Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M27/00—Means for mixing, agitating or circulating fluids in the vessel
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
  • B01F27/27—Mixers with stator-rotor systems, e.g. with intermeshing teeth or cylinders or having orifices
  • B01F27/272—Mixers with stator-rotor systems, e.g. with intermeshing teeth or cylinders or having orifices with means for moving the materials to be mixed axially between the surfaces of the rotor and the stator, e.g. the stator rotor system formed by conical or cylindrical surfaces
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F25/00—Flow mixers; Mixers for falling materials, e.g. solid particles
  • B01F2025/91—Direction of flow or arrangement of feed and discharge openings
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F25/00—Flow mixers; Mixers for falling materials, e.g. solid particles
  • B01F2025/91—Direction of flow or arrangement of feed and discharge openings
  • B01F2025/911—Axial flow
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
  • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
  • B01F27/80—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders with stirrers rotating about a substantially vertical axis

Definitions

• the present invention deals with a device for the mixing of solutions with a mixing chamber having minimally two input lines and an exit line.
• deadtime re., time between mixing and start of the analysis, required is minimally 5 seconds.
• a reduction of the total analysis volume and the frequently very expensive liquids is not realizable by manual mixing.
• Known devices for the mechanical mixing of liquids consists, for example, of two syringes each filled with a liquid whose contents are simultaneously injected into a mixing chamber, mixed based on the resulting turbulence, and subsequently transfered to a cuvette.
• the deadtime can be reduced to less than 5 mill- seconds.
• the liquid must be injected into the mixing chamber under relatively high pressure. Due to the high back pressure in the mixing chamber the titration accuracy is reduced which is quite detremental when different liquids and large volume differences must be mixed. Therefore it is not possible to mix volume differences of 1 :50 with sufficient accuracy.
• the task of the present invention is to create a device for the fast mixing of small amounts of liquids with quite different viscosities. This task • has been solved by the features of the first patent claim.
• the essential advantages of this invention are that because of the active mixing principal no high injection pressures of liquids are required, which guarantees basically constant titration accuracy whereby very high mixing ratios (up to 1 :2000) are achieved. Due to the proposed cleft shear flux liquids with quite different viscosities can be mixed without problem. The location of the mixing head in the mixing chamber, as proposed in the invention, ensures moreover a small dead volume which has a desirable effect on analysis cost of expensive substances.
• FIG. 1 Schematic presentation of a preferred version of the mixing chamber of the device according to the invention
• Fig. 2a and 2b the progress of the shear flux in first mixing area
• FIG. 3 Cross sectional view through the preferred version of the device according to the invention.
• FIG. 4a and 4b axial and radial sectional views of a second cuvette
• Fig. 6 The connection of the mixing device with matching controller.
• Fig. 1 shows schematically the principal arrangements of this invention.
• a mixing head (2) built in such a way that it can be propelled around an rotational axis (R) and with the inner wall of the mixing.
• chamber (1) a
• the inside of the mixing chamber (1 ), as well as the mixing head (2), are, as shown in Fig. 1 , constructed as coaxial vertical cylinders. Other forms such as cones, partial cones or any , other rotationally symmetric configuration are also applicable.
• the mixing chamber (1 ) has at one end, for example, four feeding lines (11 , 12, 13, 14) through which different liquids (by enzyme kinetic determinations these are enzyme, substrate, buffer and activator/inhibitor) in the direction of the arrows A, B, C, D continuously inject into the first mixing area (3).
• the feed lines (11 , 12, 13, 14) enter preferably mixing chamber (1) all at the same height and evenly spaced around the circumference.
• the injection pressure creates an axial flux (arrow E) which is based on the rotation of the mixing head (2) a tangential flux is overlaid.
• the overall result is a shear flux in the cleft mixing area (3), in which, for example, one injected volume element through line 11 mainly on spiral movement (24) around the mixing head (2) proceeds and
• Fig. 2a shows an enlarged axial section through the entrance part of the mixing area (3).
• a predetermined volume element (21) through line 11 injected liquid shows approximately an axial flow cross section (22).
• Fig 2b shows a respective radial cross section through the entrance part of the mixing area (3) to illustrate a momentary tangential cross section (23) of the volume element (21 ).
• the described hollow cylinderical shear flux in the first mixing area (3) slows the flux minimally, therefor the liquids can be injected with low pressure unlike the known passive mixing devices.
• the injected liquids can be precisely controlled in volume proportions up to 1 :2000 with enough accuracy. Because the mixing procedure in the entire
• mixing area occurs evenly, mixtures of liquids of different viscosity and consistency can be produced without problems.
• the arrangement of the mixing head (2) inside mixing head (1) helps to keep the dead volume of the entire device very small.
• the axial expansion of mixing head (2) is preferably smaller than mixing chamber (1) so that a second mixing area (4) is created in which there already exists a turbulent flux caused by the rotation of mixing heads (2), in turn, causes additional mixing of the different liquids.
