Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61D—VETERINARY INSTRUMENTS, IMPLEMENTS, TOOLS, OR METHODS
  • A61D19/00—Instruments or methods for reproduction or fertilisation
  • A61D19/02—Instruments or methods for reproduction or fertilisation for artificial insemination
  • A61D19/022—Containers for animal semen, e.g. pouches or vials ; Methods or apparatus for treating or handling animal semen containers, e.g. filling or closing
  • A61D19/024—Tube-like containers, e.g. straws

Definitions

• the invention relates to straws for storing predetermined doses of liquid-based substances, in particular biological substances, for example pure or diluted animal semen or a preservation medium containing embryos.
• such a flake is conventionally formed by a thin tube, having for example an internal diameter of 1, 6 or 2.5 mm, and by a plug engaged in the thin tube.
• the plug In the filled state, the plug is disposed near a first end of the tube and the dose of substance is disposed in the straw between the plug and the second end of the tube.
• the first end of the tube, adjacent the plug, is placed in communication with a source of vacuum while the second end is placed in communication with a container containing the substance to be introduced into the straw.
• the air initially contained between the plug and the second end is sucked through the plug as the substance progresses in the tube until it meets the plug, which it can not cross because it becomes liquid tight.
• the filled straw is generally kept cold at cryogenic temperature (preservation in liquid nitrogen), electric (production of cold by Peltier effect) or mechanical (production of cold by compressor). In some cases, where the shelf life is minimal, the straw is simply kept at room temperature.
• the plug is slid towards the second end of the tube, in the manner of a piston, so that the dose of substance initially contained in the straw is expelled by this end.
• the flake caps are of the tripartite type originally described in French Patent No. 995,878, corresponding to British Patent No. 669,265, that is to say formed by two buffers of a fibrous substance enclosing a powder capable of transform in contact with a liquid in an impermeable paste or gel adhered to the wall of the tube so that the cap is sealed.
• French Patent 2,753,367 which corresponds to US Pat. No. 5,868,178, proposes a tripartite plug whose length of the external buffer is at least two times greater than the length of the internal buffer.
• French Patent Application No. 2,762,210 proposes that the plug be a hydrophobic microporous monoblock.
• the invention also aims to limit or eliminate the loss of substance in the plug.
• the invention proposes for this purpose a straw for the preservation of a predetermined dose of liquid-based substance, in particular a biological substance, comprising a tube provided with a stopper; characterized in that said cap comprises a filter element adapted so that the particles exceeding a predetermined dimensional threshold can not penetrate therein, one end of said filter element belonging to the end of the cap facing the end of the tube furthest from the plug .
• the region of the plug first hit by the substance filling the straw is formed at least partially by the end of the filter element.
• the most valuable material contained in the liquid-based substance for example spermatozoa when it comes to semen for artificial insemination, has a well-identified dimensional threshold.
• the stopper of the straw according to the invention therefore makes it possible, when dimensioned adequately with respect to such a threshold, to prevent this most valuable material from entering the stopper and therefore from to be lost.
• the cap of the flake according to the invention, and more precisely the wick that includes the plug is not necessarily liquid-tight, unlike all previous plugs mentioned above.
• this filtering element comprises a wick of predetermined section formed of a multitude of filaments each oriented in the same general direction, each said filament having a same predetermined constant section along its length.
• Such a filter element is advantageously arranged in the tube with the general direction of the wick and the general direction of the tube which coincide while the zone of the filter element firstly affected by the fluid is formed at least partly by the end of the wick.
• the invention thus offers the possibility, from simple commercially available filaments, for example polyester filaments or glass or carbon fibers, to obtain a filter element with excellent accuracy.
• said wick has a length at least equal to its radius.
• the preparation of the wick and the filter element is simple and convenient while the arrangement of the filter element has good stability.
• each said filament has a rounded outline
• the diameter of said filaments is less than six times a prefixed diameter so that a spherical particle having a diameter greater than or equal to this prefixed diameter is blocked by said wick;
• said filaments are solid
• said filaments are tubular
• the internal channels of said filaments have a diameter less than a prefixed diameter so that a spherical particle having a diameter greater than or equal to this prefixed diameter is blocked by said wick;
• said wick is surrounded by a holding element
• said holding element is a tube in which said wick is engaged
• said holding element is an individual holding sheath of said wick
• said filaments have a surface treatment
• said surface treatment is based on silicone oil.
