JP2008134154A - Dispensing tube of automatic analysis apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic analysis apparatus provided with a dispensing tube which is easily cleaned or requires no cleaning by minimizing a sample adhering to the external surface of the dispensing tube. <P>SOLUTION: The automatic analysis apparatus is provided with a reaction container to which a specimen and a reagent are dispensed, an analysis means for inspecting the specimen on the basis of a mixed solution mixed in the reaction container, and the dispensing tube for dispensing them to the reaction container. The dispensing tube comprises a tube part on the rood side having a large outer diameter, a tube part on the tip side having a small outer diameter, and a stepped section part for connecting the tube parts having different diameters. Linear marks of surface finish machining are extended along the longitudinal direction of the tube parts at least in the external surface or the inner surface of the tube parts on the tip side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  Today, biochemical analysis assays are increasingly automated and do not involve human intervention between the various steps of pretreatment and measurement.

  One step in doing this is to dispense the test sample for quantification. Biochemical analysis, colorimetric measurement in general analysis, fluorescence measurement and chemiluminescence measurement can be performed completely automatically today, but still have a number of drawbacks.

  In an automatic analyzer, it is required to provide an apparatus and a pipe for performing measurement to obtain a highly accurate analysis result by maintaining the same measurement conditions for all samples to be measured.

  The above-mentioned demand is solved by an apparatus for identifying a label contained in a test sample by repeatedly sucking and discharging a sample in cooperation with a dispensing tube and a dispensing motor.

  The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer that performs various tests on a biological sample, and a dispenser that is suitable for use in a dispensing operation in the automatic analyzer.

  The development of science and technology has been remarkable in recent years, especially in the semiconductor and medical fields.

  Products in these fields tend to be highlighted in terms of software as a function, but it cannot be achieved without the structures that form these products, their manufacturing technology, and microfabrication technology.

  The components that make up these materials include many hard and brittle materials that are relatively difficult to process, such as various ceramics, glass, and silicon, in addition to metal materials, but there are many cases that cannot be handled by conventional micromachining technology due to cost. It was.

  Under such circumstances, attention to micromachining has increased, and micromachining technology has greatly improved, and has the potential to be considered impossible, contributing greatly to the industry.

  There are various micromachining techniques such as machining, electric discharge machining, ultrasonic machining, and chemical etching, which are appropriately selected and used depending on the machining shape, machining quality, machining accuracy, and cost.

  Component manufacturers are struggling to improve manufacturing technology and reduce costs, but the current situation is that they are worried about the balance between accuracy and cost.

  Microblasting belongs to the microfabrication technology as described above.

  Speaking of blasting, it has long been used for relatively rough finishing such as deburring, sand removal after casting, and surface roughening.

  Microblasting is a technique that introduces the concept of machining accuracy into blasting and enables quantitative micromachining.

  In recent years, it has been widely applied as one of microfabrication techniques such as the formation of back plate partition ribs for plasma display panels and the formation of microstructures on sensor substrates.

  The microblast processing described in the present invention is a micro processing using a fine particle material of several μm.

  In order to process the surface roughness of the workpiece uniformly, the workpiece is scanned at a constant pitch on the workpiece. Therefore, it is possible to specify the processing direction.

  The microblast processing as described above is a highly productive processing technology with processing accuracy of about 0.01 μm, and grinding, electron beam and etching processing regions with processing accuracy of about 0.01 μm and cutting and electric discharge processing of about 1 μm. It is positioned as a processing technique that supplements the area of ultrasonic processing.

  There are great demands and expectations for high accuracy and high productivity in the market for microblasting, and many factors have been studied recently.

  The microblast processing technology has already made many achievements, but still has problems.

  However, the needs and market potential are considered to be very high, and it is expected that the applications will be expanded in the future.

  The present invention relates to a pipe for microblasting.

  For example, in an automatic chemical analyzer, a specimen composed of human urine, blood, etc. is dispensed into a reaction container, and a predetermined reagent set for each test item is dispensed and mixed. The sample is analyzed by detecting the reaction state that occurs.

  A dispensing tube is used for dispensing samples such as specimens and reagents (hereinafter referred to as samples including specimens and reagents) into the reaction container. The dispensing tube is connected to a motor-driven syringe-type pump or the like, and is configured such that the sample is sucked and discharged by the operation of the pump.

  After such suction and discharge operations, a small amount of sample remains attached to the inner and outer surfaces of the dispensing tube.

