HRP931154A2 - Method for packing test tubes and packaging unit for test tubes - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for packing reagent-treated test tubes for analytical determinations, in particular for immunological assay methods using immobilised reactants of such assay methods, characterised in that - a large number of such test tubes (1) are arranged in a group so that the edges (2) of the openings of all test tubes (1) are essentially in a plane, a label (3) is provided which has a central area (4), which corresponds approximately to the total base area occupied by the group of test tubes, and an edge region (5) and is provided with an adhesive coating, the label (3) is applied with the side having the adhesive coating to the edges (2) of the openings so that it adheres to all test tubes (1) of the group and seals the said test tubes, the label (3) with the group of test tubes (1) adhering thereto is transferred to a container (6) with an open top area and the edge region (5) of the label (3) is bonded to the edge of the open top area of the container (6).

Description

The invention relates to a process for packaging coated vessels, especially reagent-treated test tubes for analytical processes, especially test tubes for immunological tests in which immobilized reactants of such tests are used, as well as to packages containing a large number of test tubes of the mentioned type.

Immunological testing procedures often use test tubes that have on their walls, in an immobilized form, some substance (reagent) that is important for the successful performance of the test, for example immobilized antibodies, immobilized antigens and specific immunoglobulins or other protein substances, which are usually found in a protective matrix made of some auxiliary substance that forms a thin layer on the walls of the test tubes (coated vessels).

After manufacture, such tubes must be packaged in such a way that the often sensitive, immobilized reagents retain their activity for as long periods as possible and that reliable results can be obtained when the tubes are used. This usually requires packaging that guarantees reliable protection against moisture, dust and other contaminants. Nowadays, such tubes are usually packaged by transferring them from the containers in which they were processed to packaging containers, such as cardboard boxes or paper bags, to which bags containing some desiccant (silica gel bags) must be added in in the case of sensitive substances, or in the case of special quality requirements, in order to regulate the moisture in the packaging. Such packages have, among others, the disadvantage that, when a package containing a large number of such test tubes is opened, the test tubes are exposed to the action of the surrounding atmosphere, which can cause the test tubes that were not used immediately to become unusable relatively quickly after the package is opened. In order to avoid this, in such packages, all test tubes must be individually hermetically sealed, which incurs additional costs for packaging.

The aim of the presented invention is to arrive at a process that will lead to a new packaging unit, for the packaging of containers coated with sensitive and/or possibly volatile substances such as test tubes for analytical procedures, especially for immunological tests, which process enables fast and safe automated packaging of such containers or tubes, and ensures reliable protection of the tubes from moisture, dust and contamination of individual unused tubes even when the entire package is opened.

This goal was achieved by the process and packaging unit according to the patent claims.

In the process according to the invention, test tubes coated with the desired reactant in a known conventional manner, placed in the vessels in which they were processed, are covered with a common label that hermetically closes the openings of a whole group of test tubes. As the tubes are usually placed in conventional containers with their openings in one plane, the label can be easily mechanically applied to the entire group of tubes and, as it firmly adheres to the edges of each tube, tightly seals each individual tube. The test tubes are empty except for the coating on the walls, so they are light, since they adhere to the adhesive side of the label, they can be easily transferred into a box, which can be done mechanically, for example using a vacuum device that acts on the outside of the label.

The label is chosen to have one central area approximately corresponding to the total base area of the group of tubes, and in addition to have one edge extending beyond that area. When the group of tubes adhering to the label is transferred to the box, the edge of the label extends away from the edge of the standard box open at the top, and the box as a whole is hermetically sealed with the label, by pressing its outer edge against the upper edge of the outer side walls of the box .

In this way, the packaging unit obtained in this way has, on the one hand, an outer box that is sealed impervious to dust and moisture, and in which the individual test tubes are then individually and reliably hermetically sealed, thanks to gluing the edges of their openings to the underside of the cover label.

To remove the tubes, the label can be removed to the extent necessary to release the required number of tubes. It is recommended, however, to use a box that allows separation of the upper edge of its outer walls that is glued to the label, by embedding in the walls of the box a thread that extends around the entire circumference, or a wire that extends around the entire circumference, and which thread or wire enables opening the box by tearing and separating the upper part of the box walls in a known way. Instead of thread or wire, means known in the packaging industry can be used to open the walls of the boxes or to separate the parts of the boxes, such as, for example, perforations, score lines or marks for cutting along a suitable line. In this case, opening the packaging unit and removing individual or all test tubes is done in such a way that the packaging is placed so that the label is on the bottom side, the edge of the box that is stuck to the label is separated from the rest of the box, and that other part of the box is lifted . This results in a group of test tubes resting on their openings, still glued to the label over those openings. Now the desired number of tubes can be removed from the label without disturbing the sealing of the remaining tubes. If the pressure-sensitive adhesive used is well chosen, it is even possible for a wrongly removed tube to be put back on the back of the label that has retained its adhesive properties, thus sealing the tube hermetically.

