JP2008020255A - Dropping pipet and liquid sampling method using it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dropping pipet capable of sampling a large quantity of liquid by capillary phenomenon, and a liquid sampling method using it. <P>SOLUTION: This dropping pipet 1 is equipped with a tube body part 10 wherein a conduit 13 is formed inside and liquid can enter the conduit 13 inside from the open end 15 side of the conduit 13 by the capillary phenomenon, and an operation part 20 wherein a hollow part 23 communicated with the outside is formed inside. An air hole 25 communicated with the outside is formed in the hollow part 23. When sampling the liquid, the open end 15 of the conduit 13 is dipped into the liquid, and the liquid is allowed to enter the conduit 13 by the capillary phenomenon. Since the air hole 25 is formed in the hollow part 23, the air pushed out from the conduit 13 into the hollow part 23 by the liquid entering the conduit 13 inside is discharged to the outside of the hollow part 23 through the air hole 25. Hereby, much liquid is allowed to enter the conduit 13 inside, without pushing-back of the air to the conduit 13 by the wall surface of the operation part 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dropper and a liquid collection method using the same, and more particularly, to a dropper that collects a liquid using capillary action and a liquid collection method using the same.

In blood and urine tests, blood and urine are collected and the concentration of components contained in body fluids is measured with various sensors such as a glucose sensor, or dropped on a glass slide and optically observed. It has been done.
Conventionally, in such a liquid collection, a dropper that collects a liquid by utilizing a capillary phenomenon is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

Hereinafter, the conventional dropper described in Patent Document 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional dropper.
This capillary dropper 101 is an operation comprising a tubular body portion 110 having an inner diameter capable of causing a capillary phenomenon, and an airtight bag-like elastic body disposed at one end of the tubular body portion 110 and communicating with the tubular body portion 110. Part 120 is provided.
When the liquid is collected by the capillary dropper 101, a small amount of liquid infiltrates into the tube portion 110 due to capillary action by inserting the open end of the tube portion 110 into the liquid to be collected. . As described above, since the capillary dropper 101 sucks the liquid using the capillary phenomenon, the liquid can be easily collected without causing convection between the sediment component and the supernatant liquid.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-156745 (Claim 1, page 3, page 4, FIG. 1 etc.)

  When the liquid enters the tube portion 110 due to the capillary phenomenon, the air in the tube portion 110 flows into the operation portion 120 by the volume of the infiltrated liquid. In the conventional capillary dropper 101, since the operation part 120 is sealed in an airtight state, the bag-like elastic body wall surface is pushed outward from the inside of the operation part 120 by the volume of the inflowing air. However, when the volume of the liquid to enter increases and the volume of air flowing into the operation unit 120 increases, the force of pushing back inward by the wall surface gradually increases. If the force pushed back by the wall surface increases and balances with the force pushing from the inside to the outside, it becomes impossible for the liquid to enter further due to capillary action. As described above, the conventional capillary dropper 101 has the disadvantage that the amount of liquid that can be collected by one operation is small because the operation unit 120 is hermetically sealed.

Further, as in the case of using a normal dropper, the end of the tube part 110 is inserted into the liquid in a state where the operation part 120 of the capillary dropper 101 is pressed in advance and the air inside is slightly discharged, and thereafter Further, it is possible to increase the amount of liquid to enter by releasing the pressing of the operation unit 120.
However, in this method, it is necessary to insert the end portion into the liquid while pressing the tube portion 110, or to release the press with the end portion inserted into the liquid. There is a disadvantage that convection occurs in the liquid due to the rapid intrusion of the liquid into the body part 110.

  Further, when the liquid is aspirated rapidly into the tube part 110, air bubbles may be mixed in the liquid. In particular, when the liquid is blood or the like, bubbles are mixed in, so that a coagulation reaction occurs due to contact between the blood and air, which may cause a part of the tube part 110 to be blocked. Further, when the liquid is ejected, bubbles may be generated and droplets may be generated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a dropper capable of collecting a large amount of liquid at a time by capillary action as compared with a conventional capillary dropper.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for collecting a large amount of liquid at a time using this dropper.

  In order to solve the above problems, a dropper according to the present invention includes a pipe body portion having an open end at one end, and a tube portion that allows liquid to enter the pipe line from the open end side by capillary action. And an operating portion in which a hollow portion communicating with the conduit is formed, and an air hole communicating with the outside is formed in the conduit or the hollow portion.

