JP2002159284A - Multi-well plate for sample storage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi-well plate for sample storage capable of tightly closing without decreasing volume of a well part of a storage container for a microplate used in high through-put screening. SOLUTION: The multi-well plate for sample storage is a multi-well plate capable of storing liquid in a freezing state, and is featured by having an inner lid in which the used lid comprises an elastomer sheet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage plate used in the field of biotechnology and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of biotechnology, protein and gene samples are generally stored in a refrigerated or frozen state in a solution state. Various materials such as glass and plastic are used for the storage container. Glass ampules are often used for cryopreservation of animal cells and for preservation of some biochemical samples because they can encapsulate the contents. However, protein and D
A phenomenon occurs in which a trace amount of molecules such as NA or RNA is adsorbed on the glass surface, and is not suitable as a storage container for biotechnology.

[0003] Therefore, at present, a storage container made of polypropylene, which is less airtight but has a relatively small amount of adsorption of these molecules, is used to store proteins, DNA or RNA. At present, tubes of various shapes made of polypropylene for storage are commercially available as storage containers. In addition, since polypropylene resins have relatively good moldability, not only tubes but also microplate storage containers having various capacities are sold. Microplate storage containers often have the same planar shape as polystyrene 96-well or 384-well, which is often used for immunoanalysis and the like, and the internal volume is determined by changing the well depth. .

The reason that a microplate storage container is present in addition to a general tube storage container has recently been required to automatically perform an assay using a robot in high-throughput screening. The need for a storage container having the same shape as the microplate for measurement has been increased so that the storage container can be transferred by a robot.

[0005] A storage container for such a microplate also requires a lid having excellent airtightness in order to prevent the contents from drying. Further, in the storage container of the microplate, a well-sealed lid is required to prevent the solution put in one well from mixing with the contents of the adjacent well. If it is a general tube storage container, a screw-in type lid can be used, and if a rubber packing or O-ring is used, the hermeticity is ensured. However, in the case of a storage container in which a number of wells of a microplate are present, the screw-type lid has to correspond to each individual well, and is used as a lid of the storage container of the microplate on which the robot assay is premised. Is complicated.

At present, eight push-fitting lids made of polypropylene are fitted to fit the well shape of the microplate.
Those formed into two or a sheet are often used. In the case of such a push-type lid, the space into which the lid is pushed becomes a dead space in which a solution for storage or the like cannot be put. The height of the pushing portion of a commercially available push-type lid is 3 to 5 mm, so
In the case of a hole-type storage container, since the diameter is about 7 mm, a dead space of about 100 to 200 μL is generated.

In general, the well volume of a 96-well type multiplate is 400 μL, so that it is １ ／ of the well volume.
〜 Of the space will be used for the lid. Also, in the case of lids formed in eight, twelve or sheet form, it is difficult to mount the lid if the pitch of the wells is slightly deviated, and the dimensional accuracy of the microplate storage container is taken into account when taking into account the hermeticity. Need to be pretty strict. In such a point, the storage container of the microplate has not been able to make full use of its usefulness due to the problem of the shape of the lid.

In immunoassays and the like, a plastic sheet or the like with an adhesive is generally attached to the upper surface of the plate to prevent evaporation of the solution dispensed into the wells of the microplate. Generally, such an adhesive-attached plastic sheet is effective for short-term storage for 1 to 2 days, but after long-term storage for one month or more, the sealing property is poor and the contents evaporate. In addition, if the adhesive strength is strong, the solution in the wells will jump back due to the reaction if the plate is not strongly pressed when the plate is peeled off, resulting in contamination of various bacteria (contamination). Further, during cryopreservation, the adhesive strength of the adhesive is reduced, and a decrease such as spontaneous peeling is often observed.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a storage container used in the field of biotechnology, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a storage container which can be easily and efficiently sealed and has improved storage stability.

[0010]

That is, the present invention relates to a multiwell plate for storing samples, which is a multiwell plate for cryopreserving a sample, wherein the lid used has an internal lid made of an elastomer sheet. .

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The elastomer sheet used in the present invention enables storage without inhibiting the capacity of a microplate. For this purpose, it is desirable to use an elastomeric sheet-like substance having an adhesive force to the multi-well plate and having a certain degree of flexibility so that the opening of the well can be sealed.

As the material of such an elastomer sheet, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, silicone resin, thermoplastic plastic and the like can be considered. Simply placing such a sheet on a plate has some stickiness but no seal. Therefore, if the outer lid is attached from above the elastomer sheet and pressed by a stopper or the like, the outer lid is brought into close contact and the sealing property is improved. In addition, it is commonly used to freeze bioactive substances at -20 ° C or -80.
When a gas (generally, air) existing in the space between the closely adhered sheet and the well for storage contracts in volume in a freezer at a temperature of ℃ C, the elastomer sheet is drawn into the well and the outer periphery of the well is removed. The effect of increasing the adhesion to the part is also seen.

Although the storage container of the microplate sealed with such an elastomer sheet can be stored in a freezer as it is, generally, an elastomer sheet of natural rubber or the like loses its elasticity under a low temperature environment such as in a refrigerator or the like, so that it cannot be used in ordinary cases. It is known that the resin hardens like a resin.
Therefore, it may be peeled off from the plate due to a physical impact or the like, and may not function as a closed lid. Therefore,
It is effective to attach a resin lid from above the elastomer sheet to prevent the sheet from peeling off the plate.

Further, such a sheet can be repeatedly used by washing. In addition, the sheet can be peeled off without requiring strong force when peeling, so that contamination due to scattering of the solution due to shaking of the plate can be prevented and suitable for storing dangerous substances such as proteins labeled with radioisotopes ing.

[0015]

(Example) 200 μL of a 5% bovine albumin-phosphate buffer solution was put into a 96-well polypropylene plate (manufactured by Sumitomo Bakelite), a 1 mm thick silicone rubber sheet was cut into a plate shape, and the cut sheet was cut into a plate. The sheet was placed on the upper surface and the sheet was pressed against the upper surface of the plate to remove air bubbles. Further, a cover made of polystyrene was mounted thereon, and stored for one month in a freezer at -80 ° C.

(Comparative Example) 200 μL of a 5% bovine albumin-phosphate buffer solution was placed in the same 96-well plate made of polypropylene as in the Example, and the cap was pushed in and the cap was closed.
Six sheets were arranged in each well while pushing the cap into each well, and stored in a freezer at -80 ° C for one month.

(Results) In Example 1, when thawed after one month, the silicon sheet was in close contact with the upper surface of the plate and the contents were preserved, but in the comparative example, the contents were pushed in due to volume expansion during freezing. The cap is pushed up, the airtightness is lost, and when thawing, contamination from outside bacteria is caused.
Problems such as a change in concentration due to evaporation of the contents occurred.

[0018]

As described above, the use of the elastomer sheet of the present invention makes it possible to seal the microplate without losing its capacity and to store various kinds of liquid samples.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a sealing lid for a sheet according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a typical push cap-shaped lid.

[Brief description of reference numerals]

 11 Microplate storage container 12 Sheet lid 13 Push-on cap

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G01N 37/00 103 G01N 37/00 103

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A multiwell plate for storing samples, wherein the lid used has an inner lid made of an elastomer sheet.