If only some of the test tubes have been taken out and it is desired to renew the package for later use of the remaining test tubes, the separate lower part of the box can simply be turned over the remaining test tubes and then the package turned over and stored. At this stage, the wall of the box that was cut can be glued with some self-adhesive tape. However, this is usually not necessary, as the individual tubes remain stuck to the label and are thus hermetically sealed.

The packaging unit according to the invention has, furthermore, the advantage that, thanks to the direct attachment of the individual test tubes to the label, the purpose of the test tubes is unambiguously marked, since the label usually has on its outside all the information necessary for the identification of the test tubes.

A recommended box is a folding box, which, on the one hand, can be kept ready in a compact form before packing, and, on the other hand, after using its contents, can be flattened and discarded with other paper waste.

Although the presented invention has been described in connection with test tubes for immunological tests, and in particular with reference to one recommended embodiment, it is clear that, as far as the shape of the box and the material of the box are concerned, numerous changes are possible without thereby deviating from the scope of the shown invention. It is also possible, for example, to obtain round outer boxes or plastic boxes with the mentioned label in the described manner. It is also possible for the label to be stuck to the edge of the box in some other way, for example over the edge in the form of a flange or by sticking it to the inside of a protruding edge, although today it seems that such implementations are quite inconvenient.

As the joint between the edge of the box and the outer edge of the label should be as tight as possible and also durable, it is also possible for the edge of the box to stick to the label if a pressure-sensitive adhesive or other adhesive is applied. In the case of plastic boxes, welding is, in principle, possible in this area.

As for gluing the test tubes to the inside of the label, it is desirable that the adhesive layer is such that it permanently retains its adhesive properties, so that accidentally removed test tubes can be re-glued to the label, but it is also possible to use an adhesive that allows the test tubes to be stuck only once on the label, which can be convenient, for example, when you want to check whether a test tube that was originally closed or a test tube that was already removed and can be used.

In principle, it is also possible to make a label with notches, which make it possible to tear off individual rows of test tubes, or individual test tubes. In the case of all such embodiments, as long as the advantages of simultaneously gluing a group of tubes to a single label are used and that label is used to hermetically seal the box holding that entire group of tubes, such embodiments are also covered by the disclosed invention.

Finally, it should be noted that the presented invention was developed specifically for the packaging of coated test tubes for immunological tests and that it has special advantages compared to the existing state of the art in this field, but that it is quite possible to use the method according to the invention in other fields. Thus, for example, test tubes can be coated with other reagents, for example indicators or catalysts, which are used in other areas of organic or inorganic chemical analysis or for the purpose of testing the surrounding environment, or which serve to perform specific reactions.

Finally, it is entirely possible for the method according to the invention to be used in food technology, for example to sell containers coated with specific sensitive or volatile aromas in packaging according to the invention, for example containers in which food or luxury products, such as aromatic additives, spice solutions , juices and similar, prepared by adding other components, for example liquid.

The presented invention is described in more detail with reference to three drawings and one recommended embodiment.

Figure 1 shows a packaging unit according to the invention, the wall of which has been partially torn off,

Figures 2a and 2b show the performance of the adhesive label with differently shaped corners, a

figure 3 shows a folding cardboard box, suitable to be an outer box.

In these figures, 1 denotes a test tube having an upper edge 2 which, by the process according to the invention, is glued to the adhesive side of the label 3, so that a packaging unit according to the invention is obtained. The label 3 has a central area 4, which corresponds to the shape of the contour of the tube box 6, and a peripheral area or edge 5, which can be glued to the outside of the box 6 so that, after sticking the label to the edges of the tubes and carrying the entire group of labeled tubes in, and on the box 6, that edge 5 bent down and glued to the outer surface of the box 6.

