid may be provided on the microfluidic chip, and by rotating or moving the pistons, the communication state of the flow channels between the chambers can be switched or a driving force for controlling the flow of the liquid can be provided. Accordingly, a driving mechanism is required to be correspondingly arranged in the PCR instrument, and the PCR reaction and detection can be automatically carried out. The prior art needs manual operation in the detection process, and may cause pollution and human error.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a PCR apparatus capable of automatically performing a PCR reaction.

In order to achieve the purpose, the utility model adopts the following technical scheme:

a PCR instrument, comprising:

a base;

the chip mounting mechanism is used for mounting a microfluidic chip and is arranged on the base in a manner of moving along the left-right direction;

the first driving mechanism is positioned on the left side of the chip mounting mechanism and comprises a first driving pin which is used for being engaged with a left rotary piston of the microfluidic chip so as to drive the microfluidic chip to rotate;

the second driving mechanism is positioned on the right side of the chip mounting mechanism and comprises a second driving pin which is used for being engaged with the right rotary piston of the microfluidic chip so as to drive the microfluidic chip to rotate;

the heating mechanism is positioned at the rear side of the chip mounting mechanism and used for heating the microfluidic chip, and comprises a heating component which is movably arranged on the base and can be close to or far away from the microfluidic chip;

a fluorescence detection mechanism located at a lower side of the chip mounting mechanism;

the chip mounting mechanism at least has a first position for enabling the microfluidic chip to be jointed with the first driving pin and separated from the second driving pin, and a second position for enabling the microfluidic chip to be jointed with the second driving pin and separated from the first driving pin.

According to a preferred embodiment, the heating assembly has a first heating area and a second heating area located below the first heating area, the first heating area and the second heating area have different temperatures, and the chip mounting mechanism can be further disposed on the base in a vertically movable manner.

More preferably, the chip mounting mechanism is disposed on the base through a moving mechanism, the moving mechanism includes a slide seat movably connected to the base along a left-right direction and a vertical guide rail disposed on the slide seat, and the chip mounting mechanism is movably disposed on the vertical guide rail along an up-down direction.

According to a preferred embodiment, the heating assembly is rotatably disposed on the base through a rotating shaft, and the axis of the rotating shaft extends in the left-right direction.

More preferably, heating mechanism still includes fixing base, rocking bar, connecting rod, power supply and can by the connecting piece that the power supply drive removed along left right direction, the fixing base set up in on the base, rocking bar rotationally connect in through first pivot in the fixing base, the power supply set up in on the rocking bar, the connecting piece rotationally connect in through the second pivot in a tip of connecting rod, another tip of connecting rod rotationally connect in through the third pivot in the fixing base, heating element set up in on the connecting rod.

Further, the power source comprises a linear motor, and the connecting piece is arranged on an output shaft of the linear motor; and/or the axial lines of the first rotating shaft, the second rotating shaft and the third rotating shaft extend along the left-right direction respectively and are parallel to each other but do not coincide with each other; and/or, the heating mechanism still includes the backup pad, the backup pad rotationally connects in the fixing base through the fourth pivot, the fourth pivot with the axial lead of third pivot coincides each other, heating element set up in on backup pad and the connecting rod.

According to a preferred embodiment, the PCR instrument further comprises a third driving mechanism, the third driving mechanism comprises a translational driving member for engaging with the translational piston of the microfluidic chip to drive the movement of the translational driving member, the translational driving member is movably arranged on the chip mounting mechanism along the left-right direction, and the translational driving member is positioned on the left side or the right side of the chip mounting mechanism.

More preferably, the translational drive member has a catch for insertion of the translational piston, the catch having an upwardly facing notch; and/or the third driving mechanism comprises a guide rail arranged on the chip mounting mechanism and extending along the left-right direction and a motor for driving the translation driving piece to move, and the translation driving piece is slidably arranged on the guide rail; and/or, chip installation mechanism includes the chip shell, be formed with the chip groove that is used for holding micro-fluidic chip in the chip shell, be equipped with on the left side wall of chip shell or the right side wall with translation driving piece matched with breach, translation driving piece have inlay in initial position in the breach.

According to a preferred embodiment, the PCR instrument further comprises a magnet assembly, wherein the magnet assembly comprises a mounting seat arranged on the base, a permanent magnet movably arranged on the mounting seat, and an electromagnet for driving the permanent magnet to move, and the electromagnet is arranged on the mounting seat or in the mounting seat.