As described above, the syringe according to the present invention can gently infiltrate the liquid into the duct by capillarity when the liquid is accommodated, so that liquid convection, bubble mixing, and the like are unlikely to occur. Further, since air holes communicating with the outside are formed in the pipe line or the hollow part, the air pushed out from the pipe line toward the operation part by the liquid entering the pipe line is discharged to the outside through the air hole. The For this reason, as in the case of a conventional capillary dropper in which the operation unit is airtight, the force that air is pushed back to the pipeline by the wall surface of the operation unit due to an increase in the amount of air flowing in from the pipeline does not act. A lot of liquid can enter the pipe.
Moreover, when discharging the liquid, the liquid stored in the pipe line can be discharged without remaining in the pipe line by pressing the operation portion in a state where the air hole is closed.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said operation part has comprised the flat shape.

Thus, since the operation part has a flat shape, the operation part is difficult to bend with respect to the force from the side part of the flat surface. For this reason, it becomes possible to hold | grip an operation part stably by hold | gripping the side part of a flat surface. Therefore, when the liquid is stored, the liquid can be stored in a stable state by gripping the side portion of the operation unit.
On the other hand, the operation unit can be easily pressed by a force perpendicular to the flat surface. For this reason, when pressing an operation part, it becomes possible to apply a pressure easily with respect to the air in an operation part by pressing a flat surface. Therefore, when the liquid is discharged, the stored liquid can be easily discharged by pressing the flat surface.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said air hole is formed in the top end part of the said operation part.
Or it is preferable that the said air hole is formed in the side surface of the said operation part.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the liquid sampling method of the present invention is a tube body in which a pipe line having one end opened is formed inside, and liquid can enter the pipe line from the open end side by capillary action. And an operation part having a hollow part communicating with the pipe line formed therein, and collecting liquid using a dropper having an air hole communicating with the outside in the pipe line or the hollow part A method of collecting liquid, wherein the open end of the tubular body portion is immersed in the liquid with the air holes open, and the liquid is infiltrated into the conduit by capillarity and stored. And a discharge step of discharging the liquid stored in the pipe line from the open end side by pressing the operation portion in a state where the air hole is closed.

  As described above, when the liquid collection method of the present invention accommodates the liquid, the open end of the tube body is immersed in the liquid with the air holes opened, so that a large amount of the liquid is collected in the pipe line by capillary action. The liquid can be infiltrated and accommodated. On the other hand, when the liquid is discharged, the liquid stored in the pipe line can be discharged without remaining in the pipe line by pressing the operating portion in a state where the air hole is closed.

  In this case, the operation portion has a flat shape, and in the housing step, liquid is infiltrated into the conduit while gripping a flat side portion of the operation portion. It is preferable to discharge the liquid stored in the pipe line by pressing the flat surface of the operation unit.

Thus, since the operation part has a flat shape, the operation part is difficult to bend with respect to the force from the side part of the flat surface. For this reason, it becomes possible to hold | grip an operation part stably by hold | gripping the side part of a flat surface. Therefore, when the liquid is stored, the liquid can be stored in a stable state by gripping the side portion of the operation unit.
On the other hand, the operation unit can be easily pressed by a force perpendicular to the flat surface. For this reason, when pressing an operation part, it becomes possible to apply a pressure easily with respect to the air in an operation part by pressing a flat surface. Therefore, when the liquid is discharged, the stored liquid can be easily discharged by pressing the flat surface.

Since the dropper of the present invention can gently infiltrate the liquid into the pipe line by capillarity when the liquid is accommodated, the liquid convection and bubbles are unlikely to occur. In addition, since air holes communicating with the outside are formed in the pipe line or the hollow portion, air pushed out from the pipe line by the liquid entering the pipe line due to capillary action is discharged to the outside through the air hole. For this reason, since the amount of air flowing in from the pipe increases, the force by which the air is pushed back to the pipe by the wall surface of the operation unit does not act, and a large amount of liquid can be accommodated in one operation. Become.
Furthermore, when the liquid is discharged, the liquid stored in the pipe line can be discharged without remaining in the pipe line by pressing the operating portion in a state where the air hole is closed. The liquid loss due to remaining in the pipeline can be reduced.
As described above, the dropper according to the present invention can accommodate a large amount of liquid and at the same time can reduce the loss of the liquid at the time of ejection, so that the liquid can be accommodated and ejected efficiently.

  Hereinafter, the dropper of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the materials, instruments, conditions, and the like described below do not limit the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the spirit of the present invention.

  1-4 is explanatory drawing explaining the dropper which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dropper which concerns on 1st embodiment, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the dropper of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state of blood collection using the dropper according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state of discharging the blood after blood collection.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the dropper 1 of the present embodiment includes a tubular tube body portion 10 and an operation portion 20 formed on one end side of the tube body portion 10.