• the bottom of mixing head (2) has special projections, the bottom (6) of mixing chamber (1 ) has furrows.
• an exit hole (15) through which the liquid exits the mixing chamber (1). It is understood that the mixing chamber can be equipped with multiple exit holes.
• Fig. 3 shows the arrangement of the previously described mixing chamber in the system (10).
• the inner case (42) contains a motor (32) and a coupled drive magnet (31).
• the mixing head (2) is, for example, a magnet covered with an inert material which is driven on the same rotational axis (R) by another magnet (31). Through the pull of the drive magnet (31) the magnetic mixing head (2) is pulled to the top of the mixing chamber (1) thereby forming a thin liquid film between the mixing head and the cover which serves as a lubricant.
• thermostated chamber (43) Between the outer cover (41) and the insulated inner chamber (42) is a thermostated chamber (43) and the liquids for mixing are transported through a connecting piece (44) into the thermostated chamber (43) which is filled with thermostated water to mixing chamber (1) (illustration only shows a single feed line 11).
• the thermostated water acts simultaneously as cooling for the heat produced by motor 32.
• the mixture exits through exit 15 and proceeds via a connecting piece 52 to a
• cuvette 51 Different physical and chemical parameters of the mixture can be measured in cuvette (51) with usual analytical instruments (ie., by optional and electrical procedures).
• the mixture flows through the cuvette (51) and goes via another connector (53) and a line (54) through the thermostated chamber (43) to a second cuvette (62) in which an addition measurement can be made with an additional measuring element (61 ).
• the mixture exits through a tube (16) and the connector 44.
• connectors (52 and 53) many different cuvettes (51) can be inserted into the outer shells (41 ).
• Fig. 4a shows an axial cross section
• Fig 4a a radial cross section through the outer cover (41) and the connected cuvette (62).
• a hole (64) is provided for an exchangeable measuring probe (61) (compare with Fig. 3). By putting the probe (61) in place the hole (64) will be closed so that the mixture passing through feeding line (54) and a connector (63) to cuvette (61) exits the opening (64) through a lateral opening (65).
• the volume of the second mixing area (4) corresponds preferably with the one of cuvette (51). This creates a buffer zone in which a homogeneous mixture is produced even by non-continuous additions of small amounts of liquids.
• an array of mixing heads are planned that can be simply exchanged by opening the mixing chamber (1) (ie., removal of the base (6), as shown in Fig. 3, is part of the screwed together outer case 41).
• opening the mixing chamber (1) ie., removal of the base (6), as shown in Fig. 3, is part of the screwed together outer case 41.
• axial (R) is vertical manner. It does not matter which part of the device is on top.
• the chosen illustration in the figures is random because the flux of the liquids to the device is independent of gravity but is a matter of the injection pressure.
• the proposed mixing device is especially useful for the automatic analysis
• FIG. 5 shows a possible arrangement in which the proposed mixing device (10), including a cuvette (51 ), are put into a conventional analytical instrument (101 ).
• the proposed device can be designed in such a way that the use of conventional instruments is possible.
• the liquids of mixing come from a control unit (102), through the different feed lines inside of a surrounding tube (71 ), to connector piece (44) of the device (10).
• the control unit (102) has a sample chamber (105) from which the liquids are loaded by sucking syringes.
• the barrels of the syringes are equipped with, for example, stepper motors so that for each measurement the required liquid amount is exactly delivered through tube (71) into the mixing chamber (1 ) of the device (10).
• Sample chamber (105) can be additionally equipped with an autosampler so that one of the components can be automatically changed with each series of measurements.
• the analysis is controlled and results analyzed with a computer (104) equipped with the respective peripheral
• An instrument (103) provides the previously mentioned thermostated water.
• Fig. 6 shows the backside of the control unit (102) with a flexible tube (71) to mixing device (10).
• a flexible tube (71) to mixing device (10).
• the four feeding lines (11 , 12, 13, 14) the return (16) for the analyzed mixture, an electrical connecting piece (108) for temperature sensor (not shown), power line (109) for the drive motor (32), as well as a feeder line (17) for delivering thermostated water to the thermostated chamber (43).
• the return flow of the thermostated water in line (71) preferably occurs in an open manner such that the liquids in the feeding lines are already surrounded by thermostated water. This provides a very accurate temperature control of the components.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Bioinformatics & Cheminformatics (AREA)
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• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Genetics & Genomics (AREA)
• Biotechnology (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Accessories For Mixers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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ID=4184354

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Citations (6)

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• 1988
  • 1988-01-29 CH CH321/88A patent/CH674317A5/de not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1989
  • 1989-01-27 EP EP19890902577 patent/EP0397788A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1989-01-27 WO PCT/US1989/000346 patent/WO1989007006A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1989-01-27 JP JP1502390A patent/JPH03503137A/ja active Pending

Patent Citations (6)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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