It is convenient for the edge of the label to be shaped so that, on the one hand, that edge can be bent without tearing or wrinkling the label, and, on the other hand, to ensure the sealing of the entire packaging unit in the area of the corners of the box. This can be achieved by shaping the edge with suitable cutouts in the corner area. Figures 2a and 2b show, as examples, suitable forms of the label. It should be noted that the cutouts do not extend beyond the outer contour of the box. Thanks to a certain internal elasticity/plasticity of the material (paper) used for labels, it is easy to secure the entire package in the described cases.

The recommended design of the box, shown in Figure 3, is the so-called "ideally collapsible box" which was adapted to the presented invention by incorporating a thread 8 for tearing, which enables the separation of the upper edge of the package. The material of the folding box was chosen in such a way as to ensure the protection of the intended contents. So, for example, you can use cardboard that prevents the exchange of moisture and/or gas with the environment thanks to an additional coating, and an amortizing inner layer can be placed on that cardboard.

The suitability of the packaging unit according to the invention for test tubes for immunological tests was tested by packaging test tubes coated with immobilized antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO), on the one hand, in a conventional way, by closing them in paper bags with the addition of a bag with some desiccant and , on the other hand, by the process according to the invention.

The results are shown in Table 1. In this table, Bo/T represents "total binding/total activity", 50% IC represents "50% intercept" and CV represents "coefficient of variation". An expert can derive the reactivity or useful life of these test tubes from the displayed values. It should be noted that the process according to the invention does not cause a shorter service life. However, compared to the conventional process, it has the advantage for the manufacturer of faster processing and simple automation, while ensuring at least equal protection of the test tubes from moisture, dust and pollution, and for the user the advantage of easy handling thanks to the tear line on the collapsible box. Individual tubes can be easily removed without jeopardizing the sealing of other tubes, and the remaining tubes can be easily returned to the bottom of the box and, thanks to being firmly stuck to the label, can always be easily identified. If too many test tubes are removed, they can be hermetically attached to the label again without difficulty.

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Claims (13)

1. Method for packaging reagent-treated test tubes for analytical processes, especially for immunological tests using immobilized reactants from such tests, indicated by the fact that a large number of such test tubes (1) are arranged in the iodine group so that the edges (2) of the openings of all test tubes ( 1) essentially in one plane, which is a sticker (3) obtained, which has a central area (4), which approximately corresponds to the total base area covered by a group of test tubes, as well as one edge area (5), and has an adhesive coating, which the label (3) is placed so that the side with the adhesive coating rests on the edges of the opening (2) so that it adheres to all the test tubes (1) of that group and hermetically closes those tubes, which the label (3) with the group of test tubes (1) stuck to it transferred to the box (6) opened from the top side, and the edge area (5) of the label (3) is glued to the edge of the opening on the top side of the box (6). 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the adhesive coating has permanent stickiness and the test tubes (1) reversibly adhere to the label (3). 3. The method according to claim 1, indicated by the fact that the adhesive coating can be made sticky at least at the time of its placement on the openings (2) of the test tubes (1). 4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, indicated by the fact that the edge area (5) of the label (3) has, in the area of its corners, notches (7) that enable bending of the edge area (5) in relation to its central area ( 4). 5. The method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the edge area (5) of the label (3) is glued to the outer edge area of the box (6). 6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the edge area of the box (6) which is glued to the edge area (5) of the label (3) can be separated from the rest of the box (6). 7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the edge of the box (6) can be separated thanks to the fact that the line (8) of a cut or perforation along the entire circumference, or a thread for tearing, is provided in the side surfaces of the box (6). 8. The method according to claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the box (6) consists of cardboard or plastic. 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the box has a coating impermeable to moisture and/or gas. 10. A package unit having a number of reagent-treated test tubes for analytical processes, in particular for immunoassays using immobilized reactants from such test procedures, characterized by having a box (6) closed on all sides except the upper open side, a label (3), glued to the edge of the open upper side of the box (6), which closes the open upper side and has an adhesive lining facing the inside of the box, and a number of test tubes (1) which are all glued with the edges of their openings to the adhesive side of the label (3) and hermetically sealed with the same . 11. The packaging unit according to claim 10, characterized in that the edge of the box (6) which is glued to the edge area (5) of the label (3) can be separated from the rest of the box (6). 12. The packaging unit according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the box (6) is a rectangular folding box. 13. The packaging unit according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the edge area (5) of the label (3) is glued in the area of the open upper side to the outer side surfaces of the box (6), and that the side surfaces of the box (6) have a line ( 8) an all-around notch, or an all-around tear thread, each of which allows the edge of the box glued to the edge area (5) of the label (3) to be separated from the rest of the box (6).