  If the sample remaining in this pipe is carried over and mixed with another sample, the analysis result will be affected. Therefore, whenever the sample is changed after suction or discharge, the inner and outer surfaces of the pipe are changed. Is washed with a washing solution.

  In this way, what is carried over to another sample is one that is carried over when a dispensing tube is inserted into the sample cup that holds the sample when the sample is aspirated (other samples are mixed in the cup of another sample). This is called carry-over between specimens), and what is carried over into the reaction container when the sample is discharged (in the reaction container, the sample that is not used for the original experiment used in other reactions is mixed. This is referred to as inter-carry over.)

  On the other hand, in the field of such an automatic chemical analyzer, more sensitive measurement is performed, and further improvement in processing speed is desired.

  For this purpose, in order to perform the above-mentioned washing of the dispensing tube more efficiently and in a shorter time, and to prevent carry-over to another sample, the remaining amount of the sample used in the previous step attached to the dispensing tube is reduced. Therefore, there is a need for a dispensing tube with good cleanability that can be washed to a low level.

  A pipette having a small degree of analysis and a high degree of cleaning has also been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  The pipette described in Patent Document 1 dispenses a sample, a reagent, and the like into a reactor, and is formed in a spiral shape from the middle to the tip of the pipette. As a result, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid passing through the dispensing pipe is different between the inner side and the outer side, so that a turbulent state occurs and the cleaning performance is improved.

JP-A-62-262751

  In the above conventional methods, the cleaning performance is improved by focusing on the inner surface of the pipe.

  On the other hand, even on the outer surface of the dispensing tube, sample adhesion is observed during sample suction.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing tube that minimizes the sample adhering to the outer surface of the dispensing tube and has good cleaning properties or does not require cleaning.

  In the present invention, a pipe portion on the base side having a large outer diameter, a pipe portion on the tip side having a small outer diameter, and a multi-stage pipe portion having a step portion connecting pipe portions having different diameters are straight pipes. In the dispenser tube of the automatic analyzer extended in this manner, at least the outer surface or the inner surface of the tube portion on the distal end side has a surface finish streak extending in the longitudinal direction of the tube portion. .

  In addition, the present invention directly connects a multi-stage pipe section having a root-side pipe section having a large outer diameter, a distal-end pipe section having a small outer diameter, and a step section connecting pipe sections having different diameters. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer that extends like a tube, the tube portion on the distal end side has an outer diameter of 0.3 to 0.7 mm and an outer surface or inner surface roughness of 0.01 to 0. It is characterized by being defined as 1 μm.

  According to the present invention, since the contamination of the reagent / cleaning liquid is minimized, the measurement accuracy of the automatic analyzer is improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the dispensing tube 1.

  An outline of the structure of the dispensing pipe 1 is as follows.

  The dispensing tube 1 is used for dispensing a sample into a reaction vessel.

  When the sample is aspirated, the tip of the dispensing tube 1 is inserted to a position several mm below the liquid level in the container containing the sample and aspirated. The sample adheres within the range where the tip of the dispensing tube 1 is inserted into the liquid.

  The dispensing tube 1 can suppress the adhesion of the sample by making the surface roughness on the tip side inserted into the liquid fine or by making the surface finish processing streak vertical (longitudinal direction of the tube). The accuracy is improved.

  The configuration of the dispensing pipe 1 will be described.

  The material of the dispensing pipe 1 is stainless steel.

  The dispensing tube 1 includes a base-side pipe portion 100 having a large outer diameter, a tip-side pipe portion 200 having a small outer diameter, and a step portion 300 that connects pipe portions having different diameters. The dispensing pipe 1 has a shape in which a plurality of stages of pipe parts having step parts connecting pipe parts having different diameters extend like a straight pipe.

  The large diameter pipe portion 100 has an outer diameter of about 10 mm ± 1 mm. The small diameter pipe part 200 has an outer diameter of about 0.5 mm ± 0.05 mm. The length L1 of the small diameter pipe part 200 is 7 to 10 mm.

  The inclination angle θ1 of the inclined tip of the small diameter pipe part 200 is 45 ° ± 5 °. In addition, the small-diameter pipe portion 200 has a flat tip at an inclined tip. The cut width W1 is about 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm.

  The step portion 300 is inclined. The inclination angle θ2 of the stepped portion 300 is 26 ° ± 5 °.