According to a preferred embodiment, the chip mounting mechanism includes a chip housing, the chip housing includes a bottom wall, a front wall, a left wall and a right wall, a chip slot for the micro-fluidic chip to be inserted is defined between the four walls, a folded edge which is bent and extended rightwards is provided at the rear side of the left wall, a folded edge which is bent and extended leftwards is provided at the rear side of the right wall, the rear edge of the bottom wall is located at a distance from the front sides of the folded edges of the left wall and the right wall, so that a hollow part through which the lower part of the micro-fluidic chip can penetrate downwards is formed, a through hole through which the first driving pin passes is provided on the left wall, and a through hole through which the second driving pin passes is provided on the right wall.

According to a preferred embodiment, the first driving mechanism or the second driving mechanism comprises a motor arranged on the base and a worm gear transmission mechanism used for connecting the motor and the first driving pin or the second driving pin.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fluorescence detection mechanism is movably disposed on the base in the left-right direction.

More preferably, the fluorescence detection unit comprises one or more detection units, and the number of the detection units is less than that of the amplification detection cavities of the microfluidic chip.

Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the following advantages by adopting the scheme:

the PCR instrument can automatically carry out the whole PCR reaction after the microfluidic chip is installed, does not need other manual operations, is quick and convenient to detect, can effectively avoid pollution and human errors, has accurate detection result, and is particularly suitable for extracting, purifying and detecting nucleic acid. The PCR instrument has reasonable arrangement of each mechanism and compact structure, so that the PCR instrument has small volume and does not occupy too much space.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a PCR instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a cover is not shown;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the PCR instrument of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the PCR instrument of FIG. 1;

fig. 4a and 4b are schematic structural diagrams of the microfluidic chip at two different viewing angles, respectively;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of a moving mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the chip mounting mechanism, the third driving mechanism and the moving mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the mechanism of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the chip mounting mechanism and the third driving mechanism;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the first drive mechanism;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the heating mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a front view of the heating mechanism;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the heating mechanism;

FIG. 14 is a top view of the heating mechanism;

FIGS. 15 and 16 are schematic views of the optical inspection mechanism at two different viewing angles;

fig. 17 is a perspective view of the magnet assembly;

fig. 18 is a top view of the magnet assembly.

Wherein the content of the first and second substances,

1. a base; 10. a base plate; 11. mounting a plate;

2. a chip mounting mechanism; 20. a chip case; 200. a chip slot; 201. a bottom wall; 202. a front wall; 203. a left wall; 2031. folding edges; 2032. a through hole; 2033. a notch; 204. a right wall; 2041. folding edges; 2042. a through hole; 2043. a notch; 205. a hollow part;

3. a first drive mechanism; 31. a first drive pin; 32. a motor; 33. a worm gear drive; 34. a reduction gearbox;

4. a second drive mechanism; 41. a first drive pin;

5. a heating mechanism; 50. a heating assembly; 500. a heat sink; 502. a heat conducting plate; 503. a heat radiation fan; 504. heat preservation cotton; 51. a fixed seat; 52. a rocking bar; 53. a connecting rod; 54. a linear motor; 55. a connecting member; 56. a support plate; a. a first rotating shaft; b. a second rotating shaft; c. a third rotating shaft; d. a fourth rotating shaft;

6. a fluorescence detection mechanism; 60. a detection unit; 61. a horizontal guide rail; 62. a motor;

7. a moving mechanism; 70. a horizontal guide rail; 71. a slide base; 72. a vertical guide rail; 73. a first chip motor; 74. a second chip motor; 740. a screw rod;

8. a third drive mechanism; 80. a translation drive; 801. a card slot; 81. a guide rail; 82. a motor; 820. a screw rod;

9. a magnet assembly: 90. a mounting seat; 91. installing a shaft; 92. a permanent magnet; 93. a sensor sheet; 94. a proximity switch;

