JP2003517368A - Pumping device for moving at least one fluid into the consumable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To move between at least one departure first chamber (4) and at least one arrival second chamber (5) via a bottleneck such as a conduit (6). The present invention provides a pumping apparatus (1) for enabling the movement of a fluid specimen (2) in a sealed consumable (3) in which the microfluid field applied to biology is preferably used. The intersection between the departure room (4) and the bottleneck is located at the lower part, preferably in the lowest area of the departure room (4), the intersection between the arrival room (5) and the bottleneck is at the upper part. Preferably, at least one of the departure (4) and / or the arrival room (5) is located in the highest area of this arrival room (5), so as to cause the movement of the specimen (2) with each deformation. A configuration that can be used.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for the transfer of a fluid sample within a sealed consumable, wherein transfer is via a bottleneck or the like between at least one starting first chamber and at least one arriving second chamber. It relates to a pumping device for making it possible. The invention is also directed to a method for implementing such a device.

[0002]

[Prior art]

State-of-the-art technology uses polymerase chain reaction (P
Publication EP-A proposing a device for realizing nucleic acid amplification using CR) technology
Included in -0.381.501. To that end, the device is sealed and the movement of the biological fluid contained therein between the chambers is effected by the action of external forces on the flexible walls of the chambers. To do this, a roller is used that compresses the departure chamber only once to push the liquid towards the arrival chamber.

Publication WO-A-97 / 27324 employs substantially the same construction, but the movement of the liquid in the sealed chamber is achieved by the action of an external force on the flexible wall of the chamber.
The purpose is also the same, because the device is sealed so that no contamination
This is because the nucleic acid can be amplified by using the CR technique. It allows the transfer of a fluid sample within a sealed consumable, via a bottleneck such as a conduit, between a first chamber of at least one departure and a second chamber of at least one arrival. Equipped with a pumping device. It is further added that at least one of the departure and / or arrival chambers can be deformed so as to cause the movement of all or part of the specimen on each deformation.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, according to Applicant's invention the position of the departure and arrival rooms is not important, only the position of the intersection is important, more precisely: << the intersection between the departure room and the bottleneck is at the bottom, preferably Is located in the lowest area of the departure room, the intersection between the arrival room and the bottleneck is located in the upper part, preferably in the highest area of the arrival room >>. These two features act on the force of gravity to allow complete movement of the liquid contained in the departure chamber towards the arrival chamber. This does not apply to the documents mentioned above, this intersection is not at the lowest position for the supply element containing the structural elements or the polymerase enzyme for carrying out the amplification. Furthermore, the card of this international application is in a horizontal position rather than a vertical position, since it is specified that the upper and lower surfaces are connected to each other by the edges. This state-of-the-art document states that one chamber can be deformed so as to move the whole or part of the specimen each time it is deformed, but this deformation is not only due to the deformation of the film, but of the cushion attached to the film. Due to its existence, it does not facilitate the manufacture of such systems.

According to document EP-A-0.705.978, the problem relates to the accuracy of the pumped yield. The solution presented is therefore to precisely limit the movement of this membrane by the geometry of the pump structure. This structure of the pump consists of a diaphragm that separates one cavity into two concave parts, one on top (liquid) and the other on the bottom (air or vacuum). Liquid can only enter and leave this upper part by the only conduit in the upper position, number 41.

This structure is completely different from that of the applicant's invention, and the means for solving the problem is also different, but it is for the purpose of the present invention to optimize the movement while preventing bubbles. Because it does.

All these devices have major drawbacks with regard to transfer effectiveness. For example, the positions of the chambers with respect to each other and with respect to the transfer conduit are not taken into account. Thus, the presence of at least one bubble may impair or prevent good transfer of liquid from the departure chamber to the arrival chamber. This can cause confusion in the amplified region and result in incorrect analysis results.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The present invention proposes to solve this problem by advantageously positioning on the one hand one or more departure rooms with respect to one or more arrival rooms and, on the other hand, the rooms with respect to the transfer conduit.

As such, the present invention provides a fluid within a consumable consumable in which movement is made via a bottleneck, such as a conduit, between at least one starting first chamber and at least one arriving second chamber. In the pumping device for enabling the movement of the specimen, the intersection between the departure chamber and the bottleneck is located in the lower part, preferably in the lowest area of this departure chamber, and the intersection between the arrival chamber and the bottleneck is in the upper part. And preferably at least one of the starting and / or arriving chambers can be deformed so as to be located in the highest area of the arriving chamber and to cause movement of the specimen with each deformation. .