  Since the tip of the small-diameter pipe part 200 is inclined, even if the tip of the pipe part 200 arrives at the bottom of the reaction vessel, the hole of the pipe part 200 is not blocked, and the dispensing is performed smoothly. Since the inclination angle θ1 is 45 ° ± 5 °, the hole is not blocked and is not too sharp.

  The tip of the inclined tip is cut flat so that the bottom of the reaction vessel is not damaged even if it hits.

  Since the stepped portion 300 is inclined, the flow of the cleaning liquid is good and the cleaning liquid is hardly left. Since the inclination angle θ2 is a gentle angle of 26 ° ± 5 °, the flow of the cleaning liquid is better performed, and the remaining of the cleaning liquid is hardly generated.

  The surface finishing process of the dispensing tube 1 relating to the suppression of sample adhesion will be described.

  First of all, the small-diameter pipe portion 200 of the dispensing pipe 1 defines the surface roughness of the surface finish in the range of 0.01 μm to 0.1 μm.

  As a result, the contact angle of the sample adhering to the dispensing tube 1 inserted in the longitudinal direction in the liquid of the sample or specimen is reduced, and the surface tension is also reduced accordingly. Therefore, the sample 3 becomes difficult to adhere to the wall surface (surface) of the dispensing tube 1.

  Moreover, even if it adheres, since the amount of adhesion decreases, the sample 3 tends to flow down in the cleaning process and is not carried over to the next sample. For this reason, since the contamination of the reagent / cleaning liquid is minimized, the measurement accuracy of the automatic analyzer is improved.

  In this embodiment, the pipe has a longitudinal average surface roughness in the range of 0.01 μm to 0.1 μm, but it is on the order of 0.01 μm when the sample is further reduced in volume. It is preferable.

  However, in terms of the amount of the current sample, about 0.1 μm is appropriate from the viewpoint of cost, processing time, and the like.

  Secondly, the outer surface of the small-diameter pipe part 200 of the dispensing pipe 1 is that the surface finishing streaks extend in the longitudinal direction of the pipe part.

  In general, when a cylindrical member is finished by machining (such as a lathe), the striations are processed in the circumferential direction. In that case, the contact angle of the sample adhering to the dispensing tube 1 moving in the longitudinal direction increases, and the surface tension increases accordingly. Therefore, the sample 3 attached to the wall surface does not flow down in the cleaning process and is carried over to the next sample.

  Therefore, by applying the above-described microblasting to the dispensing tube 1, the outer surface finish streak was made the longitudinal direction. Thereby, the contact angle of the sample adhering to the dispensing tube 1 taken in and out of the liquid in the longitudinal direction is reduced, and the surface tension is also reduced accordingly. Therefore, it becomes difficult to adhere to the wall surface.

  Moreover, even if it adheres, since the amount of adhesion decreases, the sample 3 tends to flow down in the cleaning process and is not carried over to the next sample.

  In addition, by providing the above-described surface finishing streak so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the tube portion on the inner surface of the small-diameter tube portion 200, it is difficult for liquid droplets of the sample to be attached.

  Further, in the dispensing tube of this example, it is preferable to define the average surface roughness ratio in the circumferential direction and the longitudinal direction, but it is difficult to accurately measure the average surface roughness in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the average surface roughness measurement value in the longitudinal direction is shown in FIG.

  However, there is no practical problem as long as the average surface roughness in the longitudinal direction when the outer surface finish streak is in the longitudinal direction is 0.01 μm to 0.1 μm.

  According to this embodiment, by appropriately setting the average surface roughness in the longitudinal direction and the ratio of the average surface roughness in the circumferential direction and the longitudinal direction, a dispensing tube with improved detergency can be obtained. .

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing dispensing volume reproducibility data.

  As described above, the dispensing accuracy generally has a tendency that the smaller the suction amount, the larger the amount of liquid remaining after cleaning, and the more effective the smaller the dispensing amount.

  For example, when a threshold value 4 (for example, CV1% expressed in a statistical manner) is set, CV value 5 when dispensing volume is 1 μl, CV value 6 when dispensing volume is 2 μl, CV when dispensing volume is 5 μl The threshold value 4 is satisfied even when the value is 7 and the CV value is 8 when the dispensing amount is 10 μl.

  The effect of the present embodiment is remarkable, and when applied, the dispensing accuracy is reduced to a fraction, particularly when the amount is very small, and the data satisfies the threshold value.

  According to the present embodiment, there are the following other effects.