100. a microfluidic chip; 101. a left rotary piston; 102. a right rotary piston; 103. translating the piston; 104. a separation region; 105. a lower portion; 106. a step surface.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the advantages and features of the utility model may be more readily understood by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the description of the embodiments is provided to help understanding of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In the description of the present application, it is to be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner" and "outer" etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed in a specific orientation, and be operated, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present application. Taking fig. 2 as an example, the left and right sides correspond to the left and right sides of the drawing sheet, the upper and lower sides correspond to the lower and upper sides of the drawing sheet, and the front and rear sides correspond to the direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet and are forward from the side closer to the observer. All references herein to orientation terms are to be made with reference to the perspective shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 1 to 3 show a PCR instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is used for performing PCR reactions, such as nucleic acid extraction, purification, amplification, and the like, in cooperation with a microfluidic chip. Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the PCR instrument includes a base 1, a chip mounting mechanism 2 disposed on the base 1, a first driving mechanism 3, a second driving mechanism 4, a heating mechanism 5, a fluorescence detecting mechanism 6, a moving mechanism 7, a third driving mechanism 8, a magnet assembly 9, and the like. The PCR instrument also comprises a cover body (not shown in the figure) which covers the base 1 and is used for covering the mechanisms and the components, the upper side wall of the cover body is provided with a slit-shaped through hole for the micro-fluidic chip to go in and out, and the slit-shaped through hole is positioned right above the chip mounting mechanism 2.

The structure of the microfluidic chip 100 is shown in fig. 4a and 4b, the microfluidic chip 100 has a plurality of chambers, and microchannels for allowing liquid to pass through are arranged between the chambers; the micro-fluidic chip 100 comprises a left rotary piston 101 and a right rotary piston 102, which are used for switching the communication state of micro-channels, and by rotating the left rotary piston 101 or the right rotary piston 102, some micro-channels can be communicated, while other micro-channels are cut off; the microfluidic chip 100 further includes a translational piston 103 for providing a driving force for the liquid to flow, and a negative pressure or a positive pressure can be applied to the liquid as the translational piston 103 moves to drive the liquid to flow to a designated chamber. The microfluidic chip 100 in this embodiment is a vertical microfluidic chip 100, and the dimension (length) in the left-right direction and the dimension (height) in the up-down direction of the vertical microfluidic chip are respectively greater than the dimension (width) in the front-back direction; the left rotary piston 101 is higher than the right rotary piston 102, the two are respectively inserted into the body of the microfluidic chip 100 in a manner of rotating around the axis of the left rotary piston 101, and the left end part of the left rotary piston 101 is exposed so as to be convenient for being connected with the first driving mechanism 3, and the left rotary piston is mainly used for controlling the on-off switching of each chamber for storing the nucleic acid extraction and purification reagent and the purification separation chamber; the right end of the right rotary piston 102 is exposed to facilitate engagement of the second drive mechanism 4, and is mainly used for controlling on/off switching between the amplification reaction chamber and each amplification detection chamber. The translating piston 103 is movably inserted in the body of the microfluidic chip 100 in the left-right direction, and the left end portion thereof extends out of the body of the microfluidic chip 100 so as to engage with the third driving mechanism 8. The upper part of the microfluidic chip 100 is provided with a purification and separation chamber, in which magnetic beads are arranged; accordingly, the body of the microfluidic chip 100 is provided on its left side with a separation region 104 capable of mating contact with the magnet assembly 9. The lower part 105 of the microfluidic chip 100 is provided with a plurality of amplification detection chambers arranged in parallel along the left-right direction, and the part of the microfluidic chip 100 body corresponding to the amplification detection chambers is transparent or semitransparent so as to allow light to enter and exciting light to exit. The lower portion 105 of the microfluidic chip 100 has a smaller thickness than the upper portion and has a downwardly facing step face 106.

The chip mounting mechanism 2 is used for mounting the microfluidic chip 100, and is provided on the base 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. As shown in fig. 3, 5 and 6, the chip mounting mechanism 2 is provided on the base 1 by the moving mechanism 7, and is movable in the left-right direction and the up-down direction with respect to the base 1. The moving mechanism 7 includes a slide base 71 connected to the base 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and the chip mounting mechanism 2 is provided on the slide base 71 so as to be movable in the up-down direction. Specifically, the base 1 includes a base plate 10 and a plurality of upwardly extending mounting plates 11 fixed to the base plate 10. One of the mounting plates 11 is provided with a horizontal guide rail 70 extending in the left-right direction, and a slide carriage 71 is slidably arranged on the horizontal guide rail 70; the slide base 71 is provided with a vertical guide rail 72 extending in the up-down direction, and the chip mounting mechanism 2 is slidably provided on the vertical guide rail 72. The moving mechanism 7 further comprises a first chip motor 73 for driving the sliding base 71 to move along the horizontal guide rail 70, and the sliding base 71 is connected to an output shaft of the first chip motor 73 through a screw rod; the moving mechanism 7 further includes a second chip motor 74 for driving the chip mounting mechanism 2 to move in the up-down direction, the chip mounting mechanism 2 is connected to an output shaft of the second chip motor 74 through a lead screw 740, and the lead screw 740 extends in the up-down direction and is rotatably disposed on the mounting plate 11 around its axis.