In addition to the conduit, the bottleneck can be constituted by a conduit regardless of the size such as length, diameter or cross-sectional area, or can be a simple narrowed tube. The only thing that is needed is the area of intersection between this bottleneck and the departure or arrival room,
The cross-sectional area of the bottleneck is smaller than that of the chamber.

According to a preferred embodiment, the intersection between the departure room and the bottleneck is in contact with the sample and the intersection between the arrival room and the bottleneck is not in contact with the sample.

According to a variant embodiment, the one or more departure chambers are arranged vertically, directly above the one or more arrival chambers.

The term “approximately” shall be taken to mean that the two chambers are not located above or below the vertical. Vertical and horizontal, as used in this book, always have their meaning in relation to gravity. However, it is also conceivable, for example, to exert a centrifugal force to render this gravity useless, in which case these concepts are associated with the centrifugal force experienced by the sealed consumable, the vertical being the surface containing the resultant force of this centrifugal force. The horizontal is defined by the plane perpendicular to this resultant force. The action of magnetic fields by ferrofluid transport systems, the action of electric fields as described for electrical and hydrodynamic pumps (Ric
hter et al. , Sensors and Actuators, 2
9, p. 159-165, 1991). As with centrifugal force, vertical and horizontal are defined for the resultant force of movement. In this case, the purpose of this force is to position the fluid in the region of intersection between the starting chamber and the bottleneck.

According to a preferred embodiment, the intersection between the departure room and the bottleneck is located above the intersection between the arrival room and the bottleneck.

This upper position is understood to be in a first horizontal plane, including the first intersection described above, which is above the second horizontal plane, which includes the first intersection described above. Shall be.

Suitably, each deformable chamber comprises at least one deformable septum, such as a flexible film adhered to at least one side of the consumable item.

The consumable is a card that operates in a tilted or vertical position, preferably in a vertical position.
In the case of gravity described above, the tilted position is measured with respect to the angle between the card and the horizontal plane. This angle should be greater than 10 degrees, preferably greater than 90 degrees and preferably 90, which corresponds to the vertical position.

According to a variant embodiment, each bottleneck is passed in whole or in part in the longitudinal direction by at least one tongue which facilitates the ejection of the fluid sample.

According to another variant embodiment, at least one of the chambers is associated with a buffer space.

Such a buffer space is detailed and protected in the patent application entitled “Improved Focus Analysis Card” filed by the applicant on the same date as the present invention. The contents of the specification of this patent application are considered to be included in the present invention.

The present invention also relates to a method of pumping, which comprises transforming a device as described above at least once.

According to a first variant, the method produces a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure in the gas of the chamber in order to displace all or part of the liquid contained in the liquid in the at least one arrival chamber. Comprising transforming at least one departure chamber.

According to a second variant, the method comprises moving all or part of the gas contained in the liquid in at least one of the starting chambers so that at least one arriving in order to create an overpressure in the gas in the chamber. Comprising deforming the chamber.

According to a third variant, the method merges the above two techniques. It alternately: -deforms at least one starting chamber to create a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure in the gas of the chamber in order to move all or part of the liquid contained in the liquid in the at least one arrival chamber. -Comprising deforming at least one arrival chamber to create a higher than normal pressure in the gas of the chamber to move all or part of the gas contained in the liquid in the at least one starting chamber .

According to a fourth variant, if the buffer space is associated with at least one of the starting and / or arriving chamber, the method comprises simultaneously deforming the starting and / or arriving chamber and the buffer space. Therefore, in the case of an analysis card in which the cavity is covered by a flexible film, when the flexible film is pushed to compress one volume of the chamber, the buffer space associated with it is also compressed at the same time. it can. It is therefore particularly advantageous to have chambers and buffer spaces located on opposite sides of the card at the same level so that the two pressures applied to each of the two containers add up. Of course, it is necessary that each container be covered by a flexible film, which may be the same, provided the film sandwiches the card. Of course, it is also possible to combine this fourth embodiment with other embodiments.

Different means exist for compressing the chamber, for example a hammer, which moves between two positions which exert a series of successive pressures on the chamber. The hammer can be moved, for example, by the action of an electric motor or an aerodynamic prime mover. The hammer can be any material such as metal, plastic, etc., provided that it can apply pressure once or several times continuously to a chamber that can be deformed by its mechanical strength.