  The dropper 1 of this embodiment is formed of a material such as plastic resin or rubber having flexibility. Such materials include polyethylene (PE) such as low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyester (PETP), polyurethane (PU), polycarbonate (PC), ethyl vinyl acetate. (EVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxyethylene copolymer (PFA), natural rubber (NR), silicone rubber (Si) and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tube part 10 is a tubular member in which a pipe line 13 is formed. An open end 15 of the conduit 13 is formed at the distal end of the tubular body portion 10. The inner diameter of the pipe 13 is a diameter that allows the liquid to enter and rise into the pipe 13 by capillary action when the open end 15 is immersed in the liquid, specifically about 0.1 to 3 mm. It has become. In this embodiment, the diameter of the pipe line 13 is 1 mm.
The length of the tubular body portion 10 is preferably a length sufficient to accommodate the liquid. In this embodiment, the length of the tube part 10 is 45 mm.

In addition, plasma treatment or chemical treatment is performed on the inner wall surface of the pipe line 13 to increase the contact angle with the liquid on the surface of the pipe line 13 by hydrophilizing the inner wall surface of the pipe line 13. The amount of liquid penetration may be increased. Moreover, clogging of the conduit 13 due to blood coagulation may be prevented by applying a blood coagulation inhibitor such as heparin.
Further, the tube part 10 may be transparent or opaque, but it should be transparent or translucent so that it can be visually confirmed whether or not an appropriate amount of blood has been accommodated in the conduit 13. Is preferred.

  At the other end portion different from the open end 15 side of the tube body portion 10, an operation portion 20 bulging to the outside is formed integrally with the tube body portion 10. The operation unit 20 is a bag-shaped member having a flat shape with an elliptical cross section, and is formed of a flexible material as described above. In the present embodiment, the long diameter of the elliptical shape of the operation unit 20 is about 25 mm, the short diameter is about 10 mm, and the thickness is 3 mm.

The operation unit 20 of the present embodiment is characterized in that it has a flat shape instead of a nipple shape like a conventional dropper. By setting it as such a flat shape, it becomes difficult to bend with respect to the force which goes to the center of the operation part 20 from the side part 29 of the flat surface 27. FIG. For this reason, when gripping the operation unit 20, the operation unit 20 is gripped from the side portions 29 on both sides of the flat surface 27, so that the operation unit 20 can be stably operated with almost no deflection with respect to the gripping force. The part 20 can be gripped.
On the other hand, since the operation unit 20 bends easily with respect to the force from the flat surface 27 side, when discharging the stored liquid, the operation portion 20 is pressed from the flat surface 27 side so that the air in the hollow portion 23 is piped. The liquid contained in the pipe line 13 can be discharged by being pushed out to the path 13.

  In addition, although the tube part 10 and the operation part 20 are integrally molded, the dropper 1 of this embodiment may be separable from the tube part 10 and the operation part 20. In this case, only the operation portion 20 is formed of the flexible material as described above, and the tube portion 10 is made of hard glass such as borosilicate glass, hard plastic such as styrene resin or acrylic resin, or metal such as stainless steel. Such a rigid material may be used.

  An air hole 25 is formed at the top end of the operation unit 20. The air hole 25 has a diameter that can be closed by pressing with a finger or the like, specifically, a diameter of about 1 to 10 mm. In this embodiment, the diameter of the air hole 25 is 3 mm.

  Next, a method for collecting blood using the dropper 1 of the present embodiment will be described. Specifically, a method for self-collecting blood discharged from the index finger using the dropper 1 and discharging the blood on a slide glass will be described.

First, using a known puncture needle or the like, the left hand index finger is punctured to cause blood B to bleed until it becomes droplets. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3, with the air hole 25 not closed and opened, the side portion 29 of the flat surface 27 of the operating portion 20 of the dropper 1 is grasped with the thumb and index finger of the right hand, and the tubular portion The tip of 10 open ends 15 is slowly immersed in blood B. At this time, if the central part of the tube body part 10 is bent slightly, the blood B easily enters the pipe line 13.
If the dropper 1 is not moved while the open end 15 is slightly immersed in the blood B, a part of the blood B naturally intrudes into the duct 13 and rises due to capillary action. Of the air in the duct 13, the air corresponding to the volume of the blood B that has entered enters the outside through the air holes 25.

After an appropriate amount of blood B is stored in the conduit 13, the stored blood B is discharged.
As shown in FIG. 4, when blood B is discharged, first, the position of the dropper 1 is directed in the vertical direction, and the flat side surface of the operation unit 20 is held by the belly of the thumb and the middle finger. Next, the air hole 25 is closed with the index finger of the right hand, and the operation unit 20 is pressed from both sides with the thumb and the middle finger.

  Since the air hole 25 is blocked, the air present in the hollow portion 23 of the operation unit 20 is pushed out to the open end 15 side through the pipe line 13 by pressing the operation unit 20. The blood B stored in the duct 13 is discharged from the open end 15 to the outside by the pushed air. The discharged blood B can be dropped on a slide glass and observed with a microscope or the like. Moreover, it is also possible to measure a blood glucose level etc. by dripping on sensor elements, such as a well-known glucose sensor.