As shown in fig. 6 to 8, the chip mounting mechanism 2 includes a chip housing 20, and a chip slot 200 for accommodating the microfluidic chip 100 is formed in the chip housing 20. The chip housing 20 comprises a bottom wall 201, a front wall 202, a left wall 203 and a right wall 204, which enclose a chip slot 200 for inserting the microfluidic chip 100. The rear side of the left wall 203 is provided with a folded edge 2031 which is bent and extended rightwards, the rear side of the right wall 204 is provided with a folded edge 2041 which is bent and extended leftwards, and the folded edge 2031 and the folded edge 2041 play a role in limiting the microfluidic chip 100 so as to prevent the microfluidic chip 100 from falling out of the rear side of the chip slot 200. The rear edge of the bottom wall 201 is located at a distance from the folded edge 2031 of the left wall 203 and the folded edge 2041 of the right wall 204, so as to form a hollow portion 205 through which the lower portion of the microfluidic chip 100 can penetrate. The left wall 203 is provided with a through hole 2032, and the upper part is provided with a notch 2033; the right wall 204 is provided with a through hole 2042, and the upper part is provided with a notch 2043. After the microfluidic chip 100 is loaded in the chip housing 20, the step surface 106 abuts against the bottom wall 201, and the lower part of the microfluidic chip 100 penetrates out of the chip housing 20 and is located below the chip housing 20, so that the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 can conveniently irradiate the amplification detection cavity at the lower part of the microfluidic chip 100 and collect fluorescence; the left end of the left rotary piston 101 of the microfluidic chip 100 faces the through hole 2032 on the left wall 203, and the right end of the translational piston 103 is located in the notch 2043 on the right wall 204; the right end of the right rotary piston 102 faces the through hole 2042 in the right wall 204, and the separation area 104 faces the gap 2033 in the left wall 203; the region to be heated of the microfluidic chip 100 faces the rear side and is not shielded by the chip case 20, and may be in direct contact with the heating mechanism 5.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, 9 and 10, the first driving mechanism 3 is located on the left side of the chip mounting mechanism 2, and the first driving mechanism 3 includes a first driving pin 31 for engaging with a left rotary piston 101 of the microfluidic chip 100 to drive the same to rotate. The second driving mechanism 4 is located at the right side of the chip mounting mechanism 2, and the second driving mechanism 4 includes a second driving pin 41 for engaging with the right rotary piston 102 of the microfluidic chip 100 to drive it to rotate. The chip mounting mechanism 2 has at least a first position for engaging the microfluidic chip 100 with the first drive pin 31 and disengaging the second drive pin 41, and a second position for engaging the microfluidic chip 100 with the second drive pin 41 and disengaging the first drive pin 31.

The first drive mechanism 3 and the second drive mechanism 4 are centrosymmetric in a top view, and the first drive mechanism 3 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 9 and 10, and the second drive mechanism 4 is similar to the first drive mechanism 3. Referring to fig. 9 and 10, the first driving mechanism 3 includes a motor 32 disposed on the base 1 and a worm gear transmission mechanism 33 for connecting the motor 32 and the first driving pin 31, the worm gear transmission mechanism 33 is disposed in a reduction box 34, and the reduction box 34 is fixedly disposed on the bottom plate 10 of the base 1. Specifically, the output shaft of the motor 32 extends in the front-back direction, the axis of the first driving pin 31 extends in the left-right direction, and after the motor 32 operates, the output torque changes the direction through the worm gear transmission mechanism 33 and drives the first driving pin 31 to rotate, so as to drive the left rotary piston 101 of the microfluidic chip 100 to rotate. The second driving mechanism 4 also includes a motor and a worm gear transmission mechanism, and the action principle is similar to that of the first driving mechanism 3, which is not described herein.