The use of such a device allows for the simple or complex process of analysis using one or more different reagents depending on the chemical, physical or biological properties of the analyte or analytes studied. It relates to consumables for the analysis of one or more different liquid specimens, which all try to identify one or more analytes. The technical principle defined below is not limited to a particular analyte, the only requirement being that the analyte be distributed in the sample to be analyzed in suspension or solution. In particular, the analytical methods carried out can be carried out in homogeneous, heterogeneous or mixed form.

A non-limiting, specific aspect of such consumables relates to the biological analysis of one or more ligands, which requires the use of one or more antiligands for their detection and / or quantification. It is a thing. The ligand means, for example, any biological species such as antigen, antigen fragment, peptide, antibody, antibody fragment, hapten, nucleic acid, nucleic acid fragment, hormone, vitamin and the like. One application of analytical techniques involves immunoassays, either by direct analysis or by competition, in any form. Another application relates to the detection and / or quantification of nucleic acids, including the entire work required for detection and / or quantification from any harvest containing the target nucleic acid. Among these different operations are the processes of degradation, mobilization, concentration, enzymatic amplification of nucleic acids, for example detection processes including hybridization processes using DNA chips or labeled probes. Patent application WO-A-97 / 02357 reveals the different processes required in the case of nucleic acid analysis.

The concept of sealed consumables is particularly important when enzyme amplification reactions are carried out within the consumables, as the contamination problems associated with these reactions are prevented by the use of sealed consumables. It is particularly advantageous to have a simple system for moving the liquid as described in. The concept of hermetic consumables should be understood in the sense of consumables which are hermetically sealed during several stages of the process, in particular during the pumping fluid transfer stage. This is because it is necessary to introduce a sample containing one or more ligands to be analyzed into the consumable in order to achieve ligand analysis. At this stage of the method, the consumable must therefore be opened. Similarly, it is not necessary to seal the entire consumable to implement the present invention. The fluid part associated with the pumping device can be isolated, for example, by a valve system, while the other part is open towards the outside to bring the reagent into place in the consumable for subsequent reaction.

The accompanying figures are provided by way of example and not limitation. They allow a better understanding of the invention.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pumping device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, which is particularly suitable for the movement of a fluid inside a sealed consumable product 3 whether liquid or gas.

First of all, FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 are longitudinal cross-sections according to different embodiments of the pumping device 1, but the stripes that would normally be present in the contours of said pumping device 1 lead to an understanding of the mechanism. Omitted for simplicity. Therefore, it should of course be understood that the illustrated elements, namely the departure chamber 4, the arrival chamber 5, the bottleneck or the conduit 6 are actually embedded within the consumable item 3 as clearly shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a simple embodiment of the invention. It is characterized by the presence of a first chamber 4 of departures placed at the top and a second chamber 5 of arrivals placed at a lower position. Of course, the shape of these chambers 4 and 5, as well as their respective volumes, may differ from each other or from the one shown. The two chambers 4 and 5 are connected to each other by a conduit 6 of suitable shape. Similarly, the volume of the conduit 6 must be compatible with the dimensions of the chambers and the relative positions of the chambers with respect to each other. Details will be described later.

As can be seen, the point of installation of the conduit 6 with respect to the chamber answers a particular characteristic value. For example, this insertion point is located at the lowest point in the departure room 4, but at the highest point in the arrival room 5.

As can be easily understood, the fluid sample 2 exists in the water pumping apparatus 1. This specimen is actually a liquid. The intersection between the conduit 6 and the starting chamber 4 therefore contacts the sample 2, which, by the action of gravity, comes to the bottom of said chamber 4. On the contrary, since the liquid 2 exists over the entire length of the conduit 6, the intersection of the conduit 6 with the chamber 5 is in contact with the air contained in said chamber 5. Therefore, the fluid sample 2 exists only at the bottom of the chamber 5. As shown in FIG. 1, a gas composed of air and a sample composed of liquid 2 alternate.

The sealed consumable product 3 including the water pumping device 1 is partially shown in FIG. 2, and is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1. Here, it is a card which comprises substantially cavities, which on the one hand are defined by the material of which the plastic consumable 3 is made up, and on the other hand by the very thin partition 7 which is flexible, so that polyethylene film or silicone is used. It can be a film of any other deformable material, such as latex, latex or polyimide.