Next, another embodiment of the dropper of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a dropper according to the second embodiment. As shown in this figure, the dropper 1 of this embodiment is different from the dropper 1 of the first embodiment in that an air hole 25 is formed on the flat surface 27 side of the bag-like operation unit 20. It is said.
In the dropper 1 of this embodiment, an air hole 25 is formed at the center of a bag-like flat surface 27. Further, although not shown in this figure, air holes 25 are similarly formed in the flat surface 27 on the opposite side.

When collecting the liquid using the dropper 1 of the present embodiment, the pipe line 13 is formed by capillary action with the open end 15 of the tubular body portion 10 slightly immersed in the liquid, as in the first embodiment. Allow liquid to enter inside.
When the liquid in the conduit 13 is discharged, the position of the dropper 1 is directed in the vertical direction, and the flat side surface of the operation unit 20 is held by the belly of the thumb and the index finger. Although two air holes 25 are formed in the operation unit 20, when the operation unit 20 is gripped, the operation unit 20 is blocked by the belly of the thumb and the index finger, respectively, and the hollow part 23 of the operation unit 20 is airtight. When the operation unit 20 is pressed with the thumb and forefinger in this state, the air in the hollow portion 23 of the operation unit 20 is pushed out to the open end 15 side through the pipe line 13, and the blood contained in the pipe line 13 by the pushed air. B is discharged from the open end 15 to the outside.

  As described above, according to the dropper 1 of the present embodiment, when the flat surface 27 of the operation unit 20 is gripped with the thumb and the index finger, the air hole 25 is naturally blocked by the belly of these fingers. It is not necessary to press the air hole 25 with a finger different from the finger that holds the operation unit 20 as in the embodiment, and the air hole 25 can be closed by a simple operation.

  The dropper 1 of the present invention can be manufactured using a known molding technique such as injection molding, balloon molding, blow molding or the like. In particular, when the dropper 1 having the shape of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is manufactured, a mold having a shape in which the tube portion 10 of one dropper 1 and the air holes 25 of the other dropper 1 adjacent to each other are sequentially connected. Is preferably used. By using such a mold, the molded product removed after molding is in a state where a plurality of syringes 1 are connected. By sequentially cutting the connecting portion of each dropper 1, the open end 15 and the air hole 25 of the tube portion 10 of the dropper 1 are formed simultaneously.

Specific examples of the liquid collected by the dropper 1 are not limited to blood as in the above-described embodiment. Other body fluids such as joint fluid, and other liquids such as a culture medium, a culture solution, a drug solution, a buffer solution, and physiological saline may be used.
Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, self-blood collection in which a collector who collects blood collects his / her blood has been described. However, the dropper 1 of the present invention can also be used when a medical worker collects blood from a patient. It is.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the air hole 25 is formed in the operation unit 20, but is formed in the tube body unit 10 so as to communicate with the pipe line 13 and the outside as long as the air in the pipe line 13 can be discharged. May be. In this case, the air hole 25 is formed at a position where it does not come into contact with the entering liquid due to capillary action.

It is a perspective view of a dropper concerning a first embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the dropper of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that blood is collected using the dropper which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the blood after blood collection is discharged. It is a perspective view of a dropper concerning a second embodiment. It is a perspective view of the conventional dropper.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dropper 10 Tube part 13 Pipe line 15 Open end 20 Operation part 23 Hollow part 25 Air hole 27 Flat surface 29 Side part 101 Capillary dropper 110 Tube part 120 Operation part B Blood (liquid)

Claims (6)

A pipe line with one end being an open end is formed inside, and a tube body part into which liquid can enter the pipe line from the open end side by capillary action,
A hollow portion communicating with the pipe line is formed inside, and
An air hole communicating with the outside is formed in the pipe line or the hollow part.   The dropper according to claim 1, wherein the operation portion has a flat shape.   The dropper according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air hole is formed at a top end portion of the operation portion.   The dropper according to claim 1, wherein the air hole is formed on a side surface of the operation unit. A pipe line whose one end is an open end is formed inside, and a pipe body part into which liquid can enter the pipe line from the open end side by capillary action and a hollow part communicating with the pipe line are formed inside. A liquid collecting method for collecting liquid using a dropper in which air holes communicating with the outside are formed in the pipe line or the hollow part,
A housing step of immersing the open end of the tubular body portion in a liquid in a state where the air hole is opened, and allowing the liquid to enter and store in the conduit by capillary action;
And a discharge step of discharging the liquid stored in the conduit from the open end side by pressing the operation portion in a state where the air hole is closed. The operation part has a flat shape,
In the storing step, liquid is infiltrated into the pipe line in a state where the side portion of the flat surface of the operation unit is gripped,
The liquid collecting method according to claim 5, wherein, in the discharging step, the liquid stored in the pipe line is discharged by pressing a flat surface of the operation unit.

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