The heating mechanism 5 is located on the rear side of the chip mounting mechanism 2 to heat the microfluidic chip 100. Referring to fig. 11 to 14, the heating mechanism 5 includes a heating assembly 50 movably disposed on the base 1 to be able to approach or depart from the microfluidic chip 100. The heating unit 50 has a first heating region and a second heating region located below the first heating region, the first heating region and the second heating region have different temperatures, and the chip mounting mechanism 2 moves in the up-down direction, so that it can be attached to different heating regions.

The heating unit 50 is rotatably disposed on the base 1 by a rotating shaft, and an axis of the rotating shaft extends in a left-right direction. Specifically, the heating mechanism 5 further includes a fixing base 51, a swing rod 52, a connecting rod 53, a power source and a connecting member 55 capable of being driven by the power source to move in the left-right direction, the fixing base 51 is disposed on the base 1, the swing rod 52 is rotatably connected to the fixing base 51 through a first rotating shaft a, the power source is disposed on the swing rod 52, the connecting member 55 is rotatably connected to one end of the connecting rod 53 through a second rotating shaft b, the other end of the connecting rod 53 is rotatably connected to the fixing base 51 through a third rotating shaft c, and the heating assembly 50 is disposed on the connecting rod 53. The power source includes a linear motor 54, and a coupling member 55 is provided on an output shaft of the linear motor 54. The axes of the first rotating shaft a, the second rotating shaft b and the third rotating shaft c extend along the left-right direction respectively and are parallel but not coincident with each other. The heating mechanism 5 further comprises a supporting plate 56, the supporting plate 56 is rotatably connected to the fixing base 51 through a fourth rotating shaft d, the axial lines of the fourth rotating shaft d and the third rotating shaft c are overlapped, and the heating assembly 50 is arranged on the supporting plate 56 and the connecting rod 53. The heating component 50 can be attached to or detached from the microfluidic chip 100 by swinging in this way, and does not need to occupy too much space, so that the structure is compact; and excessive friction loss between the parts is avoided through the movable connection of the connecting rod 53 and the like.

The heating assembly 50 specifically includes a heat sink 500, a plurality of heating members (not shown in the figure) disposed on the front side of the heat sink 500, heat conducting plates 502 respectively covering the heating members, and a heat dissipating fan 503 disposed on the rear side of the heat sink 500, wherein the plurality of heating members are disposed at intervals along the vertical direction, correspondingly, the plurality of heat conducting plates 502 are also disposed at intervals along the vertical direction, one of the heat conducting plates 502 forms a first heating area, and the other heat conducting plate 502 below the first heating area forms a second heating area. The heating element is specifically a TEC refrigeration piece and is embedded right behind the heat conduction plate 502. The heating assembly 50 also includes insulation wool disposed around the heating element. The respective heating members may have different temperatures, and the amplification reaction may be circulated at different temperatures according to a set reaction program by moving the chip mounting mechanism 2 up and down.

The fluorescence detection mechanism 6 is located at the lower side of the chip mounting mechanism 2 and is used for being attached to or close to the lower part 105 of the microfluidic chip 100 so as to irradiate the amplification detection cavity of the microfluidic chip and collect exciting light. Referring to fig. 15 and 16, the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 is provided on the base 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. Specifically, a horizontal guide rail 61 extending in the left-right direction is arranged on the bottom plate 10 of the base 1, the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 is slidably arranged on the horizontal guide rail 61, a motor 62 for driving the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 to move left and right is further arranged on the bottom plate 10, and the motor 62 is specifically connected with the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 through a screw rod. By moving the fluorescence detection mechanism 6, the detection of all the amplification detection chambers of the microfluidic chip 100 can be completed by one fluorescence detection mechanism 6. For example, in a specific example, the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 has 4 detection units 60 corresponding to 4 excitation lights with different colors, the detection units 60 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and the microfluidic chip 100 has 12 amplification detection chambers arranged side by side in the left-right direction; the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 is firstly aligned with the amplification detection cavities 1 to 4; after the detection is finished, moving the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 to align the fluorescence detection mechanism with the amplification detection cavities 5 to 8; after the detection is finished, the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 is moved to be aligned with the amplification detection chambers 9 to 12, so that the detection of all the amplification detection chambers is finished.