The properties of the flexible film may also vary depending on the assay card and the type of fluid tested, especially for compatibility reasons. For example, TPX (polymethylpentene) or BOPP (bidirectional polypropylene) polymer films make it possible to carry out biological tests. Fixing of these films can be accomplished by gluing (eg, adhesive application, such as silicone adhesive on the film) or by fusing. An example of adhesive BOPP is product number 022004-2.
184 at BioMerieux Inc (St Louis, MO, U.
SA).

In practice, the assay card is compatible with the process fluid, eg GOODFEL.
Obtained by processing technical plastics such as LOW company number R540E impact polystyrene. In an industrial embodiment, the card can be obtained by precision molding, but any other manufacturing method, in particular patent application WO-A-97 / 0235.
Those used in semiconductor technology as described in 7 can be used in the manufacture of analysis cards.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to understand the operation of this pump inside the sealed consumable product 3 which operates only by the external pressure F on the flexible film 7. When the film 7 is compressed, the liquid 2 itself is not compressed, so the amount of air in the starting chamber 4 is reduced, so that the liquid transitions along the conduit 6 and flows into the arrival chamber 5. Of course, in order to start such a pumping device 1, the movement of the flexible film 7 needs to be sufficient to move the liquid sample 2 in an amount exceeding the total amount of the conduit 6.

Another condition for operating the device is to separate the liquid when it is at the intersection of the conduit 6 or 8 and the arrival chamber 5. The liquid that has fallen to the bottom of the chamber 5 cannot re-raise into the conduit 6 or 8 when the pressure on the deformable part is released.

The entire fluid sample 2 can be moved from the departure chamber 4 toward the arrival chamber 5 by several actions on the film 7.

It is also conceivable that this system is also present only in the area of the arrival room 5, and that the pumping at that time acts on the film 7 existing only in the area of the arrival room 5. In this case, the starting volume of the arrival chamber is limited once it has been compressed and the air is transferred via the conduit 6 into the departure chamber 4. As before, it is necessary that the amount of air expelled from the arrival room 5 is sufficient to reach the departure room 4. Therefore, this displaced air volume must exceed the volume of the conduit 6.

In the last variant, it is possible to alternately press the film 7 covering the starting chamber 4 and then the film 7 covering the arrival chamber 5 in order to accelerate the movement movement of the pumping device 1.

According to FIG. 3, another embodiment is shown in which there is only one departure room 4 and three arrival rooms 5. Therefore, the conduit 6 has a special structure, because for each chamber 4 or 5 an intermediate conduit 9 which allows communication between the primary conduit 8 and the entire primary conduit 8
Because there exists. Although not shown, conduits 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11
Different conduit shapes, such as, must have shapes suitable for different embodiments,
It is also necessary, in particular, if the system has a distribution function for a large number of arrival rooms 5, and the person skilled in the art will choose a shape for each conduit that allows a balanced distribution, including acting on the load. Let's do it. The elbow and bottleneck are means for varying this load loss and not promoting uneven filling of the arrival chamber, for example. Conversely, if the amount transferred to the arrival chamber must be different depending on the reaction conditions that should occur in these chambers, one of ordinary skill in the art can devise this conduit geometry to facilitate filling.

The size and nature of the conduit will also be selected to allow the liquid-gas exchange necessary for operation of the pumping system. For example, in the case of the movement of the liquid according to FIG. 1, the cross section of the bottle 6 in the bottleneck is adapted according to the viscosity of the liquid so that the bubbles can rise. Especially the departure room
From the point of view of gravity, it is particularly advantageous to minimize the volume of bottleneck conduit 6 with respect to the volume of liquid to be moved to prevent dead volume, if it is not located above one or more arrival chambers. is there.

A properly arranged valve system can also be combined with the geometry of the conduit to control chamber filling, if desired. These valves may, for example, replace the distribution conduit 11 of FIG. 4 with a distribution function that allows the fluid to be directed in a particular direction or an opening and closing function to isolate the card or chamber, such as on the valve 15 of FIG. It is possible to have different functions such as.