• said stopper comprises exclusively said wick
• said stopper comprises a sheath surrounding said wick
• said stopper comprises gelling powder
• said stopper comprises a buffer between said powder and the end of said tube closest to the stopper;
• said buffer comprises a said wick encircled by a sheath
• said buffer is formed by a braid of fibrous material
• said buffer comprises a solid core surrounded by a braid sheathing said core.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a straw comprising a plug formed by a filter element
• FIG. 2 is the schematic cross-sectional view marked by M-II in Figure 1;
• FIG. 3 is a schematic end view showing three neighboring filaments arranged as in FIG. 2 (maximum filling rate in filaments) and a geometrical construction for determining the maximum diameter that the filaments can take in this case when the it is desired that the wick stop spherical particles having a diameter greater than a predetermined threshold; and allowing, from the maximum diameter of the filaments thus determined and the diameter of the strand of filaments, to determine the number of filaments which make up this strand;
• the straw 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a tube 11 and a plug 12.
• the tube 11 is of the conventional type extruded plastic, with an internal diameter which is for example 1, 6 or 2.5 mm and a length of the order of 133 mm.
• the plug 12 is constituted by a wick formed of a multitude of filaments 13 whose characteristics, in particular dimensional, and the quantity are predetermined.
• the straw 10 is employed conventionally.
• the plug 12 in the initial state, illustrated in FIG. 1, the plug 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the end 14 of the tube 11 and it is expected that, in the filled state, the dose of liquid substance that must be preserved in the straw 10 is disposed between the plug 12 and the end 15 of the tube 11 furthest from the plug 12.
• the end 14 is placed in communication with a source of vacuum while the end 15 is placed in communication with a container containing the substance to be introduced into the straw.
• the plug 12 stops the progression of the substance or in any case particles of this substance exceeding a predetermined size.
• the straw is welded in the vicinity of one or both of its ends 14 and 15 and is stored cold.
• the wick which constitutes the plug 12 comprises several thousand or tens of thousands of filaments 13, or even several hundreds of thousands.
• Filaments 13 are elementary units that are not cracked and not carded. They should not be confused with a wire, strand or braid. Indeed, a wire is made from several braided or twisted filaments, for example 50 filaments; a strand is made from several threads and a braid is made from several strands.
• the filaments 13 are all oriented in the same direction, in this case the general direction of the tube 11, shown in FIG. 1 by its axis 9.
• the filaments 13 each have the same section, which remains constant along their length.
• the filaments 13 are solid and have a circular contour.
• the wick which constitutes the plug 12 has a maximum filling rate in filaments, the filaments 13 being joined.
• interstices 20 there is thus between the filaments 13 interstices 20, each delimited by three contiguous filaments 13, having generally in section (the interstices 20 extend over the entire length of the filaments 13) in the form of an equilateral triangle whose sides would be curved with their concavity turned inward.
• a spherical particle must have at most a diameter equal to about 1/6 of the diameter of the filaments 13.
• the particle 21 illustrated in FIG. 3 has such a diameter.
• the filaments 13 must have a diameter of the order of 30 ⁇ m;
• the wick constituting the plug 12 will block particles with a diameter greater than 1 ⁇ m (and let the particles of smaller diameter pass).
• the wick which constitutes the plug 12 of a tube 11 having an inside diameter of 1.6 mm with filaments having a diameter of 6 ⁇ m approximately 65,000 filaments are required.
• the number of filaments employed remains the same, but the filling ratio in filaments is decreasing: the diameter of the filaments 13A (FIG. 4) is smaller than the diameter of the filaments 13, the diameter of the filaments 13B (FIG. 5) is smaller than the diameter of the filaments 13A, the diameter of the filaments 13C (FIG. 6) is smaller than the diameter of the filaments 13B and the diameter of the filaments 13D (FIG. 7) is smaller than the diameter of the filaments 13C.
• the maximum diameter of the particles that can be inserted between the filaments varies of course accordingly.
• the particle 21A (FIG. 4) has a diameter greater than the particle 21 and smaller than the filaments 13A
• the particle 21B (FIG. 5) has a larger diameter than the particle 21A and is substantially the same diameter as the particles.
• filaments 13B 1 particle 21 C ( Figure 6) has a diameter greater than the particle 21 B and a larger diameter than the 13C filaments
• the particle 21 D ( Figure 7) has a larger diameter than the particle 21 C and larger than the 13D filaments.
• Figure 8 illustrates the same variant as Figure 4, but the illustrated particle is flattened (here it is an ellipsoid) instead of being spherical.
• the largest dimension 23 of the particle 22 is much larger than the diameter of the particle 21 A.
• the diameter of the particle 21 A is of the order of 5.9 ⁇ m and the largest dimension 23 of the particle 22 is the order of 8.9 ⁇ m.
• the wick When the wick has a maximum filling rate (filaments 13), it is possible to block relatively small particles but the wick then has a low air permeability.
• the filaments are not full but tubular.
• the filaments 13E provided in the variant illustrated in FIG. 9 are contiguous, so that the particle 21 E that can be accommodated in the interstices existing between the filaments has a maximum diameter of the order of 1/6 of the diameter of the filaments 13E.
• the diameter of the duct 18 internal to each filament 13E is of the same order of magnitude.