As shown in fig. 6 to 8, the third driving mechanism 8 is disposed on the chip mounting mechanism 2, and the third driving mechanism 8 includes a translational driving member 80 for engaging with the translational piston 103 of the microfluidic chip 100 to drive the movement thereof. The translation driving member 80 is provided on the chip mounting mechanism 2 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and the translation driving member 80 is located on the right side of the chip mounting mechanism 2. The translation driving member 80 can move left and right along with the chip mounting mechanism 2, and can also move left and right relative to the chip mounting mechanism 2 to drive the translation piston 103 to slide left and right in the body of the microfluidic chip 100. The translational drive 80 has a catch 801 for insertion of the translational piston 103, the catch 801 having an upwardly facing notch; when the translational driving member 80 is at its initial position, it is embedded in the notch 2043 of the right wall 204 of the chip shell 20, and after the microfluidic chip 100 is inserted into the chip shell 20, the right end of the translational piston 103 just falls into the slot 801 of the translational driving member 80 from top to bottom, and is engaged with the translational driving member 80, and during the whole detection process, the translational driving member 80 and the translational piston 103 are always kept engaged with each other.

The third drive mechanism 8 further includes a guide rail 81 and a motor 82. The guide rail 81 extends in the left-right direction and is disposed on the chip mounting mechanism 2, and is fixedly connected to the chip housing 20, and the translation driving member 80 is slidably disposed on the guide rail 81. The motor 82 is arranged on the chip mounting mechanism 2, and the motor 82 is used for driving the translation driving part 80 to slide left and right; specifically, the motor is connected to the translation drive 80 via a lead screw 820.

The magnet assembly 9 is used to apply a magnetic field to the magnetic beads in the purification and separation chamber in the microfluidic chip 100. The magnet assembly 9 has at least a first state in which the purification and separation chamber is located within the magnetic field of the magnet assembly 9 and a second state in which the left rotary piston 101 of the microfluidic chip 100 is engaged with the extraction drive pin 31; in the second state, the purification and separation chamber is disengaged from the magnetic field of the magnet assembly 9. Referring to fig. 17 and 18, the magnet assembly 9 includes a mounting seat 90 disposed on the base 1, a permanent magnet 92 movably disposed on the mounting seat 90, and an electromagnet (not shown) for driving the permanent magnet 92 to move, the electromagnet being disposed on the mounting seat 90 or in the mounting seat 90. Specifically, the mounting seat 90 is fixedly provided on the reduction gear box 30 of the first drive mechanism 3, the permanent magnet 92 is movably provided on the mounting seat 90 through a mounting shaft 91, the mounting shaft 91 extends in the left-right direction and is movably connected to the mounting seat 90 in the left-right direction, and the permanent magnet 92 is fixedly provided at the left end portion of the mounting shaft 91 and faces the right side; the electromagnet is arranged in the mounting seat 90 and used for driving the mounting shaft 91 to move, when the electromagnet is electrified, the mounting shaft 91 extends rightwards to drive the permanent magnet 92 to move and be attached to the separation area 104 of the microfluidic chip 100, a magnetic field is applied to the purification separation chamber, and the magnet assembly 9 is in a first state; when the electromagnet is de-energized, the mounting shaft 91 retracts to the left, the permanent magnet 92 disengages from the separation region 104 of the microfluidic chip 100, the magnetic field thereof leaves the purification separation chamber, and the magnet assembly 9 is in the second state. The mounting shaft 91 is further provided with a sensing member 93, and the mounting base 90 is provided with a proximity switch 94 for detecting the position of the permanent magnet 92, wherein the proximity switch 94 is specifically a photoelectric sensor, and when the sensing member 93 enters or leaves the detection area of the photoelectric sensor, the photoelectric sensor is triggered.