FIG. 5 is also a specific embodiment, with three departure rooms 4 and three arrival rooms 5. At this time, the conduits or bottleneck 6 are a little more complicated in structure, not only having one primary conduit 8 for each chamber 4 or 5 as already shown in FIG. 3, but also for each group of departure 4 or arrival chambers 5. There is also one intermediate conduit 9. Preferably, the two intermediate conduits 9 are located parallel to each other. Between these two conduits 9 there are two second conduits 10. The number of these secondary conduits 10 is not mandatory at all. One or more can be provided. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the two conduits 10 are arranged to allow a better distribution of the liquid sample 2 which is moved from the departure chamber 4 towards the arrival chamber 5.

This type of reaction also requires a correct quantification of the amount transferred. However, the present invention enables such controlled distribution. This function will be described below.

According to another embodiment, not shown, it is also possible to move the gas and use the liquid for the isolation between different gas samples.

It should be understood that the present invention allows the roles of gas and liquid to be reversed, as each chamber can be partially filled with one or the other component during the pumping process. At this point it should be noted that at the beginning of pumping the starting chamber can be filled with liquid and the arrival chamber can be filled with gas. It is likewise conceivable that the arrival chamber already contains at least one substance, which can be liquid and / or solid. This can be, for example, a coating containing at least one reagent for reacting with the transferred specimen 2.

FIG. 4 represents an embodiment substantially closer to the manufacturable industrial model.
Since there are one departure room 4 and five arrival rooms 5, the system is almost the same as in FIG.

There are also major differences between FIGS. 3 and 4. For example, in FIG. 4, the departure room 4 is located immediately below the arrival room 5, as will be readily seen. In practice, there are no restrictions on the positioning of the different chambers 4 and 5 with respect to each other, but preferably when the liquid column 2 in the starting chamber 4 facilitates the movement into the chamber 5 by gravity. It is easier to use the device. The embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 are thus partially advantageous. The second difference lies in the structure of the arrival room 5. The latter is a device 1 for eliminating bubbles in the upper position.
3, which is also the subject of the applicant's patent application as described above. As a part of another patent application, which is similar to the above, the device 13 is placed at a position above the device 13,
Its role is detailed in this further patent application and there are holes 14 which allow communication between the buffer spaces present on the other side of the card-type consumable 3.

Another difference is that, in an embodiment not shown in this figure, the inlet conduit 12 that allows the liquid specimen 2 to be injected or transferred from another consumable or another part of this consumable 3. Is present so that the specimen 2 is moved towards the distribution pipe 11 which is located approximately in the center of the card.

From this distribution pipe 11, a certain number of primary conduits 8 are connected to the entire chambers 4 and 5
Have been contacted. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a liquid in the starting chamber 4, which liquid is inert to the introduced liquid sample 2. This liquid 17 is used to activate the sample 2 present in the distribution pipe 11 and to be able to push it towards the arrival chamber 5 via the primary conduit 8. Further in this FIG. 4 it can be seen that there is an outlet conduit 16 for the consumable 3. This outlet 16 enables the discharge of the specimen 2 contained in at least one arrival chamber 5. The selection of the arrival chamber (s) 5 to be emptied is carried out via a valve 15 located in the area of the entire outlet conduit 16. Also, the entrance conduit 1
It can also be seen that the valve 15 is in the area of 2.

The total amount of liquid that can be transferred with this device is variable between 0.5 and 5000 microliters, preferably between 2 and 2000 microliters, and preferably between 5 and 1000 microliters. For large volumes, eg, greater than 500 microliters, a continuous pressure embodiment is preferably chosen to transfer a fraction of the liquid, preferably between 5 and 100 microliters (μl). right.
The volume of the starting chamber may change at the same rate or it may be much larger than the total volume transferred. As an example of the embodiment of FIG. 4, the chamber 4 has a volume comprised between 2 and 5 ml for transferring a liquid comprised between 250 and 500 μl. The total volume of fluid represented by the conduit 8 connecting the departure chamber 4 and the arrival chamber 5 is 120 μl
And 20 μl of the conduit 8 connecting the chamber 5 and the distribution conduit 11, the distribution conduit 11 and the chamber 5
Is divided into 5 × 20 μl of 8 parts of the conduit connecting The conduit 8 in this example has a semicircular cross section with a diameter of 0.5 mm.

Moving from another consumable 3 as well as the valve 15 has already been described in application number FR98 / 11.
383, entitled "Apparatus enabling reaction, system for moving between apparatus and method of utilizing such system", is the subject of a patent application filed by the applicant on September 8, 1998. The contents of the specification of this patent application are considered to be included in the present invention.