  There are many processes for manufacturing, assembling, adjusting, and manufacturing parts of an automatic analyzer until performance evaluation is possible.

  In the meantime, the parts (dispensing pipes) require special care for cleaning (excluding oil) and storage (protection of oil and dust adhesion).

  And as the dispensing volume decreases, the dispensing tube is an important component that satisfies the above-mentioned accuracy, and eliminates external factors such as oil and dust adhering to the component (dispensing tube) in all processes. Becomes important.

  If it is limited to the operating pressure range of the automatic analyzer, the accuracy cannot be ensured when the sample is made minute unless all these external factors are eliminated. On the other hand, it is known that surface roughness and wettability influence as technical problems.

  If this surface finishing process is performed, the dispensing tube performs an effective degreasing operation on oil and dust in the final process of the process, so that no special attention is required for the cleaning and storage. At the same time, the total cost reduction from such time saving is a substantial effect produced by this embodiment.

  In addition, from the customer service side, the surface roughness of the outer surface of the relevant part (dispensing pipe) is reduced, so that the liquid adheres to the wall surface, and maintenance is improved over a long period of time. If you follow the operation, there is an effect that quality can be stabilized continuously.

  Strictly speaking, the remaining amount of the sample adhering to the wall surface is not zero, but there is no practical influence on the analytical performance as long as the threshold value is satisfied.

  According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1). Dispensing accuracy is improved. (2). The time until the operation of the automatic analyzer can be shortened. (3). Total cost can be reduced, maintainability is improved, and quality can be stabilized.

  A dispensing mechanism of the automatic analyzer shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the dispensing mechanism includes an arm 9 that rotates the dispensing tube 1, a tube holding material 10 that holds the dispensing tube 1, a tube motor rotating vertical shaft 11, a control motor 13, piping wiring 12, and the like. . In the dispensing pipe 1, the pipe part 100 on the base side is held by the pipe holding material 10.

  The dispensing tube 1 of the sample dispensing mechanism is moved to the sample aspirating position, and is further inserted into the sample container at this position by lowering the dispensing tube.

  A dispensing tube 1 for aspirating and discharging a sample is provided.

  A dispensing tube 1 for sucking and discharging a sample is supported via an arm with respect to a structure disposed coaxially with the Z-θ drive unit. The dispensing tube 1 can be moved in the height direction (Z-axis direction) and the rotation direction (θ direction) by driving the Z-θ drive unit.

  Furthermore, the automatic analyzer is equipped with a reaction disk, sample turntable, reagent turntable, sample dispensing unit (dispensing device), reagent dispensing unit (dispensing device), etc. It has been configured.

  A plurality of reaction vessels are annularly arranged on the reaction disk along a concentric circumference.

  On the sample turntable, a plurality of sample containers are annularly arranged along a concentric circle. On the reagent turntable, a plurality of reagent bottles are annularly arranged along a concentric circumference.

  Each sample container contains a sample to be analyzed, that is, blood, urine, fecal lysate, cultured cell solution, and the like.

  Each reagent bottle individually stores a plurality of types of reagents necessary for analysis items.

  Each of the reaction disk, the sample turntable, and the reagent turntable is rotated intermittently by a rotation mechanism and can be positioned at a predetermined position.

  In the reaction disk, a sample dispensing position, a reagent dispensing position, a stirring position, a measurement position, and a reaction container washing position are set, and the positions are stored and controlled by the apparatus controller.

  The same applies to the sample turntable and the reagent turntable. The dispensing mechanism includes an arm 9 and a tube holding member 10 that constitute the dispensing tube 1.

  This has the function of holding the dispensing tube simultaneously with the function of an electrostatic sensor or the like. These are constituted by a pipe motor rotating vertical shaft 10 and driven by a control motor 13. These are connected by piping wiring 12.

  The dispensing tube 1 of the sample dispensing mechanism is moved to the sample aspirating position, and is further inserted into the sample container at this position by lowering the dispensing tube.

  When the tip is lowered to a position several mm below the liquid level of the sample in the sample container, the operation of the dispensing tube is stopped, and then the syringe pump (not shown) is operated to suck the sample. When a predetermined amount of suction is completed, the dispensing tube is pulled up to a height that does not mechanically interfere with the sample container, and then moved to the sample dispensing position.

  After the movement is completed, the dispensing tube is lowered into the reaction container installed at the sample dispensing position, and a predetermined amount of sample is dispensed by the operation of the syringe pump.