The working process of the PCR instrument is as follows:

inserting the microfluidic chip 100 into the chip slot 200, and after the microfluidic chip is inserted, the right end of the translational piston 103 falls into the clamping slot 801 of the translational driving member 80 so that the two are jointed;

when the left rotary piston 101 needs to be rotated to communicate some chambers, the chip mounting mechanism 2 is integrally moved to the left, the first driving pin 31 is engaged with the left end of the left rotary piston 101 (specifically, the first driving pin 31 passes through the through hole 2032 on the chip shell 20 and is inserted into the cross slot on the left end of the left rotary piston 101), the motor of the first driving mechanism 3 is operated, and the first driving pin 31 is rotated to drive the left rotary piston 101 to rotate; at this time, the right rotary piston 102 is separated from the microfluidic chip 100; meanwhile, the translation driving part 80 and the translation piston 103 are mutually jointed, when the left rotary piston 101 conducts certain chambers, the motor 82 of the third driving part mechanism 8 operates, and the translation driving part 80 moves left and right to drive the translation piston 103 to move left and right in the microfluidic chip 100 so as to provide negative pressure or positive pressure to push liquid to flow between the communicated chambers;

when the right rotary piston 102 needs to be rotated to communicate with other chambers, the chip mounting mechanism 2 is integrally moved rightward, so that the second driving pin 41 is engaged with the right end portion of the right rotary piston 102 (specifically, the second driving pin 41 passes through the through hole 2032 on the chip shell 20 and is inserted into the cross-shaped groove on the right end portion of the right rotary piston 102), the motor of the second driving mechanism 4 operates, and the second driving pin 41 rotates to drive the right rotary piston 102 to rotate; at this time, the left rotary piston 101 and the permanent magnet 92 are both separated from the microfluidic chip 100; meanwhile, the translation driving part 80 and the translation piston 103 are mutually jointed, when the right rotary piston 102 conducts certain chambers, the motor 82 of the third driving part mechanism 8 operates, and the translation driving part 80 moves left and right to drive the translation piston 103 to move left and right in the microfluidic chip 100 so as to provide negative pressure or positive pressure to push liquid to flow between the communicated chambers;

when the magnetic beads (specifically located in a purification and separation chamber) in the microfluidic chip 100 need to be adsorbed to separate the extracted nucleic acid, the chip mounting mechanism 2 is integrally moved to a designated position leftwards, the electromagnet of the magnet assembly 9 is electrified, the mounting shaft 91 extends rightwards, and the permanent magnet 92 is attached to the separation area 104 on the left side surface of the microfluidic chip 100; meanwhile, the left rotary piston 101 is engaged with the first driving pin 31, the translational piston 103 is engaged with the translational driving piece 80, the left rotary piston 101 is rotated to enable the sample extraction separation chamber to be communicated with the waste liquid cavity, and then the translational piston 103 is moved left and right to enable the separated waste liquid to flow into the waste liquid cavity;

when the microfluidic chip 100 performs an amplification reaction, the motor 54 of the heating mechanism 5 operates to make the heating assembly 50 swing forward to be attached to the rear side surface of the microfluidic chip 100, and after attachment, the microfluidic chip 100 and the first heating region are attached for a period of time according to a cycle program to perform a reaction at a first temperature; moving the chip mounting mechanism 2 downward to make the microfluidic chip 100 and the second heating region attached for a period of time to perform a reaction at a second temperature; moving the chip mounting mechanism 2 upwards to attach the microfluidic chip 100 to the first heating area, and repeating the step according to the cycle times;

when fluorescence needs to be collected, the chip mounting mechanism 2 is moved downwards, the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 is over against the amplification detection cavities of the microfluidic chip 100, and the fluorescence detection mechanism 6 is moved leftwards and rightwards, so that detection of all the amplification detection cavities is completed.

The PCR instrument can automatically carry out the whole PCR reaction after the microfluidic chip 100 is loaded, does not need other manual operations, is fast and convenient to detect, can effectively avoid pollution and human errors, has accurate detection results, and is particularly suitable for nucleic acid extraction, purification and detection. The PCR instrument has reasonable arrangement of each mechanism and compact structure, so that the PCR instrument has small volume and does not occupy too much space.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" are intended to only encompass the explicitly identified steps and elements, which do not constitute an exclusive list, and that a method or apparatus may include other steps or elements. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any combination of one or more of the associated listed items.

It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, when a feature is referred to as being "fixed" or "connected" to another feature, it may be directly fixed or connected to the other feature or indirectly fixed or connected to the other feature. Further, the description of the upper, lower, left, right, etc. used in the present invention is only with respect to the positional relationship of the respective components of the present invention with respect to each other in the drawings.

It will be further understood that the terms "first," "second," and the like are used to describe various information and that such information should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another and do not denote a particular order or importance. Indeed, the terms "first," "second," and the like are fully interchangeable. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical ideas and features of the present invention, and are preferred embodiments, which are intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand the contents of the present invention and implement the present invention, and not to limit the scope of the present invention. All equivalent changes or modifications made according to the principles of the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A PCR instrument, comprising:

a base;

2. The PCR instrument of claim 1 wherein the heating assembly has a first heating region and a second heating region located below the first heating region, the first heating region and the second heating region have different temperatures, and the chip mounting mechanism is movably disposed on the base in an up-down direction.

3. The PCR instrument of claim 2, wherein the chip mounting mechanism is disposed on the base by a moving mechanism, the moving mechanism comprises a slide base movably connected to the base in a left-right direction and a vertical guide rail disposed on the slide base, and the chip mounting mechanism is disposed on the vertical guide rail movably in an up-down direction.

4. The PCR instrument of claim 1, wherein the heating assembly is rotatably disposed on the base by a rotating shaft, and a shaft axis of the rotating shaft extends in a left-right direction.

5. The PCR instrument of claim 4, wherein the heating mechanism further comprises a fixing base, a swing rod, a connecting rod, a power source and a connecting member driven by the power source to move in the left-right direction, the fixing base is disposed on the base, the swing rod is rotatably connected to the fixing base through a first rotating shaft, the power source is disposed on the swing rod, the connecting member is rotatably connected to one end of the connecting rod through a second rotating shaft, the other end of the connecting rod is rotatably connected to the fixing base through a third rotating shaft, and the heating assembly is disposed on the connecting rod.

6. The PCR instrument of claim 5 wherein the power source comprises a linear motor, the coupling member being disposed on an output shaft of the linear motor; and/or the axial lines of the first rotating shaft, the second rotating shaft and the third rotating shaft extend along the left-right direction respectively and are parallel to each other but do not coincide with each other; and/or, the heating mechanism still includes the backup pad, the backup pad rotationally connects in the fixing base through the fourth pivot, the fourth pivot with the axial lead of third pivot coincides each other, heating element set up in on backup pad and the connecting rod.

7. The PCR instrument of claim 1, further comprising a third driving mechanism, wherein the third driving mechanism comprises a translational driving member for engaging with the translational piston of the microfluidic chip to drive the movement thereof, the translational driving member is movably disposed on the chip mounting mechanism in the left-right direction, and the translational driving member is disposed on the left side or the right side of the chip mounting mechanism.

8. The PCR instrument of claim 7, wherein the translational drive member has a slot for insertion of the translational piston, the slot having an upwardly facing notch; and/or the third driving mechanism comprises a guide rail arranged on the chip mounting mechanism and extending along the left-right direction and a motor for driving the translation driving piece to move, and the translation driving piece is slidably arranged on the guide rail; and/or, chip installation mechanism includes the chip shell, be formed with the chip groove that is used for holding micro-fluidic chip in the chip shell, be equipped with on the left side wall of chip shell or the right side wall with translation driving piece matched with breach, translation driving piece have inlay in initial position in the breach.

9. The PCR instrument of claim 1 further comprising a magnet assembly, wherein the magnet assembly comprises a mounting seat disposed on the base, a permanent magnet movably disposed on the mounting seat, and an electromagnet for driving the permanent magnet to move, and the electromagnet is disposed on or in the mounting seat.

10. The PCR instrument of claim 1, wherein the chip mounting mechanism comprises a chip shell, the chip shell comprises a bottom wall, a front wall, a left wall and a right wall, a chip groove for inserting the microfluidic chip is defined by the four walls, a folded edge which is bent and extends rightwards is arranged on the rear side of the left wall, a folded edge which is bent and extends leftwards is arranged on the rear side of the right wall, the rear edge of the bottom wall is positioned at a distance from the front sides of the folded edges of the left wall and the right wall, so that a hollow part for allowing the lower part of the microfluidic chip to penetrate downwards is formed, a through hole for allowing the first driving pin to pass through is arranged on the left wall, and a through hole for allowing the second driving pin to pass through is arranged on the right wall; and/or the first driving mechanism or the second driving mechanism comprises a motor arranged on the base and a worm and gear transmission mechanism used for connecting the motor and the first driving pin or the second driving pin; and/or the fluorescence detection mechanism can be movably arranged on the base along the left-right direction.