JP2006078245A - Testing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a testing device dispensing with a machine device such as a pump or a machine or an apparatus such as a syringe, capable of distributing a test solution into a reaction chamber filled with a reagent automatically by a simple operation, manufacturable inexpensively, and suitable to be used for an automatic examination device. <P>SOLUTION: This testing device has an inlet 2 for injecting the test solution, one or more reaction chambers 2, one or more pressing chambers 4 and a passage 5 communicating the inlet, the reaction chambers and the pressing chambers together. In the testing device, at least a part of a wall part of the pressing chamber is formed from a deformable elastic material. Hereby, the machine device such as the pump or the machine or the apparatus such as the syringe is not required, and the test solution can be distributed into the reaction chamber automatically by the simple operation, and the device can be manufactured inexpensively. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a test device suitable for use in an automatic inspection apparatus.

When a test solution is transferred to the reaction chamber in a test device having a flow path between the injection port of the test solution and the reaction chamber, automatic transfer using capillary action is also possible. It requires pressing with a mechanical device such as a pressure pump, a suction pump, or a syringe using a technique. However, these devices are cumbersome and not cheap. In addition, since the test device is not sealed except for the part to which the test liquid is applied, if the test liquid is a pathogenic microorganism suspension, the test liquid should be in contact with the outside through a pressure port, a suction port, etc. There is a danger.
In Patent Document 1, a transparent cover is put on a test paper to form an envelope, an air chamber is provided at the top, and a suction port is provided at the bottom, and when used, the suction port is placed in a liquid (test liquid) and air There is described a dropper cover type liquid test paper in which the liquid is brought into contact with a test agent on a test paper in a chamber and a reaction result between the liquid and the test agent is confirmed from a transparent cover. However, the test paper is not a test device suitable for use in an automatic inspection apparatus because it requires manual operation such as placing a suction port into a liquid.
JP-A-5-249095

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is that it does not require a mechanical device such as a pump or a machine or instrument such as a syringe, and the test liquid can be automatically distributed to the reaction chamber filled with the reagent by a simple operation. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a test device suitable for use in an automatic inspection apparatus that can be produced at low cost.

  According to the present invention, there are an inlet for injecting a test liquid, one or more reaction chambers, one or more pressing chambers, and a flow path that connects the inlet, the reaction chambers, and the pressing chambers. And the test device by which at least one part of the wall part of this press chamber is formed of the elastic material which can deform | transform is provided.

Since at least a part of the wall of the pressing chamber is made of a deformable elastic material, pressurizing the pressing chamber before injecting the test liquid reduces the volume of the pressing chamber and releases the pressurizing of the pressing chamber. The test solution injected into the injection port can be transferred to each reaction chamber via the flow path by the suction force generated by returning to the original volume at the time.
According to the test device of the present invention, a test liquid can be automatically distributed to the reaction chamber with a simple operation without requiring a mechanical device such as a pump or a machine such as a syringe. be able to. The test device can control pressurization (reduction in volume) and release of the pressing chamber by an automatic inspection apparatus, and the test device is suitable for use in an automatic inspection apparatus.

A test device in which at least a part of the wall portion of the pressing chamber is made of a deformable elastic material and the volume of the pressing chamber is variable by pressurization can be configured as follows, for example.
(1) Inlet groove (injection groove), one or more reaction chamber grooves (reaction groove), one or more pressure chamber grooves (press groove), and injection groove and reaction groove in the hard substrate A channel groove (channel groove) or the like that communicates with the pressing groove is provided, and the opening of these grooves other than the injection groove is covered with an elastic material, preferably a transparent elastic film.
(2) An elastic material, preferably a transparent elastic material, a through groove (injection groove) for an injection port, a groove for one or more reaction chambers (reaction groove), and a groove for one or more pressure chambers (press groove) ), And a channel groove (channel groove) that communicates the injection groove, the reaction groove, and the pressing groove, and the openings of these grooves are covered with a hard substrate.

  As the hard substrate described in (1) and (2) above, inorganic materials such as metal, glass, quartz glass, alumina, sapphire, forslite, silicon carbide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate Copolymer resin, polypropylene, polystyrene, AS resin, ABS resin, methacrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, phenol resin, urea resin, epoxy resin, melamine resin, cycloolefin resin, acrylic resin Examples of the organic material include, but are not limited to.

  Examples of the elastic material for covering the hard substrate provided with the injection groove, the reaction groove, the pressing groove, the channel groove, etc. described in the above (1) include silicone resin, polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane And organic materials such as, but not limited to, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl alcohol, vinyl acetate resin, phenol resin, urea resin, epoxy resin, and melamine resin.

  The elastic material provided with the injection groove, the reaction groove, the pressing groove, the channel groove and the like described in the above (2) is not particularly limited, but a transparent silicone resin, among them, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is more suitable. Can be mentioned.

  A backflow prevention mechanism can be provided between the inlet and the reaction chamber and between the reaction chamber and the pressing chamber.

  The reaction chamber can be prefilled with reagents. The reagent is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include antigens, antibodies, medium components, substrates, nucleic acids and the like.