• the wick formed with the filaments 13E exhibits the same particle blocking capacities as if the filaments 13E were solid, but this wick has a better permeability since the inter-filament interstices are added to the internal conduits 14 of the filaments.
• the filaments 13F are also joined but the diameter of their internal ducts 18F is larger than that of the particle 21 F.
• the diameter of the ducts 18F that is to be taken into consideration in order to determine the diameter of the particles that is capable of blocking the wick made with the filaments 13F.
• the filaments 13G are not contiguous and it is possible to intercalate between them a particle 21 G whose maximum diameter is greater than the diameter of the internal channels 18G of the filaments 13G.
• the minimum diameter of the blocked particles will be that of the particle 21 G.
• the diameter of the filaments and possibly of their internal duct and the degree of filling in filaments are chosen according to the circumstances of use of the flake.
• the material which is the value of the substance introduced into the straw for example the spermatozoa if it is seed for the 'artificial insemination.
• liquid may or may not flow through this wick.
• Another parameter which influences the performance of the plug, in particular as regards air permeability and friction with respect to the tube 11, is the length of the filaments such as 13.
• the filaments are contiguous and this wick blocks at its end the spherical particles having a diameter greater than 0.46 ⁇ m.
• the material of which these filaments are made is polyester.
• filaments such as 13, for example carbon fibers or glass fibers.
• polyester, carbon or glass are non-absorbent materials so that the contacting of the filaments made of these materials with a liquid does not alter the geometrical characteristics.
• Absorbent materials such as an alginate are also usable, provided that, for the predetermination of the porosity, changes in the geometric characteristics induced by the contact with a liquid are taken into account.
• FIGS. 12 to 17 will now describe variants of the straw 10.
• the straw 110 illustrated in FIG. 12 comprises a tube 111 identical to the tube 11 and a plug 112 which comprises a wick 30 similar to to the wick which constitutes the plug 12 except that it is surrounded by a sheath 31 interposed between the wick 30 and the tube 111.
• the sheath 31 is formed by a braid, silicone or a polymer.
• the thickness of the sheath 31 is close to the thickness of the tube 111.
• the flake 210 comprises a tube 211 identical to the tube 11 and a plug 212 similar to the plug 112, except that the sheath 32 has a thickness which is several times that of the tube 211 and that consequently the wick 33 has a diameter smaller than the wick 30.
• the flake 310 illustrated in FIG. 14 comprises a tube 311 identical to the tube 11.
• the plug 312 is tripartite: it comprises conventional gelling powder 35 sandwiched between a wick 36 similar to the plug 12 and a plug 37 similar to the plug 112, the bit 36 being disposed on the side where the straw 310 must be filled with the liquid-base substance (side where is the end 315 of the tube 311 which is furthest from the 312).
• the straw 410 illustrated in Figure 15 comprises a tube 411 identical to the tube 11 and a plug 412 identical to the cap 312, except that the buffer 42 located on the inner side is made of a wick surrounded by a sheath.
• the powder 41 is identical to the powder 35 and the external 40 and inner 42 buffers are identical to the plug 112.
• the flake 510 illustrated in Figure 16 comprises a tube 511 identical to the tube 411 and a plug 512 identical to the plug 412, except that the outer plug 40 is replaced by a conventional braided plug 45.
• the powder 46 and the buffer internal 47 are respectively identical to the powder 41 and the internal buffer 42.
• the straw 610 illustrated in FIG. 17 comprises a tube 611 identical to the tube 11 and a plug 612 identical to the plugs 412 or 512, except that the external plug 40 or 45 is replaced by a solid core 50 coated with a braid. 51 forming sheath.
• the powder 52 and the internal buffer 53 are respectively identical to the powder 41 or 46 and to the internal buffer 42 or 47. It will be observed that in each of the flakes 10, 110, 210, 310, 410, 510 and 610, the stopper 12, 112, 212, 312, 412, 512 or 612 comprises a wick, one end of which forms the end of the stopper turned towards the end of the tube, such as the end 15 of the tube 11, the farthest from the plug.
• this end of each of these wicks is in the region of the plug encountered first by the substance introduced into the straw.
• the straw cap is implemented with a filter element different from that described above, for example made of microporous material or made with elementary units with calibrated dimensions other than filaments.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Reproductive Health (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Filtering Materials (AREA)
• Apparatus Associated With Microorganisms And Enzymes (AREA)
• Absorbent Articles And Supports Therefor (AREA)
• Infusion, Injection, And Reservoir Apparatuses (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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Family Cites Families (6)

• 2007
  • 2007-06-12 FR FR0755712A patent/FR2917303B1/fr active Active
• 2008
  • 2008-06-12 US US12/664,553 patent/US20100184203A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-06-12 WO PCT/FR2008/000803 patent/WO2009007541A2/fr active Application Filing
  • 2008-06-12 EP EP08826114A patent/EP2166980A2/de not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (1)

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