  After the completion of the dispensing, the dispensing tube is pulled up to a position where it does not interfere with the reaction vessel and moved onto the specimen cleaning tank. When the position on the cleaning tank is reached, the cleaning liquid supply pump operates to send the cleaning liquid to the pipe.

  As a result, the remaining specimen in the dispensing tube is poured out and the tip of the dispensing tube is washed. Thus, the dispensing of the sample into one reaction container is completed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the cleaning efficiency of an automatic analyzer that performs various tests on a biological sample. Anyone with clinical knowledge can easily operate, so there is an effect that can be handled easily.

The figure which concerns on the Example of this invention, and shows a dispensing pipe and a roughness curve. FIG. 1A is a view of the dispensing tube as viewed from the tip. (B) of FIG. 1 is a view in which the dispensing tube is sectioned in the longitudinal direction. The figure of the dispensing amount reproducibility data concerning the Example of this invention. The figure which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows the dispensing mechanism of an automatic analyzer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Dispensing pipe, 2 ... Range of straight pipe part tip to reduced diameter part, 3 ... Sample adhering to wall surface, 4 ... Threshold value, 5 ... CV value when dispensing volume is 1 μl, 6: Dispensing volume of 2 μl CV value when 7 is dispensed volume 5 μl, 8 is CV value when dispensed volume is 10 μl, 9 is arm, 10 is pipe holding material, 11 is a pipe motor rotating vertical axis, 12 is wiring Pipes 13, control motor 100, pipe part on the base side having a large outer diameter 200, pipe part 2 on the tip side having a small outer diameter, 300 stepped part 300 that connects pipe parts having different diameters

Claims (10)

A multi-stage pipe section that has a stepped section connecting a pipe section with a large outer diameter, a pipe section on the distal end side with a small outer diameter, and a pipe section with a different diameter extends like a straight pipe. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer,
A dispensing tube for an automatic analyzer, characterized in that at least the outer surface or the inner surface of the tube portion on the distal end side has a surface finish streak extending in the longitudinal direction of the tube portion. A multi-stage pipe section that has a stepped section connecting a pipe section with a large outer diameter, a pipe section on the distal end side with a small outer diameter, and a pipe section with a different diameter extends like a straight pipe. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer,
In the automatic analyzer, the tube portion on the distal end side is defined to have an outer diameter of 0.3 to 0.7 mm and an average surface roughness of the outer surface or inner surface of 0.01 to 0.1 μm. Dispensing tube. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer according to claim 2,
The dispensing tube of an automatic analyzer, wherein the average surface roughness of the outer surface of the large-diameter tube portion is coarser than the average surface roughness of the small-diameter tube portion. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer according to claim 1 or 2,
The dispensing tube of an automatic analyzer, wherein the distal end side tube portion has an inclined distal end. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer according to claim 4,
The dispensing tube of an automatic analyzer, wherein the tip of the inclined tip is cut flat. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer according to claim 4,
The dispensing tube of an automatic analyzer, wherein the inclined angle of the inclined tip is 45 ° ± 5 °. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer according to claim 1 or 2,
The dispensing tube of an automatic analyzer, wherein the step portion is inclined. In the dispensing tube of the automatic analyzer according to claim 7,
A dispensing tube of an automatic analyzer, wherein the step portion has an inclination angle of 26 ° ± 5 °. In an automatic analyzer equipped with a reaction container into which a sample and a reagent are dispensed, an analysis means for inspecting the sample from a mixed solution mixed in the reaction container, and a dispensing tube for dispensing into the reaction container ,
The dispensing pipe has a stepped portion connecting a pipe section on the base side having a large outer diameter, a pipe section on the tip side having a small outer diameter, and pipe sections having different diameters,
An automatic analyzer characterized in that at least an outer surface or an inner surface of the tube portion on the distal end side has a surface finishing trace extending in the longitudinal direction of the tube portion. In an automatic analyzer equipped with a reaction container into which a sample and a reagent are dispensed, an analysis means for inspecting the sample from a mixed solution mixed in the reaction container, and a dispensing tube for dispensing into the reaction container ,
The dispensing pipe has a stepped portion connecting a pipe section on the base side having a large outer diameter, a pipe section on the tip side having a small outer diameter, and pipe sections having different diameters,
The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the tube portion on the distal end side has an outer diameter of 0.3 to 0.7 mm and an average surface roughness of an outer surface or an inner surface of 0.01 to 0.1 μm.

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