  The test fluid is not particularly limited, but is a liquid sample used in clinical fields such as blood, spinal fluid, urine, etc .; environmental / food samples such as environmental water, drinking water, food disruption suspensions; microorganisms (bacteria) , Fungi, etc.), bacterial suspensions, liquid culture samples, etc.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The test device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes an acrylic resin substrate 1 having a groove for an inlet 2, six grooves for a reaction chamber 3, a groove for a pressing chamber 4, and a groove for a flow path 5. A transparent elastic film 6 is adhesively coated on the opening side of each groove for the reaction chamber 3, the pressing chamber 4 and the flow path 5. By pressurizing the pressure chamber 4 in the direction of the arrow before injection of the test liquid 7 to reduce the volume (FIG. 2a), after dispensing the test liquid 7 from the injection port 2, the pressure in the pressure chamber 4 is released. The suction effect is generated, and the test liquid 7 can reach the reaction chamber 3 via the flow path 5 and the liquid reservoir 8 (FIG. 2b). The remaining test liquid in the reaction chamber 3 is held in a liquid reservoir 8 including a water absorption pad (FIG. 2c).

  3 to 4, the elastic material (transparent PDMS) 16 has a through groove for the injection port 12, six grooves for the reaction chamber 13, a groove for the pressing chamber 14, and a flow path 15. And a hard resin substrate (glass or acrylic resin substrate) 11 is bonded to the opening side of each groove. By pressurizing the press chamber 14 in the direction of the arrow before injection of the test liquid 7 to reduce the volume (FIG. 4a), after dispensing the test liquid 7 from the injection port 12, the pressurization of the press chamber 14 is released. The suction effect is generated, and the test solution 7 can reach the reaction chamber 13 through the flow path 15 and the liquid reservoir 18 (FIG. 4b). The remaining test liquid in the reaction chamber 13 is held in a liquid reservoir 18 including a water absorption pad (FIG. 4c).

  In the test device shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of pressing chambers 24a, 24b, and 24c are provided, and the test is performed on the reaction chambers 23a, 23b, and 23c by pressurizing and releasing the pressing chambers 24a, 24b, and 24c, respectively. The liquid can be transferred. Reference numeral 22 denotes an inlet, 28 denotes a liquid reservoir, and 29 denotes a backflow prevention mechanism.

  In the test device shown in FIG. 6, the inlet 32, the reaction chambers 33a, 33b, 33c, and the like are formed by various grooves provided on an acrylic resin substrate (not shown) and a transparent elastic film 36 adhesively coated thereon. 33d, 33e, 33f, and 33g, the press chamber 34, and the flow path 35 are formed. The reaction chambers 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, 33e, 33f, and 33g are filled with a reagent containing a cold water-soluble gel, and the test liquid 7 is transferred from the inlet 32 to the reaction chamber 33a by releasing the pressure of the pressing chamber 34. When supplied, the test liquid transferred to the flow path 35 to the reaction chambers 33b, 33c, 33d, 33e, 33f, and 33g is controlled by the increase in viscosity of the test liquid. The test liquid is sequentially supplied to the reaction chambers 33b, 33c, 33d, 33e, 33f, and 33g while being gelled in each reaction chamber.

  The press chamber 4 of the test device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 was pressurized, 100 μL of purified water was dispensed into the inlet, and then the pressure was released. It was confirmed through the transparent elastic film 6 that the purified water flowed through the flow path 5 and reached the reaction chamber 3.

It is a top view of one mode of a test device. It is an end view of the XX 'cut surface of the test device shown in FIG. (A) is a state in which the pressure chamber is pressurized before injection of the test liquid, (b) is a state in which the pressure in the pressure chamber is released after injecting the test liquid, and (c) is a state in which the test liquid reacts. The state hold | maintained at the chamber and the liquid storage part is shown. It is a top view of the other aspect of a test device. It is an end view of the XX 'cut surface of the test device shown in FIG. (A) is a state in which the pressure chamber is pressurized before injection of the test liquid, (b) is a state in which the pressure in the pressure chamber is released after injecting the test liquid, and (c) is a state in which the test liquid reacts. The state hold | maintained at the chamber and the liquid storage part is shown. It is a top view of one mode of a test device which has a plurality of press rooms. It is a top view of the test device of the aspect which fills the reagent containing cold water soluble gel in the reaction chamber, raises a test liquid viscosity with this gel, and supplies a test liquid sequentially to several reaction chambers.

Explanation of symbols

1, 11 Rigid substrate 2, 12, 22, 32 Inlet 3, 13, 23, 33 Reaction chamber 4, 14, 24, 34 Press chamber 5, 15, 25, 35 Channel 6 Elastic film 16 Transparent PDMS
7 Test solution

Claims (6)

  An injection port for injecting a test liquid, one or more reaction chambers, one or more pressing chambers, and a flow path communicating the injection port with the reaction chambers and the pressing chambers. A test device in which at least a part of the chamber wall is formed of a deformable elastic material.   A hard substrate is provided with an inlet groove, one or more reaction chamber grooves, one or more pressing chamber grooves, and a channel groove, and these grooves are grooves other than the inlet groove. The test device according to claim 1, wherein the test device is formed by covering an opening of the substrate with an elastic material.   The test device according to claim 2, wherein the elastic material is a transparent film.   The elastic material is provided with an inlet through groove, one or more reaction chamber grooves, one or more pressing chamber grooves, and a channel groove, and the openings of these grooves are covered with a hard substrate. The test device according to claim 1, which is formed by:   The test device according to claim 4, wherein the elastic material is made of a transparent silicone resin.   The test device according to claim 1, wherein the reaction chamber is filled with a reagent.

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