The inlet 12, the outlet 16 and the valve are not described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3, 5 and 6 but if not shown in order to allow good operation,
These pumping devices 1 are of course equipped with them.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal partial cross-section of a sealed consumables pumping device according to the invention in the simplest possible embodiment, since there is one departure room and one arrival room.

[Fig. 2]     FIG. 2 is a partial transverse cross-sectional view of the chamber of the water pumping apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal partial cross-section of a sealed consumables pumping device according to the invention in a more complex embodiment, since it has one departure chamber and three arrival chambers.

4 includes a pumping device according to the invention in a complex embodiment substantially similar to FIG. 2,
A longitudinal partial cross-section of a sealed consumable is shown, with three major differences. First, there are one departure room and five arrival rooms. Next, the arrival room has a unique shape. The arrangement of the departure room with respect to the arrival room is different from that shown in the above figure.

FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal partial sectional view of a sealed consumables pumping device according to the invention in a more complex embodiment, since it has three departure chambers and three arrival chambers.

FIG. 6 shows a partial transverse cross-section similar to that of FIG. 2, but the flexible film of the pumping device is subject to external forces that induce pumping.

[Explanation of symbols]

    1. Pumping equipment     2. Fluid specimen     3. Sealed specimen     4. First room of departure     5. Second room of arrival     6. Bottleneck or conduit     7. Deformable partition or flexible film     8. Primary conduit     9. Intermediate conduit     10. Secondary conduit     11. Distribution conduit     12. Inlet conduit in consumable 3     13. Bubble extinguishing equipment     14. Communication hole between instrument 13 and buffer space     15. valve     16. Consumable 3 outlet conduit     17. Inert liquid that activates specimen 2     F. Force to apply external pressure to film 7

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), OA (BF, BJ , CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, GM, K E, LS, MW, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZW ), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, CA, CH, CN, C U, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD , GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, L K, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MD, MG, MK , MN, MW, MX, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, T M, TR, TT, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU , ZA, ZW

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A transfer takes place between at least one departure first chamber (4) and at least one arrival second chamber (5) via a bottleneck such as a conduit (6).
Pumping device (1) for enabling movement of fluid sample (2) within sealed consumable (3)
In, the intersection between the departure room (4) and the bottleneck is located in the lower part, preferably in the lowest area of this departure chamber (4), the intersection between the arrival room (5) and the bottleneck is in the upper part, Preferably, at least one of the departure chamber (4) and / or the arrival chamber (5) is located in the highest area of this arrival chamber (5) and further causes movement of the specimen (2) with each transformation. A pumping device characterized by being deformable. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intersection between the departure room and the bottleneck is in contact with the sample, and the intersection between the arrival room and the bottleneck is not in contact with the sample. Pumping equipment. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more departure chambers (4) are arranged vertically above the one or more arrival chambers (5). Pumping device characterized by being performed. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the intersection between the departure room (4) and the bottleneck (6) is between the arrival room (5) and the bottleneck (6). A pumping device that is located above the intersection. 5. A flexible film according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each deformable chamber (4 or 5) is adhered to at least one side of the consumable item (1). At least one partition wall (
A pumping device comprising: 7). 6. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the consumable item is a card that operates in a tilted or vertical position. 7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each bottleneck is passed in whole or in part in the longitudinal direction by at least one tongue which facilitates drainage of the fluid sample. The pumping device is characterized by 8. A pumping system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the chambers is associated with a buffer space. 9. A method of pumping water, comprising the step of deforming the device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 at least once. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one is applied to exert an overpressure in the gas volume of the chamber to move all or part of the liquid contained in the liquid in the at least one arrival chamber. A method of pumping, comprising the step of deforming one starting chamber. 11. A method according to claim 9, for creating a pressure in the gas volume of the chamber above atmospheric pressure for moving all or part of the gas contained in the liquid in the at least one starting chamber. A pumping method comprising the step of transforming at least one arrival chamber. 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein: alternately to move all or part of the liquid contained in the liquid in at least one arrival chamber, rather than atmospheric pressure in the gas volume of the chamber. Deforming at least one of the starting chambers to produce a high pressure, and-to move all or part of the gas contained in the liquid in the at least one of the starting chambers, than atmospheric pressure in the gas volume of the chambers. Deforming at least one arrival chamber to produce a high pressure; and a pumping method, comprising: