JP2015019590A - Nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a novel and small-sized nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus.SOLUTION: The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus includes (A) a rotating body having a mounting part mountable with a cartridge which comprises: a tube having a plug including an eluate; a nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel communicated with the tube; and a plunger for pressurizing out the eluate into the nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel, and (B) a pressurizing mechanism for pressurizing the plunge mounted on the mounting part of the rotating body to discharge the eluate, the pressurizing mechanism is disposed in such a way that the pressurizing direction forms an angle different from a vertical direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus.

  In Patent Documents 1 and 2, the reaction liquid is moved inside the biochip by rotating the biochip filled with the reaction liquid and oil having a specific gravity smaller than that of the reaction liquid phase-separated from the reaction liquid. An apparatus for applying a thermal cycle is disclosed. However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not consider the process until the reaction liquid is sealed (dispensed) inside the biochip.

JP 2009-136250 A JP 2012-115208 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a novel and small nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus.

The main invention for achieving the above object is:
(A) It has a mounting part which can mount a cartridge provided with a tube having a plug containing an eluate, a nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel communicating with the tube, and a plunger for pushing the eluate into the nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel. A rotating body,
(B) a pressing mechanism that presses the plunger of the cartridge mounted on the mounting portion of the rotating body and discharges the eluate;
With
The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus is characterized in that the pressing mechanism is arranged so that the pressing direction is at an angle different from the vertical direction.

  Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

1A and 1B are explanatory views of the cartridge 1. 2A to 2C are operation explanatory views of the cartridge 1. 3A to 3D are explanatory views of the tank 3. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the fixing claw 25, the guide plate 26 and the mounting portion 62. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of the periphery of the PCR container 30. FIG. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the internal configuration of the PCR device 50. FIG. 6B is a side view of the main configuration of the PCR device 50. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the PCR device 50. FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of the rotating body 61. FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of a state where the cartridge 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 62 of the rotating body 61. 9A to 9D are explanatory diagrams of the state of the PCR device 50 when the cartridge 1 is mounted. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of the behavior of the magnetic beads 7 when the magnet 71 is moved downward. 11A to 11C are explanatory diagrams of the nucleic acid elution process. FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of the behavior of the magnetic beads 7 when the magnet 71 is swung. FIG. 13 is a table showing whether or not the magnet 71 swings. 14A to 14C are explanatory diagrams of the droplet forming process. 15A and 15B are explanatory diagrams of the thermal cycle process. 16A and 16B are explanatory diagrams of the cartridge 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17A is an explanatory diagram of an initial state of the cartridge 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17B is a side view when the plunger 10 is pushed from the state of FIG. 17A and the seal 12A comes into contact with the lower syringe 22. FIG. 17C is an explanatory diagram of the cartridge 1 of the second embodiment after the plunger 10 is pushed. 18A and 18B are explanatory diagrams of the periphery of the PCR container 30 of the second embodiment. It is a side view of the main structures of the PCR apparatus 350 in 3rd Embodiment. It is a side view of the main structures of the PCR apparatus 450 in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the kit for nucleic acid extraction used in one Example, and the apparatus after the assembly. It is a graph which shows the result of real-time PCR in one Example.

  At least the following matters will become clear from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

(A) It has a mounting part which can mount a cartridge provided with a tube having a plug containing an eluate, a nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel communicating with the tube, and a plunger for pushing the eluate into the nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel. A rotating body,
(B) a pressing mechanism that presses the plunger of the cartridge mounted on the mounting portion of the rotating body and discharges the eluate;
With
The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus is characterized in that the pressing mechanism is arranged so that the pressing direction is at an angle different from the vertical direction.

  If the pressing mechanism is arranged so that the pressing direction is oriented in the vertical direction, the nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus is increased in the vertical direction, and there is a problem that the nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus is enlarged as a whole. By arranging the pressing mechanism so as to have an angle different from the vertical direction, the height of the nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus can be kept low, and a small nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus as a whole can be provided.

In this nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus, the pressing mechanism is arranged such that the pressing direction is an angle different from the vertical direction, and the pressing direction is an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. It is desirable.
By doing so, when the eluate is pushed out from the plug side to the nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel side, the eluate can be settled at the bottom in the nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel by gravity.

Further, when the nucleic acid amplification reaction container of the cartridge attached to the rotating body is moved to the lower part of the cartridge by the rotation of the rotating body, the position is opposed to the nucleic acid amplification reaction container below the nucleic acid amplification reaction container. It is desirable to provide a fluorescence measuring instrument.
As described above, even when the fluorescence measuring device is provided below the nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel and the height of the nucleic acid amplification reaction device has to be increased, the pressing direction becomes an angle different from the vertical direction. Thus, since the pressing mechanism is arranged, the nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus can be downsized as a whole.

And a magnet moving mechanism for moving the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier housed in the cartridge mounted on the mounting portion of the rotating body by a magnetic force, and a magnet moving mechanism for moving the magnet, wherein the pressing direction is changed. It is desirable that the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis and the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis including the moving direction of the magnet are parallel to each other.
By doing in this way, a nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus can be reduced in size.

The length in the pressing direction including the pressing mechanism and the cartridge when the cartridge is arranged at an angle at which the plunger is pressed by the pressing mechanism is such that the nucleic acid binding solid phase carrier is the magnet. It is desirable that the length in the moving direction of the magnet including the magnet moving mechanism and the cartridge when the cartridge is arranged at an angle moved by the moving mechanism is longer.
By doing in this way, when the length in the pressing direction including the pressing mechanism and the cartridge is longer than the length in the moving direction of the magnetic force including the magnet moving mechanism and the cartridge, the pressing direction is the vertical direction. Since the pressing mechanisms are arranged so as to have different angles, the height of the nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus can be reduced and the overall size can be reduced.

  The magnet moving mechanism is preferably arranged such that the moving direction of the magnet is a vertical direction. The pressing mechanism is preferably arranged so that the pressing direction forms an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. The pressing mechanism is preferably arranged so that the pressing direction is at an angle perpendicular to the vertical direction.

=== First Embodiment ===
First, after describing the cartridge attached to the PCR device 50 (nucleic acid amplification reaction device), the configuration and operation of the PCR device 50 of the present embodiment will be described.

<Cartridge 1>
1A and 1B are explanatory views of the cartridge 1. 2A to 2C are operation explanatory views of the cartridge 1. FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram of the initial state of the cartridge 1. FIG. 2B is a side view when the plunger 10 is pushed from the state of FIG. 2A and the seal 12A comes into contact with the lower syringe 22. FIG. 2C is an explanatory diagram of the cartridge 1 after the plunger 10 is pushed.

  The cartridge 1 is a container that performs a nucleic acid elution process for eluting nucleic acid from the magnetic beads 7 to which the nucleic acid is bound, and a container that performs a thermal cycle process for a polymerase reaction on the reaction solution 47 that becomes a PCR solution.

  The nucleic acid extraction process is performed in the tank 3 and purified while passing through the tube 20. Although the material of the tube 20 is not specifically limited, For example, it can be set as resin, metals, etc., such as glass and a plastic. In particular, when transparent glass or resin is selected as the material of the tube 20, the inside can be observed from the outside of the tube 20, which is more preferable. In addition, when a material that transmits magnetic force or a non-magnetic material is selected as the material of the tube 20, the magnetic particles are moved by applying a magnetic force from the outside of the tube 20 when passing the magnetic particles through the tube 20. Is preferable because it is facilitated. Moreover, since the heater (displacement heater 65A and high temperature side heater 65B described later) is disposed in the vicinity of the material of the tube, it is preferable that the tube has heat resistance of at least 100 ° C. or more. The material of the tube 20 may be the same as the material of the tank.

  The tube 20 includes a cleaning liquid plug 45, a reaction liquid plug 47, and an oil plug. Since the magnetic beads 7 to which the nucleic acid is bound are attracted to an external magnet, the magnetic beads 7 move in the tube 20 by moving the magnet outside along the tube 20, pass through the washing liquid plug 45, and then the reaction solution. The plug 47 is reached. The nucleic acid bound to the magnetic beads 7 is washed with the washing liquid plug 45 and eluted with the reaction liquid plug 47. Here, the “plug” means a liquid when a specific liquid occupies one section in the tube 20. For example, a liquid held in a columnar shape in the capillary 23 in FIGS. 2A to 2C is referred to as a “plug”. Oil is phase-separated from other solutions (not miscible with other solutions). Therefore, the plug made of oil has a function of preventing the water-soluble plugs on both sides from mixing with each other. . It is preferable that there are no bubbles or other liquids in or between the plugs, but bubbles or other liquids may exist as long as the magnetic beads 7 can pass through the plug.

  The type of oil is not particularly limited, and mineral oil, silicone oil (2CS silicone oil, etc.), vegetable oil, etc. can be used. However, by making the oil more viscous, the nucleic acid at the interface with the upper plug is used. When the binding solid phase carrier is moved, the “wiping effect” by the oil can be enhanced. As a result, when the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is moved from the upper plug to the plug made of oil, water-soluble components attached to the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier are made less likely to be brought into the oil. Can do.

  The thermal cycle process is performed in the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1. The PCR container 30 is filled with oil, and the reaction solution 47 is phase-separated from the oil. Therefore, when the reaction solution plug 47 is pushed out from the tube 20 into the PCR container 30, the PCR container 30 becomes droplets. Since the specific gravity is larger than that, the reaction liquid 47 in the form of droplets settles. When the high temperature region 36A and the low temperature region 36B are formed in the PCR container 30 by the external heater and the entire cartridge 1 is turned upside down together with the heater, the reaction liquid in the form of droplets is formed between the high temperature region 36A and the low temperature region 36B. 47 alternately move, and the reaction solution 47, which is a PCR solution, is subjected to a two-step temperature treatment.

Although the material of the PCR container 30 is not specifically limited, For example, resin, metals, such as glass and a plastic, can be used. Moreover, since the material of the PCR container 30 has the high temperature side heater 65B in the vicinity, it is preferable to have heat resistance of at least 100 ° C. or more. It is preferable to select a transparent or translucent material for the PCR container 30 because fluorescence measurement (luminance measurement) becomes easy. However, the entire region of the PCR container 30 does not need to be transparent or translucent, and at least a portion facing the fluorescence measuring instrument 55 (for example, the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30) may be transparent or translucent. The material of the PCR container 30 may be the same as that of the tank 3 and the plunger 10. The cartridge 1 includes the tank 3 and the cartridge body 9. In the kit constituting the cartridge 1, the adapter 5 is prepared in advance together with the tank 3 and the cartridge main body 9. The cartridge 1 is assembled by connecting the tank 3 and the cartridge main body 9 via the adapter 5. However, the tank 3 can be configured to be directly attached to the cartridge body 9.

  In the following description of the components of the cartridge 1, as shown in FIG. 2A, the direction along the long cartridge 1 is “longitudinal direction”, the tank 3 side is “upstream side”, and the PCR container 30 side is “ “Downstream”. The upstream side may be simply expressed as “upper” and the downstream side may be expressed as “lower”.

(1) Tank
3A to 3D are explanatory views of the tank 3.
A tank 3 prepared in advance in the kit contains a solution 41 and magnetic beads 7. A removable lid 3A is attached to the opening of the tank 3 (see FIG. 3A). As the solution 41, 5M guanidine thiocyanate, 2% Triton X-100, 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.2) is used. The operator removes the lid 3A, opens the opening of the tank 3 (see FIG. 3B), immerses the swab with the virus attached thereto in the lysis solution 41 in the tank 3, and collects the virus in the lysis solution 41 (see FIG. 3C). ). When the liquid in the tank 3 is agitated, the tank 3 may be shaken in the state of FIG. 3C. However, since the solution 41 easily overflows, the adapter 5 with a lid 5A as shown in FIG. 3D. It is preferable that the tank 3 is shaken after being attached to the opening of the tank 3. As a result, the substance in the tank 3 is agitated, the virus particles are dissolved by the solution 41, the nucleic acid is released, and the silica coated on the magnetic beads 7 adsorbs the nucleic acid. The magnetic beads 7 correspond to a nucleic acid binding solid phase carrier. Thereafter, the operator removes the cover 5A of the adapter 5 attached to the opening of the tank 3, and attaches the tank 3 to the cartridge body 9 via the adapter 5 (see FIG. 2A).

  The tank 3 is made of a flexible resin, and the tank 3 can expand. When the plunger 10 slides and changes from the state shown in FIG. 2A to the state shown in FIG. 2B, the tank 3 expands, so that the pressure of the liquid in the tube 20 is suppressed from rising too much. Extrusion to the downstream side is suppressed. It is desirable to form the deformed portion 3B in the tank 3 so that the tank 3 is easily expanded.

  The sample from which the nucleic acid is extracted / amplified is not limited to a virus but may be a cell. The origin of the cell is not particularly limited, and it may be a microorganism or a tissue piece or blood of a higher organism.

  The lysing solution 41 is not particularly limited as long as it contains a chaotropic substance, but it may contain a surfactant for the purpose of disrupting the cell membrane or denaturing proteins contained in the cells. The surfactant is not particularly limited as long as it is generally used for nucleic acid extraction from cells or the like. Specifically, a Triton surfactant such as Triton-X or a tween surfactant such as Tween 20 is used. And nonionic surfactants such as N-lauroyl sarcosine sodium (SDS), and particularly nonionic surfactants in the range of 0.1 to 2%. It is preferable to use it as follows. Furthermore, it is preferable that the solution contains a reducing agent such as 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol. The lysis solution may be a buffer solution, but is preferably neutral at pH 6-8. In consideration of these matters, specifically, it contains 3 to 7 M guanidine salt, 0 to 5% nonionic surfactant, 0 to 0.2 mM EDTA, 0 to 0.2 M reducing agent and the like. It is preferable to do.

  A chaotropic substance generates chaotropic ions (monovalent anions having a large ionic radius) in an aqueous solution and has an action of increasing the water solubility of hydrophobic molecules, contributing to adsorption of nucleic acids to a solid phase carrier. If it is a thing, it will not specifically limit. Specific examples include guanidine thiocyanate, guanidine hydrochloride, sodium iodide, potassium iodide, sodium perchlorate and the like. preferable. The concentration of these chaotropic substances used varies depending on each substance. For example, when guanidine thiocyanate is used, it is in the range of 3 to 5.5M, and when guanidine hydrochloride is used, it is used at 5M or more. Is preferred.

  Moreover, the instrument which collects a sample is not specifically limited, What is necessary is just to select according to a use, such as a spatula, a stick | rod, and a scraper, instead of a cotton swab.

  Although the internal volume of the tank 3 is not specifically limited, For example, it can be 0.1 mL or more and 100 mL or less. Although the material of the tank 3 is not specifically limited, For example, resin, metals, such as glass and a plastic, can be used. In particular, when transparent glass or resin is selected as the material of the tank, the inside can be observed from the outside of the tank 3, which is more preferable. The tank 3 and each tube 20 may be integrally formed or detachable. If a material having flexibility such as rubber, elastomer, polymer, etc. is used as the material of the tank 3, the inside of the tank 3 can be pressurized by deforming the tank 3 with the lid attached to the tank 3. it can. Thereby, the contents of the tube 20 can be pushed out from the inside of the tube from the inside to the outside.

(2) Cartridge body
The cartridge main body 9 includes a plunger 10, a tube 20, and a PCR container 30.

(2-1) Plunger
Hereinafter, the plunger 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C.
The plunger 10 is a movable pusher that pushes out liquid from the downstream side of the tube 20 that functions as a syringe. The plunger 10 has a function of pushing a predetermined amount of liquid in the tube 20 from the end of the tube 20 to the PCR container 30. The plunger 10 also has a function of attaching the tank 3 via the adapter 5.

  The plunger 10 has a cylindrical portion 11 and a rod-like portion 12. The cylindrical portion 11 is provided on the tank 3 side (upstream side), and the rod-like portion 12 is provided on the tube 20 side (downstream side). The rod-like portion 12 is supported by two plate-like ribs 13 from the inner wall on the downstream side of the tubular portion 11. The downstream side of the rod-shaped part 12 protrudes from the cylindrical part 11 to the downstream side.

  The cylindrical part 11 is opened upstream and downstream, and the inner wall of the cylindrical part 11 serves as a liquid passage. An adapter 5 is fitted into an opening on the upstream side (tank 3 side) of the cylindrical portion 11. The plunger 10 of the cartridge main body 9 prepared in advance in the kit may have a removable lid attached to the opening on the upstream side of the cylindrical portion 11. The opening on the downstream side of the cylindrical portion 11 is located inside the upper syringe 21 of the tube 20. The magnetic beads 7 introduced from the opening on the upstream side of the tubular part 11 pass through the inside of the tubular part 11, pass through the front and back of the rib 13, exit from the opening on the downstream side of the tubular part 11, and It will be introduced into the upper syringe 21.

  The downstream side of the cylindrical portion 11 is fitted to the inner wall of the upper syringe 21 of the tube 20. The cylindrical portion 11 can slide in the longitudinal direction with respect to the upper syringe 21 while inscribed in the upper syringe 21 of the tube 20.

  A mounting base 11A to which the adapter 5 is attached is formed around the opening on the upstream side of the cylindrical portion 11. The mounting base 11 </ b> A is also a part that is pushed when the plunger 10 is pushed. When the mounting base 11A is pushed, the plunger 10 slides with respect to the tube 20 and changes from the state of FIG. 2A to the state of FIG. 2C. When the plunger 10 moves downstream, the mounting base 11A contacts the upper edge of the tube 20 (see FIG. 2C). That is, the distance between the mounting base 11 </ b> A of the plunger 10 and the upper edge of the tube 20 becomes the slide length of the plunger 10.

  In the initial state, the rod-shaped portion 12 is located inside the upper syringe 21 of the tube 20 and is separated from the lower syringe 22 (see FIG. 2A). When the plunger 10 slides with respect to the tube 20, the rod-shaped portion 12 is inserted into the lower syringe 22 of the tube 20, and the rod-shaped portion 12 slides in the downstream direction with respect to the lower syringe 22 while being inscribed in the lower syringe 22 ( 2B and 2C).

  The shape of the cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped part 12 is circular. However, the cross-sectional shape of the rod-shaped portion 12 can be a circle, an ellipse, or a polygon as long as it can be fitted to the inner wall of the lower syringe 22 of the tube 20, and is not particularly limited.

  A seal 12 </ b> A is formed at the downstream end of the rod-shaped portion 12. When the seal 12 </ b> A is fitted to the lower syringe 22, the liquid in the downstream tube 20 is prevented from flowing back to the upper syringe 21. When the plunger 10 is pushed from the state shown in FIG. 2B to the state shown in FIG. 2C, the liquid in the tube 20 is pushed out from the downstream side by the amount corresponding to the volume of the seal 12A slid in the lower syringe 22 during that time. Become.

  Note that the volume in which the seal 12A slides in the lower syringe 22 (the amount by which the liquid in the tube 20 is pushed from the downstream side) is larger than the total of the reaction liquid plug 47 and the third oil plug 48 in the tube 20. Thereby, the liquid in the tube 20 can be pushed out so that the reaction solution 47 does not remain in the tube 20.

  The material of the plunger 10 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a resin such as glass or plastic, or a metal. Moreover, the cylindrical part 11 and the rod-shaped part 12 of the plunger 10 may be integrally formed with the same material, and may be formed with another material. Here, the plunger 10 is formed by separately molding the cylindrical portion 11 and the rod-shaped portion 12 with resin and joining the cylindrical portion 11 and the rod-shaped portion 12 via the ribs 13.

  An oil 42 and a first cleaning liquid 43 are stored in advance in the plunger 10. Since the oil 42 in the plunger 10 has a specific gravity smaller than that of the first cleaning liquid 43, when the tank 3 is attached to the cartridge body 9, when the cartridge body 9 is stood with the mounting base 11A of the plunger 10 up, FIG. As shown, the oil 42 is disposed between the liquid in the tank 3 and the first cleaning liquid 43 of the cartridge body 9. As the oil 42, 2CS silicone oil is used, and as the first cleaning liquid 43, 8M guanidine hydrochloride and 0.7% Triton X-100 are used.

  The first cleaning liquid 43 may be any liquid that phase-separates when mixed with both the oil 42 and the oil 44. The first cleaning solution 43 may be water or a low salt concentration aqueous solution, and may be a buffer solution in the case of a low salt concentration aqueous solution. The salt concentration of the low salt concentration aqueous solution is preferably 100 mM or less, more preferably 50 mM or less, and most preferably 10 mM or less. The lower limit of the low salt concentration aqueous solution is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.1 mM or more, more preferably 0.5 mM or more, and most preferably 1 mM or more. Moreover, this solution may contain surfactants, such as Triton, Tween, and SDS, and pH is not specifically limited. The salt for making the buffer solution is not particularly limited, but salts such as Tris, Hepes, Pipes, and phosphoric acid are preferably used. Further, this washing solution preferably contains alcohol in an amount that does not inhibit adsorption of nucleic acid to a carrier, reverse transcription reaction, PCR reaction and the like. In this case, the alcohol concentration is not particularly limited, but may be 70% or less, 60% or less, 50% or less, 40% or less, 30% Or may be 20% or less, or 10% or less, but is preferably 5% or less or 2% or less, preferably 1% or less or 0.5% or less. More preferably, it is most preferably 0.2% or less or 0.1% or less.

  The first cleaning liquid 43 preferably contains a chaotropic agent. For example, when guanidine hydrochloride is contained in the first washing liquid 43, the particles and the like can be washed while maintaining or enhancing the adsorption of the nucleic acid adsorbed to the particles and the like. The concentration in the case of containing guanidine hydrochloride is, for example, 3 mol / L or more and 10 mol / L or less, preferably 5 mol / L or more and 8 mol / L or less. If the concentration of guanidine hydrochloride is within this range, other impurities can be washed while more stably adsorbing the nucleic acid adsorbed on the particles and the like.

(2-2) Tube
Hereinafter, the tube 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C.
The tube 20 has a cylindrical shape that allows a liquid to flow in the longitudinal direction. The tube 20 has an upper syringe 21, a lower syringe 22, and a capillary 23, and the inner diameters of the respective parts differ stepwise.

  The upper syringe 21 has a cylindrical shape that can circulate liquid in the longitudinal direction. The cylindrical portion 11 of the plunger 10 is slidably inscribed on the inner wall of the upper syringe 21, and the upper syringe 21 functions as a syringe for the cylindrical portion 11 of the plunger 10.

  The lower syringe 22 has a cylindrical shape that allows the liquid to flow in the longitudinal direction. The inner wall of the lower syringe 22 can be slidably fitted with the seal 12A of the rod-shaped portion 12 of the plunger 10, and the lower syringe 22 functions as a syringe for the rod-shaped portion 12 of the plunger 10.

  The capillary 23 has a thin tubular shape that allows a liquid to flow in the longitudinal direction. The inner diameter of the capillary 23 is such that the liquid can maintain the shape of the plug, and is 1.0 mm here. At the end of the capillary 23 (the end on the downstream side of the tube 20), the inner diameter of the end of the capillary 23 is set smaller than the diameter (1.5 to 2.0 mm) of a droplet-like reaction liquid described later, 0.5 mm. As a result, when the reaction solution plug 47 is pushed out from the end of the capillary 23, it is possible to avoid the droplet-like reaction solution from adhering to the end of the capillary 23 or entering back into the capillary 23.

  The capillary 23 only needs to have a cylindrical shape that has a hollow inside and can circulate liquid in the longitudinal direction, and may be bent in the longitudinal direction, but is linear. Is preferred. The cavity inside the tube is not particularly limited in size and shape as long as the liquid can maintain the shape of the plug in the tube. The size of the cavity in the tube and the shape of the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction may vary along the longitudinal direction of the tube.

  The shape of the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the outer shape of the tube is not limited. Furthermore, the thickness of the tube (the dimension from the side surface of the internal cavity to the external surface) is not particularly limited. When the tube is cylindrical, the inner diameter (the diameter of a circle in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the internal cavity) can be, for example, 0.5 mm or more and 2 mm or less. When the inner diameter of the tube is in this range, it is easy to form a liquid plug in a wide range of tube materials and liquid types. The tip is preferably tapered more and can be 0.2 mm or more and 1 mm or less. Further, by reducing the inner diameter of the end of the capillary 23 (opening diameter of the capillary 23), it is possible to prevent the reaction liquid 47 formed in droplets in the PCR container 30 from adsorbing to the opening of the capillary 23 and not being separated. However, if the inner diameter of the end of the capillary 23 is made too small, a large number of small droplets of the reaction solution 47 are formed. If the diameter of the capillary 23 is reduced to the portion other than the end, similarly to the end, the cartridge 1 becomes longer due to the necessity of securing the volume of each plug, which is not desirable.

  The capillary 23 includes a first oil plug 44, a cleaning liquid plug 45, a second oil plug 46, a reaction liquid plug 47, and a third oil plug 48 in that order from the upstream side. That is, oil plugs are arranged on both sides of a water-soluble plug (cleaning liquid plug 45 or reaction liquid plug 47).

  In addition, the oil 42 and the 1st washing | cleaning liquid 43 are previously accommodated in the upper syringe 21 and the lower syringe 22 upstream from the 1st oil plug 44 (refer FIG. 2A). The inner diameters of the upper syringe 21 and the lower syringe 22 are larger than the inner diameter of the capillary 23, and the upper syringe 21 and the lower syringe 22 cannot maintain the liquid (oil 42 and cleaning liquid 43) in a columnar shape like a plug, but the first oil plug 44 Is held in the shape of a plug by the capillary 23, the oil constituting the first oil plug 44 is restrained from moving upstream.

  The washing liquid plug 45 is preferably made of 5 mM Tris-HCl buffer. The first cleaning liquid 43 described above may have the same configuration and may be different from the first cleaning liquid 43, but a solution that does not substantially contain a chaotropic substance is preferable. This is because the chaotropic substance is not brought into the later solution. As described above, this washing solution also preferably contains alcohol in an amount that does not inhibit adsorption of nucleic acid to a carrier, reverse transcription reaction, PCR reaction, and the like. In this case, the alcohol concentration is not particularly limited, but may be 70% or less, 60% or less, 50% or less, 40% or less, 30% Or may be 20% or less, or 10% or less, but is preferably 5% or less or 2% or less, preferably 1% or less or 0.5% or less. More preferably, it is most preferably 0.2% or less or 0.1% or less.

  The cleaning liquid plug 45 may be composed of a plurality of plugs separated by an oil plug. When the cleaning liquid plug 45 includes a plurality of plugs, the liquid in each plug may be the same or different. If there is at least one plug of cleaning liquid therein, the liquid of other plugs is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that all plugs are cleaning liquid. The number of the cleaning liquid plugs 45 divided can be appropriately set in consideration of, for example, the length of the tube 20 and the object to be cleaned.

The reaction liquid plug 47 is made of, for example, the following reaction liquid.
0.2u / μL AMV reverse transcriptase (Nippon Gene)
0.125u / μL Gene Taq NT PCR enzyme (Nippon Gene)
0.5 mM dNTP
1.0μM primer (forward)
1.0μM primer (reverse)
0.5μM probe (Taq man)
4.0 mg / mL BSA
x1 buffer (MgCl ₂ 7 mM; Tris pH 9.0 25 mM; KCl 50 mM)
The reaction solution 47 refers to a liquid in which the nucleic acid adsorbed on the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is eluted from the carrier into the solution and subjected to reverse transcription reaction and polymerase reaction. Therefore, the reaction solution 47 after elution of the nucleic acid is prepared in advance so that it becomes a buffer solution used for the reverse transcription reaction and the polymerase reaction as it is. The reaction solution 47 contains an eluate for eluting nucleic acids.

  The reaction solution 47 includes a reverse transcriptase, dNTP, and a reverse transcriptase primer (oligonucleotide) for a reverse transcription reaction, and further a DNA polymerase and a DNA polymerase primer (oligonucleotide) for a polymerase reaction. And a real-time PCR probe such as TaqMan probe, Molecular Beacon, and cycling probe, or an intercalator fluorescent dye such as SYBR Green. Furthermore, it is preferable to contain BSA (bovine serum albumin) or gelatin as a reaction inhibition inhibitor. The solvent is preferably water, and more preferably an organic solvent such as ethanol or isopropyl alcohol and a substance that does not substantially contain a chaotropic substance. Moreover, it is preferable to contain a salt so that it may become a buffer for reverse transcriptase and / or a buffer for DNA polymerase. The salt for making the buffer solution is not particularly limited as long as it does not inhibit the enzyme reaction, but salts such as Tris, Hepes, Pipes, and phosphoric acid are preferably used. The reverse transcriptase is not particularly limited. For example, Avian Myeloblast Virus, Ras Associated Virus type 2 (Ras Associated Virus type 2), Mouse Moloney Murine Leukemia virus (Mouse Molly Murine Lekemia virus, Mouse Molly Murine Lekemia virus) Although a reverse transcriptase derived from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (Human Immunodefective Virus type 1) can be used, a thermostable enzyme is preferred. The DNA polymerase is not particularly limited, but a heat-resistant enzyme or a PCR enzyme is preferable. For example, there are a large number of commercially available products such as Taq polymerase, Tfi polymerase, Tth polymerase, or improved versions thereof. A DNA polymerase that can be used is preferred.

  The primer for DNA polymerase can easily determine an appropriate sequence for the DNA to be detected. Usually, in order to amplify one kind of DNA, a primer pair of a 5'-side primer and a 3'-side primer may be included. In addition, in order to amplify a plurality of types of DNA, a multiplex PCR can be supported by including a plurality of types of primer pairs labeled with different fluorescent dyes. In that case, a plurality of TaqMan probes may be appropriately used.

The concentration of dNTP or salt contained in the reaction solution may be a concentration suitable for the enzyme to be used. Usually, dNTP is 10 to 1000 μM, preferably 100 to 500 μM, Mg2 + is 1 to 100 mM, preferably 5 to 10 mM, Cl − may be 1 to 2000 mM, preferably 200 to 700 mM, and the total ion concentration is not particularly limited, but may be a concentration higher than 50 mM, preferably a concentration higher than 100 mM, and a concentration higher than 120 mM. More preferably, a concentration higher than 150 mM is more preferable, and a concentration higher than 200 mM is further preferable. The upper limit is preferably 500 mM or less, more preferably 300 mM or less, and even more preferably 200 mM or less. The primer oligonucleotide is 0.1 to 10 μM, preferably 0.1 to 1 μM. If the concentration of BSA or gelatin is 1 mg / mL or less, the reaction inhibition preventing effect is small, and if it is 10 mg / mL or more, the reverse transcription reaction or the subsequent enzyme reaction may be inhibited. preferable. When gelatin is used, its origin can be exemplified by cow skin, pig skin, and cow bone, but is not particularly limited. If gelatin is difficult to dissolve, it may be dissolved by heating.
The volume of the reaction solution plug 47 is not particularly limited, and can be set as appropriate using the amount of particles or the like adsorbed with nucleic acid as an index. For example, when the volume of particles or the like is 0.5 μL, it is sufficient that the volume of the reaction solution plug 47 is 0.5 μL or more, preferably 0.8 μL or more and 5 μL or less, and preferably 1 μL or more. More preferably, it is 3 μL or less. If the volume of the reaction solution plug 47 is within these ranges, for example, even if the volume of the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is 0.5 μL, the nucleic acid can be sufficiently eluted from the carrier.

  A downstream portion of the capillary 23 is inserted into the PCR container 30. Thereby, the reaction solution 47 can be introduced into the PCR container 30 by pushing out the reaction solution plug 47 in the tube 20 from the tube 20.

  When the annular convex portion on the outer wall of the capillary 23 comes into contact with the inner wall of the PCR container 30, an upper seal portion is formed. Further, when the outer wall of the capillary 23 on the downstream side of the upper seal part comes into contact with the inner wall of the PCR container 30, a lower seal part is formed. The upper seal part and the lower seal part will be described later.

  The tube 20 further includes a fixed claw 25 and a guide plate 26. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the fixing claw 25, the guide plate 26 and the mounting portion 62.

  The fixing claw 25 is a member that fixes the cartridge 1 to the mounting portion 62. When the cartridge 1 is inserted into the mounting portion 62 until the fixing claw 25 is caught, the cartridge 1 is fixed at a normal position with respect to the mounting portion 62. In other words, when the cartridge 1 is in an abnormal position with respect to the mounting portion 62, the fixing claw 25 is not caught by the mounting portion 62.

  The guide plate 26 is a member that guides the cartridge 1 when the cartridge 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 62 of the PCR device 50. A guide rail 63A is formed in the mounting portion 62 of the PCR device 50, and the cartridge 1 is inserted into the mounting portion 62 and fixed while the guide plate 26 of the tube 20 is guided along the guide rail 63A. Although the cartridge 1 has a long shape, the cartridge 1 is inserted into the mounting portion 62 while being guided by the guide plate 26, so that it is easy to fix the cartridge 1 in a normal position with respect to the mounting portion 62. .

  The fixing claw 25 and the guide plate 26 are plate-like members protruding from the left and right sides of the capillary 23. When the magnetic beads 7 in the tube 20 are moved by a magnet, the magnet is brought close to the plate-shaped fixed claw 25 and the guide plate 26 from the perpendicular direction. Thereby, the distance of the magnet and the magnetic bead 7 in the tube 20 can be made close. However, as long as the distance between the magnet and the magnetic bead 7 in the tube 20 can be close, the fixed claw 25 and the guide plate 26 may have other shapes.

(2-3) PCR Container FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of the periphery of the PCR container 30. FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram of an initial state. FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram of a state after the plunger 10 is pushed. Hereinafter, the PCR container 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C.

  The PCR container 30 is a container that receives the liquid pushed out from the tube 20 and that contains the reaction liquid 47 during the thermal cycle process. The PCR container corresponds to a nucleic acid amplification reaction container.

  The PCR container 30 has a seal formation part 31 and a flow path formation part 35. The seal forming part 31 is a part into which the tube 20 is inserted, and is a part that suppresses the oil overflowing from the flow path forming part 35 from leaking to the outside. The flow path forming part 35 is a part on the downstream side of the seal forming part 31 and is a part that forms a flow path in which the liquid reaction liquid 47 moves. The PCR container 30 is fixed to the tube 20 at two locations of the upper seal portion 34A and the lower seal portion 34B of the seal forming portion 31.

  The seal forming part 31 has an oil receiving part 32 and a step part 33.

  The oil receiving portion 32 is a cylindrical portion and functions as a reservoir that receives oil overflowing from the flow path forming portion 35. There is a gap between the inner wall of the oil receiving portion 32 and the outer wall of the capillary 23 of the tube 20, and this gap becomes an oil receiving space 32 </ b> A that receives oil overflowing from the flow path forming portion 35. The volume of the oil receiving space 32 </ b> A is larger than the volume in which the seal 12 </ b> A of the plunger 10 slides with the lower syringe 22 of the tube 20.

  When the inner wall on the upstream side of the oil receiving portion 32 comes into contact with the annular convex portion of the tube 20, the upper seal portion 34A is formed. The upper seal portion 34A is a seal that suppresses leakage of oil in the oil receiving space 32A to the outside while allowing passage of air. The upper seal portion 34A has a vent hole so that the oil does not leak due to the surface tension of the oil. The vent of the upper seal portion 34A may be a gap between the convex portion of the tube 20 and the inner wall of the oil receiving portion 32, or may be a hole, a groove, or a notch formed in the convex portion of the tube 20. Further, the upper seal portion 34A may be formed of an oil absorbing material that absorbs oil.

  The step portion 33 is a stepped portion provided on the downstream side of the oil receiving portion 32. The inner diameter of the downstream portion of the step portion 33 is smaller than the inner diameter of the oil receiving portion 32. The inner wall of the stepped portion 33 is in contact with the outer wall on the downstream side of the capillary 23 of the tube 20. When the inner wall of the stepped portion 33 and the outer wall of the tube 20 are in contact, the lower seal portion 34B is formed. The lower seal portion 34B is a seal that resists the flow while allowing the oil in the flow path forming portion 35 to flow into the oil receiving space 32A. Due to the pressure loss at the lower seal part 34B, the pressure in the flow path forming part 35 becomes higher than the external atmospheric pressure. Therefore, even if the liquid in the flow path forming part 35 is heated during the thermal cycle process, the liquid in the flow path forming part 35 Air bubbles are less likely to be generated.

  The flow path forming unit 35 is a tubular part and serves as a container for forming a flow path through which the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 moves. The flow path forming portion 35 is filled with oil. The upstream side of the flow path forming part 35 is closed by the end of the tube 20, and the end of the tube 20 opens toward the flow path forming part 35. The inner diameter of the flow path forming portion 35 is larger than the inner diameter of the capillary 23 of the tube 20 and larger than the outer diameter when the liquid having the capacity of the reaction solution plug 47 becomes spherical. It is desirable that the inner wall of the flow path forming part 35 has water repellency to such an extent that the water-soluble reaction liquid 47 does not adhere.

  The upstream side of the flow path forming unit 35 is heated to a relatively high temperature (for example, about 95 ° C.) by the external high temperature side heater 65B to form a high temperature region 36A. The downstream side of the flow path forming unit 35 is heated to a relatively low temperature (for example, about 60 ° C.) by the external low temperature side heater 65C to form a low temperature region 36B. The bottom 35A (downstream end) of the PCR container 30 is included in the low temperature region 36B. Thereby, a temperature gradient is formed in the liquid in the flow path forming unit 35.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, in the initial state, the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30 is filled with oil. The oil interface is located relatively downstream of the oil receiving space 32A. The volume upstream of the oil interface in the oil receiving space 32 </ b> A is larger than the volume in which the seal 12 </ b> A of the plunger 10 slides with the lower syringe 22 of the tube 20.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, when the plunger 10 is pushed, the liquid in the tube 20 is pushed out to the flow path forming part 35. The flow path forming portion 35 is filled with oil in advance, and the liquid in the tube 20 is pushed into the flow path forming portion 35, so that no gas flows into the flow path forming portion 35.

  When the plunger 10 is pushed, first, the third oil plug 48 of the tube 20 flows into the flow path forming portion 35, and the inflowed oil flows into the oil receiving space 32A from the flow path forming portion 35, and the oil receiving space 32A. The oil interface rises. At this time, the pressure of the liquid in the flow path forming portion 35 increases due to the pressure loss of the lower seal portion 34B. After the third oil plug 48 is pushed out from the tube 20, the reaction solution plug 47 flows from the tube 20 into the flow path forming part 35. Since the inner diameter of the flow path forming part 35 is larger than the inner diameter of the capillary 23, the reaction liquid 47 that is plug-shaped (columnar) in the tube 20 becomes droplets in the oil of the flow path forming part 35. Note that the volume upstream of the oil interface in the initial state in the oil receiving space 32A is larger than the volume in which the seal 12A of the plunger 10 slides with the lower syringe 22 of the tube 20; Will not overflow.

<PCR device 50>
FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the internal configuration of the PCR device 50. FIG. 6B is a side view of the main configuration of the PCR device 50. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the PCR device 50. The PCR device 50 performs nucleic acid elution processing and thermal cycle processing using the cartridge 1.

  In the following description of the PCR apparatus 50, as shown in the figure, vertical, front / rear, and left / right are defined. That is, the vertical direction when the base 51 of the PCR device 50 is installed horizontally is defined as “up and down direction”, and “up” and “down” are defined according to the direction of gravity. Further, the axial direction of the rotation axis of the cartridge 1 is defined as “left / right direction”, and the vertical direction and the direction perpendicular to the left / right direction are defined as “front / rear direction”. When viewed from the rotation axis of the cartridge 1, the side of the cartridge insertion port 53 </ b> A is “rear”, and the opposite side is “front”. When viewed from the front side, the right side in the horizontal direction is “right”, and the left side is “left”.

  The PCR device 50 includes a rotation mechanism 60, a magnet moving mechanism 70, a pressing mechanism 80, a fluorescence measuring instrument 55, and a controller 90.

(1) Rotating mechanism 60
The rotation mechanism 60 is a mechanism that rotates the cartridge 1 and the heater. When the rotation mechanism 60 inverts the cartridge 1 and the heater upside down, the reaction liquid 47 in the form of droplets moves in the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30 and a thermal cycle process is performed.

  The rotating mechanism 60 includes a rotating body 61 and a rotating motor 66. FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram of the rotating body 61. FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of a state where the cartridge 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 62 of the rotating body 61.

  The rotating body 61 is a member that can rotate around a rotation axis. The rotating shaft of the rotating body 61 is supported by a support base 52 fixed to the base 51. The rotating body 61 is provided with a mounting portion 62 for mounting the cartridge 1 and heaters (elution heater 65A, high temperature side heater 65B and low temperature side heater 65C). When the rotating body 61 rotates, the cartridge 1 can be turned upside down while maintaining the positional relationship between the cartridge 1 and the heater. The rotation motor 66 is a power source that rotates the rotating body 61. The rotation motor 66 rotates the rotating body 61 to a predetermined position in accordance with an instruction from the controller 90. A transmission mechanism such as a gear may be interposed between the rotating motor 66 and the rotating body 61.

  Note that the rotation axis of the rotating body 61 is located closer to the tube 20 than the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1. In other words, the height of the rotating shaft of the rotating body 61 is positioned at the height of the tube 20 of the cartridge 1 mounted on the mounting portion 62. Since the tube 20 is longer than the PCR container 30, assuming that the center of the PCR container 30 is the rotation axis (if the rotation axis of the rotation body 61 is positioned at the height of the PCR container), the rotation body 61. This is because the size increases.

  The mounting portion 62 is a portion where the cartridge 1 is mounted. The mounting part 62 has a fixing part 63 in which a notch is formed. Further, the insertion hole 64A formed in the heater (the elution heater 65A, the high temperature side heater 65B, and the low temperature side heater 65C) also functions as the mounting portion 62. When the PCR container 30 is inserted into the insertion hole 64A and the fixing claw 25 of the cartridge 1 is caught by the notch of the fixing portion 63, the cartridge 1 is mounted on the rotating body 61 (see FIG. 4). Here, a part of the heater also serves as the mounting portion 62, but the mounting portion 62 and the heater may be separate. The mounting portion 62 is indirectly fixed to the rotating body 61 via the elution heater 65 </ b> A, but may be directly provided on the rotating body 61. Further, the number of cartridges 1 that can be mounted on the mounting unit 62 is not limited to one, and may be plural.

  The fixing portion 63 of the mounting portion 62 functions as a tube fixing portion that fixes the tube 20 of the cartridge 1, and the insertion hole 64 </ b> A functions as a PCR container fixing portion that fixes the PCR container 30. Thereby, the long cartridge 1 composed of the tube 20 and the PCR container 30 is stably fixed to the mounting portion 62.

  A guide rail 63A is formed in the fixed portion 63 along the vertical direction (see FIG. 4). The guide rail 63A guides the guide plate 26 of the cartridge 1 in the insertion direction while restraining the guide plate 26 in the front-rear direction. Since the guide plate 26 is guided by the guide rail 63A and the cartridge 1 is inserted into the mounting portion 62, the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1 is guided to the insertion hole 64A, and the cartridge 1 is in a normal position with respect to the mounting portion 62. Fixed.

  The PCR device 50 includes an elution heater 65A, and a high temperature side heater 65B and a low temperature side heater 65C as PCR heaters. Each heater includes a heat source (not shown) and a heat block. The heat source is, for example, a cartridge heater, and is inserted into the heat block. The heat block is a metal such as aluminum having high thermal conductivity, for example, and heats the liquid in the cartridge 1 with heat from a heat source while suppressing heat unevenness. The heat block is preferably a non-magnetic material so that the magnet 71 that moves the magnetic beads 7 is not attracted.

  The elution heater 65 </ b> A is a heater that heats the reaction solution plug 47 of the cartridge 1. The elution heater 65A faces the reaction solution plug 47 of the tube 20 when the cartridge 1 is fixed at a normal position. For example, the elution heater 65A heats the reaction solution plug 47 to about 50 ° C., thereby promoting the release of nucleic acids from the magnetic beads.

  The high temperature side heater 65 </ b> B is a heater that heats the upstream side of the flow path forming unit 35 of the PCR container 30. The high temperature side heater 65B faces the upstream side (high temperature region 36A) of the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30 when the cartridge 1 is fixed at a normal position. For example, the high temperature side heater 65 </ b> B heats the liquid on the upstream side of the flow path forming unit 35 of the PCR container 30 to about 90 to 100 ° C.

  The low temperature side heater 65 </ b> C is a heater that heats the bottom 35 </ b> A of the flow path forming unit 35 of the PCR container 30. The low temperature side heater 65C faces the downstream side (low temperature region 36B) of the flow path forming portion 35 of the PCR container 30 when the cartridge 1 is fixed at a normal position. For example, the low temperature side heater 65 </ b> C heats the liquid in the low temperature region 36 </ b> B of the PCR container 30 to about 50 to 75 ° C.

  A spacer 65D is disposed between the high temperature side heater 65B and the low temperature side heater 65C. The spacer 65D suppresses heat conduction between the high temperature side heater 65B and the low temperature side heater 65C. The spacer 65D is also used to accurately determine the distance between the high temperature side heater 65B and the low temperature side heater 65C. Thereby, a temperature gradient is formed in the liquid in the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30 by the high temperature side heater 65B and the low temperature side heater 65C.

  The heat blocks constituting the elution heater 65A, the high temperature side heater 65B, and the low temperature side heater 65C are respectively formed with through holes constituting the insertion holes 64A. The outer wall of the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30 is exposed from the lower opening of the insertion hole 64A of the low temperature side heater 65C. The fluorescence measuring instrument 55 measures the luminance of the reaction solution 47 from the lower opening of the insertion hole 64A.

  Each of the high temperature side heater 65B and the low temperature side heater 65C is provided with a temperature control device and can be set to a temperature suitable for each polymerase reaction.

(2) Magnet moving mechanism 70
The magnet moving mechanism 70 is a mechanism that moves the magnet 71. The magnet moving mechanism 70 draws the magnetic beads 7 in the cartridge 1 to the magnet 71 and moves the magnetic beads 7 in the cartridge 1 by moving the magnet 71. The magnet moving mechanism 70 includes a pair of magnets 71, an elevating mechanism 73, and a swing mechanism 75.

  The magnet 71 is a member that attracts the magnetic beads 7. A permanent magnet, an electromagnet, or the like can be used as the magnet 71, but here a permanent magnet that does not generate heat is used. The pair of magnets 71 are held by the arms 72 so that the positions in the vertical direction are substantially the same so as to face each other in the front-rear direction. Each magnet 71 can be opposed from the front side or the rear side of the cartridge 1 mounted on the mounting portion 62. The pair of magnets 71 can sandwich the cartridge 1 mounted on the mounting portion 62 from the front-rear direction. The magnetic beads 7 and the magnets 71 in the cartridge 1 are made to face each other by facing the magnets 71 from a direction (here, the front-rear direction) orthogonal to the direction (here, the left-right direction) in which the fixing claw 25 or the guide plate 26 of the cartridge 1 is provided. And the distance can be made closer.

  The lifting mechanism 73 is a mechanism that moves the magnet 71 in the vertical direction. Since the magnet 71 attracts the magnetic beads 7, the magnetic beads 7 in the cartridge 1 can be attracted in the vertical direction by moving the magnet 71 in the vertical direction in accordance with the movement of the magnetic beads 7.

  The elevating mechanism 73 includes a carriage 73A that moves in the vertical direction, and an elevating motor 73B. The carriage 73A is a member that is movable in the vertical direction, and is guided so as to be movable in the vertical direction by a carriage guide 73C provided on the side wall 53 having the cartridge insertion port 53A. Since the arm 73 that holds the pair of magnets 71 is attached to the carriage 73A, when the carriage 73A moves in the vertical direction, the magnet 71 moves in the vertical direction. The lifting motor 73B is a power source that moves the carriage 73A in the vertical direction. The lifting motor 73B moves the carriage 73A to a predetermined position in the vertical direction in accordance with an instruction from the controller 90. The elevating motor 73B moves the carriage 73A in the vertical direction using the belt 73D and the pulley 73E. However, the carriage 73A may be moved in the vertical direction by another transmission mechanism.

  When the carriage 73A is at the uppermost position (retracted position), the magnet 71 is positioned above the cartridge 1. When the carriage 73A is in the retracted position, the lifting mechanism 73 does not contact the cartridge 1 even if the cartridge 1 rotates. Further, the elevating mechanism 73 can lower the position of the carriage 73A to a position where the magnet 71 faces the reaction plug. Thereby, the elevating mechanism 73 can move the magnet 71 so as to move the magnetic beads 7 in the tank 3 to the position of the reaction plug.

  The swing mechanism 75 is a mechanism that swings the pair of magnets 71 in the front-rear direction. When the pair of magnets 71 are swung in the front-rear direction, the distance between each magnet 71 and the cartridge 1 changes alternately. Since the magnetic beads 7 are attracted toward the magnet 71 having a shorter distance, the magnetic beads 7 in the cartridge 1 are moved in the front-rear direction by swinging the pair of magnets 71 in the front-rear direction.

  The swing mechanism 75 includes a swing motor 75A and a gear. The swing motor 75A and the gear are provided on the carriage 73A and can move in the vertical direction together with the carriage 73A. The power of the swing motor 75A is transmitted to the arm 72 through the gear, whereby the arm 72 holding the magnet 71 rotates about the swing rotation shaft 75B with respect to the carriage 73A. The swing mechanism 75 swings the magnet 71 in a range where the magnet 71 and the cartridge 1 do not contact with each other in order to prevent the magnet 71 from contacting the cartridge 1 and damaging the cartridge 1.

  The swing rotation shaft 75B is a rotation shaft of the arm 72. The swing rotation shaft 75B is parallel to the left-right direction so that the magnet 71 can swing back and forth. When the swinging rotation shaft 75B is viewed from the right or left, the swinging rotation shaft 75B is disposed so as to be shifted to the front side or the rear side from the cartridge 1. Thereby, when the carriage 73A moves downward, contact between the cartridge 1 and the arm 72 can be avoided. As long as the magnet 71 can be swung in the front-rear direction, the rocking rotation shaft 75B may be an axis parallel to the up-down direction.

(3) Press mechanism 80
The pressing mechanism 80 is a mechanism that presses the plunger 10 of the cartridge 1. When the plunger 10 is pushed by the pushing mechanism 80, the reaction solution plug 47 and the oil plug of the cartridge 1 are pushed out to the PCR container 30, and a droplet-like reaction solution 47 is formed in the oil of the PCR container 30.

  The pressing mechanism 80 includes a plunger motor 81 and a rod 82. The plunger motor 81 is a power source that moves the rod 82. The rod 82 is a member that pushes the mounting base 11 </ b> A of the plunger 10 of the cartridge 1. The reason for pressing the mounting base 11A instead of the tank 3 of the cartridge 1 is that the tank 3 is made of a flexible resin so as to be inflatable. When the tank 3 is not deformed, the pressing mechanism 80 may push the plunger 10 by pushing the tank 3.

  The direction in which the rod 82 pushes the plunger 10 is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction in the first embodiment. Therefore, when the plunger 10 is pushed by the pressing mechanism 80, the PCR device 50 rotates the rotating body 61 by 45 degrees so that the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 1 matches the moving direction of the rod 82 and then moves the rod 82. It will be. Since the direction in which the rod 82 pushes the plunger 10 is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction, it is easy to arrange the pressing mechanism 80 so as not to interfere with the lifting mechanism 73. Further, since the direction in which the rod 82 pushes the plunger 10 is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction, the height of the PCR device 50 can be kept low. And the PCR apparatus 50 can be reduced in size.

(4) Fluorescence measuring instrument 55
The fluorescence measuring instrument 55 is a measuring instrument that measures the luminance of the reaction solution 47 in the PCR container 30. The fluorescence measuring device 55 is disposed below the rotating body 61 so as to face the bottom 35 </ b> A of the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1. The fluorescence measuring device 55 measures the luminance of the reaction solution 47 in the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30 from the lower opening of the insertion hole 64A of the low temperature side heater 65C. Note that the fluorescence measuring device 55 is preferably capable of detecting luminance in a plurality of wavelength regions so as to be compatible with multiplex PCR.

  As described above, even when the fluorescence measuring device is provided below the PCR container 30 and the height of the PCR device 50 is inevitably high, the pressing direction is different from the vertical direction. Since the pressing mechanism 80 is disposed, the PCR device 50 can be downsized as a whole.

(5) Controller 90
The controller 90 is a control unit that controls the PCR device 50. The controller 90 includes a processor such as a CPU and a storage device such as a ROM and a RAM. Various programs and data are stored in the storage device. Further, the storage device provides an area for developing a program. Various processes are realized by the processor executing the program stored in the storage device.

  For example, the controller 90 controls the rotation motor 66 to rotate the rotating body 61 to a predetermined rotation position. The rotation mechanism 60 is provided with a rotation position sensor (not shown), and the controller 90 drives and stops the rotation motor 66 according to the detection result of the rotation position sensor.

  Further, the controller 90 controls the heaters (elution heater 65A, high temperature side heater 65B, and low temperature side heater 65C) to cause each heater to generate heat. The heat block constituting the heater is provided with a temperature sensor (not shown), and the controller 90 controls the on / off of the cartridge heater according to the detection result of the temperature sensor.

  The controller 90 also controls the lifting motor 73B to move the magnet 71 in the vertical direction. The PCR device 50 is provided with a position sensor (not shown) that detects the position of the carriage 73A, and the controller 90 drives and stops the lifting motor 73B according to the detection result of the position sensor.

  The controller 90 controls the swing motor 75A to swing the magnet 71 in the front-rear direction. The PCR device 50 is provided with a position sensor that detects the position of the arm 72 that holds the magnet 71, and the controller 90 drives and stops the swing motor 75A according to the detection result of the position sensor.

  The controller 90 controls the fluorescence measuring device 55 to measure the luminance of the reaction solution 47 in the PCR container 30. The controller 90 causes the fluorescence measuring device 55 to perform measurement when the fluorescence measuring device 55 faces the bottom 35 </ b> A of the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1. The measurement result is stored in a storage device.

<Description of operation>
(1) Mounting operation of the cartridge 1
9A to 9D are explanatory diagrams of the state of the PCR device 50 when the cartridge 1 is mounted. FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram of an initial state before the cartridge 1 is mounted. FIG. 9B is an explanatory diagram of a standby state. FIG. 9C is an explanatory diagram immediately after the cartridge 1 is mounted. FIG. 9D is an explanatory diagram of an initial state when the cartridge 1 is mounted.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, in the initial state before the cartridge 1 is mounted, the mounting direction of the mounting portion 62 is the vertical direction. In the following description, the rotational position of the rotating body 61 in this state is set as a reference (0 degree), and the rotating position of the rotating body 61 is indicated with the counterclockwise direction as viewed from the right as a positive direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the controller 90 drives the rotation motor 66 to rotate the rotating body 61 to −30 degrees. In this state, the operator inserts the cartridge 1 into the mounting portion 62 from the cartridge insertion port 53A. At this time, since the guide plate 26 is guided by the guide rail 63A and the cartridge 1 is inserted into the mounting portion 62, the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1 is guided to the insertion hole 64A of the mounting portion 62. The operator inserts the cartridge 1 until the fixing claw 25 of the cartridge 1 is caught by the notch of the fixing portion 63. Thereby, the cartridge 1 is fixed at a normal position with respect to the mounting portion 62. If the PCR container 30 is not inserted into the insertion hole 64 </ b> A and the cartridge 1 is in an abnormal position with respect to the mounting portion 62, the fixing claw 25 of the cartridge 1 is not caught by the notch of the fixing portion 63. Can recognize that is in an abnormal position.

  As shown in FIG. 9C, when the cartridge 1 is fixed at a normal position with respect to the mounting portion 62, the reaction solution plug 47 of the tube 20 faces the elution heater 65 </ b> A and the flow path forming portion 35 of the PCR container 30. The upstream side (high temperature region 36A) of the PCR container 30 faces the high temperature side heater 65B, and the downstream side (low temperature region 36B) of the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30 faces the low temperature side heater 65C. Since the rotating body 61 is provided with the mounting portion 62 and the heater, even if the rotating body 61 rotates, the positional relationship between the cartridge 1 and the heater is maintained as it is.

  After the cartridge 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 62, as shown in FIG. 9D, the controller 90 rotates the rotating body 61 by 30 degrees and returns the position of the rotating body 61 to the reference. The controller 90 may detect that the cartridge 1 is mounted on the mounting unit 62 by a sensor (not shown) or may be detected by an input operation from an operator.

(2) Nucleic acid elution treatment
-Vertical movement of magnet 71
FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of the behavior of the magnetic beads 7 when the magnet 71 is moved downward. The magnetic beads 7 in the cartridge 1 are attracted to the magnet 71. For this reason, when the magnet 71 moves outside the cartridge 1, the magnetic beads 7 in the cartridge 1 move together with the magnet 71.

  11A to 11C are explanatory diagrams of the nucleic acid elution process. FIG. 11A is an explanatory diagram of the state of the PCR device 50 before the nucleic acid elution process. FIG. 11B is an explanatory diagram of the state of the PCR device 50 when the magnet 71 is moved to the reaction solution plug 47. FIG. 11C is an explanatory diagram of the state of the PCR device 50 when the magnet 71 is pulled up. FIG. 11A shows a length L1 from the uppermost part of the magnet moving mechanism 70 to the lowermost part of the cartridge 1 in order to discuss the length in the vertical direction later.

  As shown in FIG. 11A, the cartridge 1 in the initial state has the tank 3 on the upper side and the longitudinal direction is parallel to the vertical direction. In this state, as shown in FIG. 2A, the cartridge 1 is, in order from the top, the dissolving liquid 41 (tank 3) including the magnetic beads 7, the oil 42 (plunger 10), the cleaning liquid 43 (upstream of the tube 20) First oil plug 44 (capillary 23), cleaning liquid plug 45 (capillary 23), second oil plug 46 (capillary 23), reaction liquid plug 47 (capillary 23), third oil plug 48 (capillary 23), oil (PCR) A container 30).

  As shown in FIG. 11A, in the initial state, the carriage 73 </ b> A is at the uppermost position (retracted position), and the magnet 71 is positioned above the cartridge 1. From this state, the controller 90 drives the elevating motor 73B to move the carriage 73A gradually downward and move the magnet 71 gradually downward. Since the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 1 is parallel to the vertical direction, the magnet 71 moves along the cartridge 1.

  When the magnet 71 moves downward, the magnet 71 comes to face the tank 3, and the magnetic beads 7 in the tank 3 are attracted to the magnet 71. The controller 90 moves the carriage 73 </ b> A downward at such a speed that the magnetic beads 7 can move together with the magnet 71.

  When the magnet 71 moves from a position facing the tank 3 (height of the tank 3) to a position facing the plunger 10 (height of the plunger 10), the magnetic beads 7 are moved to the cylindrical portion 11 of the plunger 10. It passes through the opening on the upstream side and passes through the interface between the solution 41 in the tank 3 and the oil 42 on the upstream side of the cartridge body 9. Thereby, the magnetic beads 7 to which the nucleic acid is bound are introduced into the cartridge body 9. When the magnetic beads 7 pass through the interface with the oil 42, the solution 41 is wiped by the oil 42, so that the components of the solution 41 are not easily brought into the oil 42. Thereby, it can suppress that the component of the solution 41 is mixed in the cleaning solution or the reaction solution 47.

  When the magnet 71 moves downward while facing the plunger 10, the magnetic beads 7 pass through the inside of the cylindrical portion 11, pass through the front and back of the rib 13, and exit from the opening on the downstream side of the cylindrical portion 11. , Introduced into the upper syringe 21 of the tube 20. During this time, the magnetic beads 7 pass through the interface between the oil 42 and the cleaning liquid 43 in the plunger 10. When the magnetic beads 7 are introduced into the cleaning liquid 43, the nucleic acid bound to the magnetic beads 7 is cleaned by the cleaning liquid 43.

  At this stage, since the rod-shaped portion 12 of the plunger 10 is not inserted into the lower syringe 22 of the tube 20, the position where the magnet 71 faces the capillary 23 from the position facing the upper syringe 21 (the height of the upper syringe 21). When moving to the height of the capillary 23), the magnetic beads 7 move from the upper syringe 21 to the lower syringe 22, and move from the lower syringe 22 to the capillary 23. There is a first oil plug 44 on the upstream side of the capillary 23, and when the magnetic bead 7 moves from the lower syringe 22 to the capillary 23, the magnetic bead 7 passes through the interface between the cleaning liquid 43 and the oil. At this time, since the cleaning liquid 43 is wiped by the oil, the components of the cleaning liquid 43 are not easily brought into the oil. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the components of the cleaning liquid 43 from being mixed into the cleaning liquid plug 45 and the reaction liquid plug 47.

  When the magnet 71 moves from the position facing the first oil plug 44 (the height of the first oil plug 44) to the position facing the cleaning liquid plug 45 (the height of the cleaning liquid plug 45), the magnetic beads 7 move between the oil and the cleaning liquid. And pass through the interface. When the magnetic beads 7 are introduced into the cleaning liquid plug 45, the nucleic acids bound to the magnetic beads 7 are cleaned with the cleaning liquid.

  When the magnet 71 moves from the position facing the cleaning liquid plug 45 (the height of the cleaning liquid plug 45) to the position facing the second oil plug 46 (the height of the second oil plug 46), the magnetic beads 7 are moved into the magnetic field. The beads 7 pass through the interface between the cleaning liquid and the oil. At this time, since the cleaning liquid is wiped off by the oil, the components of the cleaning liquid are not easily brought into the oil. Thereby, it can suppress that the component of a washing | cleaning liquid mixes in the reaction liquid plug 47. FIG.

  When the magnet 71 moves from the position facing the second oil plug 46 (the height of the second oil plug 46) to the position facing the reaction liquid plug 47 (the height of the reaction liquid plug 47), the magnetic beads 7 And the reaction liquid 47.

  The controller 90 controls the elution heater 65 </ b> A to heat the reaction solution plug 47 to about 50 ° C. before the magnetic beads 7 are introduced into the reaction solution plug 47. In addition, by heating the reaction solution 47 before the magnetic beads 7 are introduced, the time from the introduction of the magnetic beads 7 to the reaction solution 47 until the elution of the nucleic acid is completed can be shortened.

  As shown in FIG. 11B, after the magnet 71 has moved to a position facing the reaction solution plug 47 (the height of the reaction solution plug 47), the controller 90 stops the elevating motor 73B and moves the magnet 71 up and down. Is stopped and treated at 50 ° C. for 30 seconds, the nucleic acid bound to the magnetic beads 7 is released into the solution plug 47 and the reverse transcription reaction proceeds. By heating the reaction solution 47, elution of nucleic acid from the magnetic beads 7 and reverse transcription reaction are promoted.

  After the nucleic acid is eluted with the reaction solution plug 47, the controller 90 drives the elevating motor 73B in the opposite direction so far to move the carriage 73A gradually upward, and gradually move the magnet 71 upward. Move to. The controller 90 moves the carriage 73 </ b> A upward at a speed at which the magnetic beads 7 can move together with the magnet 71.

  When the magnet 71 moves upward from the state shown in FIG. 11B, the magnetic beads 7 move from the reaction solution plug 47 to the second oil plug 46, and the magnetic beads 7 are removed from the reaction solution plug 47.

  When the magnet 71 gradually moves to a position facing the upper syringe 21, the magnetic beads 7 also move to the upper syringe 21, and the magnetic beads 7 are on the upper side of the lower syringe 22. If the magnetic beads 7 are moved to this position, the magnetic beads 7 are not introduced into the PCR container 30 when the plunger 10 is pushed. For this reason, the controller 90 may move the carriage 73A upward at such a speed that the magnetic beads 7 cannot follow the movement of the magnet 71 from this state to the state shown in FIG. 11C. If the magnetic beads 7 are not introduced into the PCR container 30 when the plunger 10 is pushed, the moving speed of the carriage 73A may be increased at an earlier stage.

  Information related to the moving speed of the magnet 71 is stored in the storage device of the controller 90, and the controller 90 executes the above-described operation (operation for moving the magnet 71 up and down) according to this information.

・ Oscillation of magnet 71
While moving the magnet 71 in the vertical direction, the controller 90 may drive the swing motor 75A to swing the pair of magnets 71 sandwiching the cartridge 1 in the front-rear direction.

  FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of the behavior of the magnetic beads 7 when the magnet 71 is swung.

  While the magnet 71 moves in the vertical direction, the tube 20 is sandwiched between the pair of magnets 71 from the front-rear direction. Since the pair of magnets 71 are held by the arm 72, the distance in the front-rear direction of the pair of magnets 71 is substantially constant. For this reason, when one of the pair of magnets 71 approaches the tube 20, the other is separated from the tube 20.

  Since the magnetic beads 7 are attracted toward the magnet 71 that is closer to the distance, when one magnet 71 is close to the tube 20, the magnetic beads 7 are attracted toward the magnet 71. Thereafter, when the magnet 71 moves away from the tube 20 and the opposite magnet 71 approaches the tube 20, the magnetic beads 7 are attracted to the opposite magnet 71 this time. Thereby, the magnetic beads 7 move in the front-rear direction. When the pair of magnets 71 are swung in the front-rear direction, the magnetic beads 7 reciprocate in the front-rear direction.

  When the magnetic beads 7 reciprocate in the front-rear direction, the liquid easily comes into contact with the magnetic beads 7. In particular, since the liquid in the capillary 23 has almost no fluidity, it is effective that the magnetic bead 7 reciprocates in the front-rear direction when the liquid in the capillary 23 is desired to be in contact with the magnetic bead 7 as much as possible. Become.

  FIG. 13 is a table showing whether or not the magnet 71 swings.

  When the magnetic beads 7 move down the oil plug (the first oil plug 44 or the second oil plug 46), the controller 90 stops the swing motor and does not swing the magnet 71. At this time, the controller 90 moves the magnet 71 downward while keeping one of the pair of magnets 71 close to the tube 20. This is because the magnetic beads 7 can easily follow the movement of the magnet 71 as compared with the case where the distance between each magnet 71 and the tube 20 is made equal.

  When the magnetic beads 7 move down the cleaning liquid plug 45, the controller 90 drives the swing motor to swing the magnet 71 in the front-rear direction. Thereby, since the magnetic beads 7 move downward while swinging in the cleaning liquid plug 45 in the front-rear direction, the cleaning efficiency of the magnetic beads 7 can be increased. Further, since the cleaning efficiency is increased, the amount of the cleaning liquid plug 45 can be suppressed, and the cartridge 1 can be downsized.

  When the magnetic beads 7 pass through the interface between the cleaning liquid and the oil (second oil plug 46), the controller 90 stops the swing motor and does not swing the magnet 71. Thereby, since the magnetic beads 7 pass through the interface without swinging, it becomes difficult for the components of the cleaning liquid to be brought into the oil. The controller 90 moves the magnet 71 downward in a state where one of the pair of magnets 71 is brought close to the tube 20. As a result, the magnetic beads 7 are attracted and agglomerated by the magnets 71 that are close to each other, and the cleaning liquid adhering to the magnetic beads 7 is squeezed, so that the components of the cleaning liquid are hardly brought into the oil.

  When the magnetic beads 7 are in the reaction solution plug 47, the controller 90 drives the swing motor to swing the magnet 71 in the front-rear direction. Accordingly, since the magnetic beads 7 swing in the reaction solution plug 47 in the front-rear direction, the elution efficiency of the nucleic acid bound to the magnetic beads 7 can be increased. In addition, since elution efficiency is increased, the time from the introduction of the magnetic beads 7 into the reaction solution 47 to the end of elution of nucleic acids can be shortened.

  When the nucleic acid is eluted by the reaction solution plug 47 and then the magnet 71 is moved upward and the magnetic beads 7 are pulled up, the controller 90 stops the swing motor and does not swing the magnet 71. At this time, the controller 90 moves the magnet 71 downward while keeping one of the pair of magnets 71 close to the tube 20. Thereby, the magnetic beads 7 can easily follow the movement of the magnet 71, and the moving speed of the magnet 71 can be increased.

  The storage device of the controller 90 stores information on the position of each plug of the capillary 23 and swing information as shown in FIG. 13, and the controller 90 performs the above-described operation (the magnet 71) according to this information. Oscillate).

(3) Droplet formation processing
14A to 14C are explanatory diagrams of the droplet forming process. FIG. 14A is an explanatory diagram of the state of the PCR device 50 when the magnet 71 is pulled up. FIG. 14B is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the rotating body 61 is rotated 45 degrees. FIG. 14C is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the rod 82 of the pressing mechanism 80 has pushed the plunger 10. 14B shows a length L2 from the uppermost part of the pressing mechanism 80 to the lowermost part of the cartridge 1 in order to discuss the length in the vertical direction later.

  As shown in FIG. 14A, when the carriage 73A is in the retracted position, the elevating mechanism 73 does not contact the cartridge 1 even if the cartridge 1 rotates. After this state, the controller 90 rotates the rotating body 61 by 45 degrees.

  As shown in FIG. 14B, when the rotating body 61 rotates 45 degrees, the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 1 becomes parallel to the moving direction of the rod 82 of the pressing mechanism 80. The controller 90 drives the plunger motor 81 to move the rod 82. When the rod 82 further moves after the rod 82 contacts the mounting base 11A of the plunger 10 of the cartridge 1, the plunger 10 is pushed into the tube 20 side. The controller 90 moves the rod 82 to the state shown in FIG. 14C and pushes the plunger 10 until the mounting base 11A of the plunger 10 contacts the upper edge of the tube 20.

  When the plunger 10 is pushed into the tube 20 side, the seal 12A of the rod-like portion 12 of the plunger 10 is fitted into the lower syringe 22 of the tube 20 (see FIG. 2B). When the plunger 10 is further pushed in, the seal 12A slides in the lower syringe 22. As a result, the liquid (the third oil plug 48, the reaction solution plug 47, etc.) on the downstream side of the tube 20 is pushed out to the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30 by the amount corresponding to the volume of the seal 12A slid in the lower syringe 22. It is.

  First, the third oil plug 48 of the tube 20 flows into the flow path forming portion 35. Since the flow path forming portion 35 is filled with oil, the inflowed oil flows from the flow path forming portion 35 into the oil receiving space 32A, and the oil interface of the oil receiving space 32A rises. At this time, the pressure of the liquid in the flow path forming unit 35 becomes higher than the external atmospheric pressure (pressure in the oil receiving space 32A) due to the pressure loss in the lower seal portion 34B. After the third oil plug 48 is pushed out from the tube 20, the reaction solution plug 47 flows from the tube 20 into the flow path forming part 35. Since the inner diameter of the flow path forming portion 35 is larger than the inner diameter of the capillary 23, the reaction liquid 47 that is plug-shaped in the tube 20 becomes a droplet in the oil of the flow path forming portion 35.

  Since the volume in which the seal 12A slides in the lower syringe 22 (the amount by which the liquid in the tube 20 is pushed from the downstream side) is larger than the total of the reaction liquid plug 47 and the third oil plug 48 in the tube 20, the reaction liquid After the plug 47 is pushed out from the tube 20, a part of the second oil plug 46 is also pushed out to the flow path forming part 35. As a result, the reaction solution 47 does not remain in the tube 20 and the entire amount of the reaction solution plug 47 becomes droplets. Further, when a part of the second oil plug 46 is pushed out from the downstream side of the tube 20, the droplet-like reaction solution 47 is easily separated from the tube 20 (the droplet-like reaction solution 47 enters the opening of the capillary 23. It becomes difficult to adsorb).

  Since the inner diameter of the end of the capillary 23 (opening diameter of the capillary 23) is designed to be relatively small, the reaction liquid 47 that has become droplets in the PCR container 30 is difficult to adsorb to the opening of the capillary 23. The reaction solution 47 has a specific gravity greater than that of the oil in the PCR container 30. For this reason, the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 moves away from the end of the capillary 23 and settles toward the bottom 35A using the flow path forming portion 35 as a flow path. However, at this stage, since the flow path of the flow path forming unit 35 is inclined at 45 degrees, the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 is likely to adhere to the inner wall of the flow path forming part 35. For this reason, it is necessary to return the flow path of the flow path forming unit 35 to the vertical direction.

  After the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 is formed (after the plunger 10 is pushed), the controller 90 drives the plunger motor 81 in the opposite direction to move the rod 82 to the original position. return. In this state, even if the cartridge 1 rotates, the rod 82 of the pressing mechanism 80 does not contact the cartridge 1. After making such a state, the controller 90 returns the rotating body 61 to the reference position. When the rotator 61 is at the reference position, the flow path of the flow path forming unit 35 is in the vertical direction, so that the liquid reaction liquid 47 is less likely to adhere to the inner wall of the flow path forming unit 35.

(4) Thermal cycle treatment
15A and 15B are explanatory diagrams of the thermal cycle process. FIG. 15A is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the low temperature side temperature treatment is performed on the reaction solution 47. FIG. 15B is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the temperature treatment on the high temperature side is performed on the reaction solution 47. The left side of each figure shows the state of the PCR device 50, and the right side of each figure shows the state inside the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30.

  When the cartridge 1 is fixed at a normal position with respect to the mounting part 62, the upstream side (high temperature region 36A) of the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30 faces the high temperature side heater 65B, and the flow path of the PCR container 30 The downstream side (low temperature region 36B) of the formation unit 35 faces the low temperature side heater 65C. During the heat cycle process, the controller 90 heats the liquid in the high temperature region 36A on the upstream side of the flow path forming unit 35 of the PCR container 30 to about 90 to 100 ° C. by the high temperature side heater 65B provided on the rotating body 61. . In addition, the controller 90 heats the liquid in the low temperature region 36 </ b> B downstream of the flow path forming unit 35 to about 50 to 75 ° C. by the low temperature side heater 65 </ b> C provided in the rotating body 61. Thereby, a temperature gradient is formed in the liquid in the flow path forming part 35 of the PCR container 30 during the thermal cycle process. Since the mounting portion 62 and the heater are provided on the rotating body 61, even if the rotating body 61 rotates, the positional relationship between the cartridge 1 and the heater is maintained as it is.

  During the thermal cycling process, the liquid in the PCR container 30 is heated. If bubbles are generated by heating the liquid in the PCR container 30, the temperature of the liquid in the flow path forming unit 35 varies, or the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 moves (sets down) in the flow path forming unit 35. ) May be hindered. However, in this embodiment, since the pressure of the liquid in the flow path forming unit 35 is higher than the external pressure due to the pressure loss in the lower seal portion 34B, bubbles are less likely to be generated in the liquid in the PCR container 30.

  As shown in FIG. 15A, when the rotator 61 is at the reference position, the low temperature side heater 65C is positioned below the high temperature side heater 65B, and the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1 is positioned downward. Since the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 has a specific gravity greater than that of oil, the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 settles in the flow path forming unit 35. When the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 settles in the flow path forming part 35, it reaches the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30, where it settles and stays in the low temperature region 36B. Thereby, the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 moves to the low temperature region 36B. The controller 90 maintains the state of FIG. 15A for a predetermined time, and heats the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 to about 50 to 75 ° C. in the low temperature region 36B (low temperature side temperature processing is performed). During this time, the extension reaction of the polymerase reaction occurs.

  When the controller 90 drives the rotation motor 66 from the state of FIG. 15A to rotate the rotating body 61 by 180 degrees, the state shown in FIG. 15B is obtained. When the rotating body 61 rotates 180 degrees from the reference position, the cartridge 1 is turned upside down and the high temperature side heater 65B and the low temperature side heater 65C are also turned upside down. That is, the high temperature side heater 65B is positioned below the low temperature side heater 65C, and the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1 is on the top. When the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 settles in the flow path forming part 35, it reaches the end of the tube 20 (the end of the capillary 23), where it settles and remains in the high temperature region 36A. Thereby, the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 moves to the high temperature region 36A. The controller 90 maintains the state of FIG. 15B for a predetermined time, and heats the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 to about 90 to 100 ° C. in the high temperature region 36A (temperature processing on the high temperature side is performed). During this time, a denaturation reaction of the polymerase reaction occurs.

  When the controller 90 drives the rotation motor 66 from the state of FIG. 15B to rotate the rotating body 61 by −180 degrees, the state returns to the state of FIG. 15A. In this state, when the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 settles in the flow path forming part 35, the droplet-like reaction liquid 47 moves to the low temperature region 36B and is heated again to about 50 to 75 ° C. in the low temperature region 36B. (Temperature treatment on the low temperature side is performed). Note that since the inner diameter of the end of the capillary 23 (opening diameter of the capillary 23) is designed to be relatively small, the reaction solution 47 is difficult to adsorb to the opening of the capillary 23, and therefore the rotating body 61 from the state of FIG. Is rotated by -180 degrees, the droplet-like reaction solution 47 leaves the tube 20 and settles toward the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30 without being adsorbed to the opening of the capillary 23.

  The controller 90 drives the rotation motor 66 to repeat the rotation position of the rotator 61 to the state shown in FIG. 15A and the state shown in FIG. 15B at a predetermined number of cycles. As a result, the PCR device 50 can perform PCR thermal cycle processing on the reaction solution 47.

  In the storage device of the controller 90, the temperature of the high temperature side heater 65B, the temperature of the low temperature side heater 65C, the time held in the state of FIG. 15A, the time held in the state of FIG. 15B, the number of cycles (the state of FIG. 15A and FIG. Thermal cycle information) is stored, and the controller 90 executes the above processing according to the thermal cycle information.

(5) Fluorescence measurement
As shown in FIG. 15A, when the rotating body 61 is at the reference position, the fluorescence measuring device 55 faces the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1. Therefore, at the time of measuring the fluorescence of the reaction solution 47, the controller 90 keeps the rotating body 61 at the reference position and the reaction solution 47 in the bottom 35A of the PCR container 30 from the lower opening of the insertion hole 64A of the low temperature heater 65C. The fluorescence measuring instrument 55 is made to measure the fluorescence intensity.

  Immediately after the rotating body 61 is rotated 180 degrees to the reference position, the droplet-like reaction solution 47 settles down the flow path forming portion 35 of the PCR container 30, and the droplet-like reaction solution 47 is transferred to the PCR container. 30 bottom 35A may not be reached. For this reason, the controller 90 measures the fluorescence intensity after a predetermined time has elapsed after the rotational position of the rotating body 61 reaches the state of FIG. 15A (immediately before the rotating body 61 is rotated from the state of FIG. 15A). desirable. Alternatively, the controller 90 may store the fluorescence intensity time history by causing the fluorescence measuring instrument 55 to measure the fluorescence intensity for a predetermined time from when the rotating body 61 is set to the reference position.

<Summary>
As described above, the PCR device 50 which is a nucleic acid amplification reaction device includes a rotating body 61 having a mounting portion (a fixing portion 63 and an insertion hole 64A) for mounting the cartridge 1 and a PCR container 30 which is a nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel. PCR heaters (high temperature side heater 65B and low temperature side heater 65C) that form a temperature gradient are provided. The cartridge 1 mounted on the rotating body 61 includes a tube 20 having a reaction solution plug 47 containing an eluate and a PCR container 30 containing oil. In the PCR device 50, the liquid reaction liquid 47 introduced from the tube 20 moves inside the PCR container 30 by rotating the rotating body 61 and changing the posture of the cartridge 1. Thereby, since the posture of the PCR container 20 can be changed together with the tube 20 in which the nucleic acid elution process is performed, the polymerase reaction can be performed, and thus the processing time can be shortened.

  According to the PCR device 50 described above, the rotating shaft of the rotating body 61 is located closer to the tube 20 than the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1. Thereby, the rotary body 61 can be reduced in size. In addition, since the tube 20 is longer than the PCR container 30, if the center of the PCR container 30 is a rotation axis, the rotating body 61 will be enlarged.

  The fixing portion 63 for fixing the tube 20 of the cartridge 1 and the insertion hole 64A for fixing the PCR container 30 function as an attachment portion for attaching the cartridge to the rotating body. Thereby, the long cartridge 1 including the tube 20 and the PCR container 30 is stably fixed.

  The PCR device 50 is provided with a PCR heater (a high temperature side heater 65 </ b> B and a low temperature side heater 65 </ b> C) on the rotating body 61. Thereby, irrespective of the rotational position of the rotating body 61, the positional relationship between the PCR container 30 of the cartridge 1 and the PCR heater is maintained, and the temperature gradient formed inside the PCR container is stabilized.

  The PCR device 50 is provided with an elution heater 65A. This promotes the release of nucleic acids from the magnetic beads.

  The PCR device 50 has a magnet moving mechanism 70 (elevating mechanism 73) that moves the magnet 71 along the tube 20. Thereby, the movement of the magnetic beads which are nucleic acid-binding solid phase carriers can be automated, and the magnetic beads can be moved in the same manner each time.

  The magnet moving mechanism 70 has a swing mechanism 75. Thereby, aggregation / diffusion of magnetic beads can be adjusted inside the tube 20, washing efficiency, elution efficiency, etc. can be increased, and processing time can be shortened.

  The PCR device 50 includes a pressing mechanism 80 that presses the plunger 10 of the cartridge 1. Thereby, the process which introduce | transduces the reaction liquid plug 47 which eluted the nucleic acid into the PCR container 30 from the tube 20 is automatable.

  Further, from the viewpoint of sedimentation of the reaction solution 47, it is desirable to arrange the pressing mechanism 80 so that the pressing direction by the rod 82 is the vertical direction. However, the PCR device 50 having the above-described configuration has a length L2 (pressing mechanism) shown in FIG. 14B rather than a length L1 (length from the top of the magnet moving mechanism to the bottom of the cartridge 1) shown in FIG. 11A. The length from the top of 80 to the bottom of the cartridge 1 is longer. For this reason, if the pressing mechanism 80 is arranged so that the pressing direction by the rod 82 is the vertical direction, the structure must be increased in the vertical direction. In addition, as described above, the fluorescence measuring device 55 is also provided below the flow path forming portion 35, which increases the dimension in the height direction.

  On the other hand, as in the first embodiment, the direction in which the rod 82 pushes the plunger 10 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, thereby reducing the vertical dimension of the PCR device 50 and the PCR device as a whole. 50 can be reduced in size.

=== Second Embodiment ===
In the second embodiment, a cartridge 1 having a configuration different from that of the first embodiment is attached to the PCR device 50.

<Cartridge 1>
16A and 16B are explanatory diagrams of the cartridge 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17A is an explanatory diagram of an initial state of the cartridge 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17B is a side view when the plunger 10 is pushed from the state of FIG. 17A and the seal 12A comes into contact with the lower syringe 22. FIG. 17C is an explanatory diagram of the cartridge 1 of the second embodiment after the plunger 10 is pushed. The tube 20 of the cartridge 1 of the second embodiment includes an eluate plug 47A, an oil plug 47B, and a nucleic acid amplification reaction solution plug 47C instead of the reaction solution plug 47 of the first embodiment. The oil plug 47B prevents the eluate plug 47A and the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution plug 47C, which are water-soluble plugs on both sides, from mixing with each other.

  The cartridge 1 is a container for performing a nucleic acid elution process for eluting nucleic acid from the magnetic beads 7 to which the nucleic acid is bound, and for the polymerase reaction with respect to the PCR solution which is a mixed solution of the eluate 47A and the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C. It is a container which performs the thermal cycle process of.

  The shapes of the tank 3 and the cartridge body 9 of the cartridge 1 are the same as those in the first embodiment. The solution 41 in the tank 3 of the cartridge 1 is the same as that in the first embodiment. The oil 42, the first cleaning liquid 43, the first oil plug 44, the cleaning liquid plug 45 (second cleaning liquid), and the second oil plug 46 of the cartridge body 9 are the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, these descriptions are omitted.

The eluate plug 47A and the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution plug 47C are made of, for example, the following reaction solutions.

  The eluate refers to a liquid in which a nucleic acid adsorbed on a nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is eluted from the carrier into the liquid and subjected to a reverse transcription reaction. For this reason, the eluate 47A after elution of nucleic acid is prepared in advance so as to be a buffer solution used for the reverse transcription reaction as it is. Further, the nucleic acid amplification reaction liquid refers to a liquid that performs a polymerase reaction.

  A downstream portion of the capillary 23 is inserted into the PCR container 30. Accordingly, the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C and the eluate 47A can be introduced into the PCR container 30 by pushing out the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution plug 47C and the eluate plug 47A in the tube 20 from the tube 20.

  18A and 18B are explanatory diagrams of the periphery of the PCR container 30 of the second embodiment. FIG. 18A is an explanatory diagram of an initial state. FIG. 18B is an explanatory diagram of a state after the plunger 10 is pushed. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIGS. 17A to 17C.

  The PCR container 30 is a container that receives the liquid pushed out from the tube 20 and that stores a PCR solution that is a mixture of the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C and the eluate 47A during the thermal cycle process.

  When the plunger 10 is pushed, first, the third oil plug 48 of the tube 20 flows into the flow path forming portion 35, and the inflowed oil flows into the oil receiving space 32A from the flow path forming portion 35, and the oil receiving space 32A. The oil interface rises. At this time, the pressure of the liquid in the flow path forming portion 35 increases due to the pressure loss of the lower seal portion 34B.

  After the third oil plug 48 is pushed out from the tube 20, the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution plug 47 </ b> C flows into the flow path forming unit 35 from the tube. Since the inner diameter of the flow path forming portion 35 is larger than the inner diameter of the capillary 23, the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47 </ b> C that is plug-shaped (columnar) in the tube 20 becomes a droplet in the flow path forming portion 35. Further, since the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C has a specific gravity greater than that of oil, the droplet-like nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C settles.

  After the nucleic acid amplification reaction plug 47C is pushed out of the tube 20, the oil plug 47B flows into the flow path forming portion 35. After the oil plug 47 </ b> B is pushed out from the tube 20, the eluate plug 47 </ b> A flows into the flow path forming part 35 from the tube 20. Since the inner diameter of the flow path forming portion 35 is larger than the inner diameter of the capillary 23, the eluate 47 </ b> A that is plug-shaped (columnar) in the tube 20 becomes a droplet in the flow path forming portion 35. Further, since the eluate 47A has a specific gravity greater than that of the oil, the eluate 47A in the form of droplets settles. When the eluate 47A in the form of droplets settles, it merges with the droplet-shaped nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C that has already settled on the bottom of the flow path forming unit 35 in the oil, and becomes a droplet-like PCR solution 47. Become.

<Description of operation of PCR device 50>
The structure of the PCR device 50 of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the structure of the PCR device 50 (the rotation mechanism 60, the magnet moving mechanism 70, the pressing mechanism 80, the fluorescence measuring instrument 55, the controller 90, etc.) is omitted, and here the cartridge 1 of the second embodiment is mounted. The operation of the PCR device 50 at this time will be described.

(1) Mounting operation of the cartridge 1
The state when the cartridge 1 of the second embodiment is mounted is the same as that of FIGS. 9A to 9D of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the cartridge 1 is fixed at a normal position with respect to the mounting portion 62, the eluate plug 47A of the tube 20 faces the elution heater 65A ( On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the reaction solution plug 47 of the tube 20 faces the elution heater 65A).

(2) Nucleic acid elution treatment
The state at the time of the nucleic acid elution process of the second embodiment is the same as that in FIGS. 11A to 11C of the first embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11B, after the magnet 71 has moved to a position facing the eluate plug 47A (the height of the eluate plug 47A), the controller 90 stops the elevating motor 73B. When the vertical movement of the magnet 71 is stopped and the treatment is performed at 50 ° C. for 30 seconds, the nucleic acid bound to the magnetic beads 7 is released into the solution of the eluate plug 47 and the reverse transcription reaction proceeds. By heating the eluate 47, elution and reverse transcription of nucleic acids from the magnetic beads 7 are promoted.

  After the nucleic acid is eluted with the eluate plug 47A, the controller 90 drives the lifting motor 73B in the opposite direction to move the carriage 73 gradually upward and gradually moves the magnet 71 upward. Move to. When the magnet 71 moves upward from the state shown in FIG. 11B, the magnetic beads 7 move from the eluate plug 47A to the second oil plug 46, and the magnetic beads 7 are removed from the eluate plug 47A.

  In the second embodiment, the magnetic beads 7 do not contact the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C. For this reason, there is no possibility that the enzyme of the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C will be adsorbed to the magnetic beads 7, and there is no possibility of reaction inhibition. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the nucleic acid elution process can be performed under higher efficiency conditions (higher temperature, higher frequency of oscillation, increased amount of magnetic beads, etc.) than in the first embodiment.

(3) Droplet formation processing
The state during the droplet formation process of the second embodiment is the same as that in FIGS. 14A to 14C of the first embodiment.

  When the plunger 10 is pushed, first, the third oil plug 48 of the tube 20 flows into the flow path forming portion 35, and the inflowed oil flows into the oil receiving space 32A from the flow path forming portion 35, and the oil receiving space 32A. The oil interface rises. At this time, the pressure of the liquid in the flow path forming portion 35 increases due to the pressure loss of the lower seal portion 34B.

  After the third oil plug 48 is pushed out from the tube 20, the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution plug 47 </ b> C flows into the flow path forming unit 35 from the tube. Since the inner diameter of the flow path forming portion 35 is larger than the inner diameter of the capillary 23, the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47 </ b> C that is plug-shaped (columnar) in the tube 20 becomes a droplet in the flow path forming portion 35. Further, since the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C has a specific gravity greater than that of oil, the droplet-like nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C settles.

  After the nucleic acid amplification reaction plug 47C is pushed out of the tube 20, the oil plug 47B flows into the flow path forming portion 35. After the oil plug 47 </ b> B is pushed out from the tube 20, the eluate plug 47 </ b> A flows into the flow path forming part 35 from the tube 20. Since the inner diameter of the flow path forming portion 35 is larger than the inner diameter of the capillary 23, the eluate 47 </ b> A that is plug-shaped (columnar) in the tube 20 becomes a droplet in the flow path forming portion 35. Further, since the eluate 47A has a specific gravity greater than that of the oil, the eluate 47A in the form of droplets settles. When the eluate 47A in the form of droplets settles, it merges with the droplet-shaped nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C that has already settled on the bottom of the flow path forming unit 35 in the oil, and becomes a droplet-like PCR solution 47. Become.

  Since both the droplet-like eluent 47A and the nucleic acid amplification reaction solution 47C are small, the two droplets may not be united at the bottom of the flow path forming unit 35 and may remain separated. Therefore, after the droplet-like eluent 47A settles on the bottom of the flow path forming unit 35, the controller 90 drives the rotating mechanism 60 in small increments to vibrate the rotating body 61. As a result, even if the two liquid droplets are separated at the bottom of the flow path forming unit 35, the two liquid droplets are united and become a liquid PCR solution 47 by the vibration of the cartridge 1. . Alternatively, the droplets may be heated by the high temperature side heater 65B or the low temperature side heater 65C to reduce the viscosity of the droplets, thereby facilitating the combination of the two droplets.

  After the droplet formation process, a thermal cycle process and a fluorescence measurement are performed. Since the thermal cycle process and fluorescence measurement of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here.

  Also in the second embodiment, the PCR device 50 creates a temperature gradient in the rotating body 61 having the mounting portion (the fixing portion 63 and the insertion hole 64A) for mounting the cartridge 1 and the PCR container 30 that is a nucleic acid amplification reaction container. Introduced from the tube 20 inside the PCR container 30 by forming the PCR heater (high temperature side heater 65B and low temperature side heater 65C) to be formed, and the rotating body 61 is rotated to change the posture of the cartridge 1. The droplet-like reaction liquid 47 moves. Thereby, since the posture of the PCR container 20 can be changed together with the tube 20 in which the nucleic acid elution process is performed, the polymerase reaction can be performed, and thus the processing time can be shortened.

=== Third Embodiment ===
In the PCR apparatus 50 in the first and second embodiments described above, the moving direction of the magnet 71 of the magnet moving mechanism 70 is the vertical direction (that is, the moving direction of the magnetic force is the vertical direction), while the rod 82 is The direction of pushing the plunger 10 was inclined 45 degrees from the vertical direction. Then, it has been described that by arranging the pressing mechanism 80 at such an angle, the vertical dimension of the PCR device 50 can be reduced, and the size of the PCR device 50 can be reduced as a whole. However, the arrangement of the magnet moving mechanism 70 and the pressing mechanism 80 that can downsize the PCR device 50 is not limited to this.

  If at least the pressing direction in which the rod 82 pushes the plunger 10 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, the vertical dimension of the PCR device 50 can be reduced, and the size of the PCR device 50 as a whole can be reduced. Therefore, what is necessary is just to arrange | position the press mechanism 80 so that the press direction which pushes the plunger 10 may become an angle different from a perpendicular direction. For example, the PCR apparatus 50 having such an arrangement can be as follows.

  FIG. 19 is a side view of the main configuration of the PCR device 50 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 19, elements having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment. Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the rotation position of the rotating body 61 when the mounting direction of the mounting portion 62 is in the vertical direction is set as a reference (0 degree), and counterclockwise when viewed from the right is set as a positive direction. An angle shall be indicated.

  In the PCR device 50 according to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the arrangement angle of the magnet moving mechanism 70 is different from the PCR device 50 according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the moving direction of the carriage 73A for moving the magnet 71 is arranged in the vertical direction, but in the third embodiment, the moving direction of the carriage 73A is -45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. It is arranged to be. At this time, the angle formed by the moving direction of the magnetic force by the magnet 71 and the pressing direction of the plunger 10 by the pressing mechanism 80 is 90 degrees.

  By adopting such a configuration, the vertical dimension of the PCR device 50 can be further reduced. As a whole, the size of the PCR device 50 can be reduced.

=== Fourth Embodiment ===
FIG. 20 is a side view of the main configuration of the PCR device 50 according to the fourth embodiment. Also in FIG. 20, elements having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment.

  In the PCR device 50 according to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 20, the difference from the PCR device 50 according to the first embodiment is the arrangement angle of the pressing mechanism 80. In the first embodiment, the pressing mechanism 80 is arranged so that the pressing direction in which the rod 82 pushes the plunger 10 is inclined 45 degrees from the vertical direction. However, in the fourth embodiment, the rod 82 pushes the plunger 10. It arrange | positions so that a press direction may incline 90 degree | times from an up-down direction. That is, the pressing mechanism 80 is arranged so that the pressing direction in which the rod 82 pushes the plunger 10 is from the front side to the rear side in FIG. At this time, the angle formed by the moving direction of the magnetic force by the magnet 71 and the pressing direction of the plunger 10 by the pressing mechanism 80 is 90 degrees. Note that the pressing direction of the plunger 10 by the pressing mechanism 80 may be slightly inclined from the horizontal direction, and the angle formed by the moving direction of the magnetic force by the magnet 71 and the pressing direction of the plunger 10 by the pressing mechanism 80 may be less than 90 degrees.

  Even with this configuration, the vertical dimension of the PCR device 50 can be reduced. As a whole, the size of the PCR device 50 can be reduced.

=== Others ===
The above-described embodiments are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

<An angle formed by the magnet moving mechanism 70 and the pressing mechanism 80>
In the above-described embodiment, the angle formed between the moving direction of the magnet 71 and the pressing direction against the plunger 10 has been described as being 45 degrees and 90 degrees. However, these angles may be within 90 degrees. . Thus, by setting the angle formed by these to be within 90 degrees, at least the size of the PCR device 50 can be reduced.

  Further, in the configuration of the PCR device 50, the moving direction of the magnet 71 and the pressing direction against the plunger 10 may not be in the same plane. Therefore, the magnet moving mechanism 70 and the pressing mechanism are set so that the angle formed by the moving direction of the magnet 71 and the pressing direction with respect to the plunger 10 is 90 degrees or less in the mapping onto the plane having the rotation axis of the rotating body 61 as a perpendicular line. 80 may be arranged.

  However, it is desirable that the plane including the pressing direction with respect to the plunger 10 and the plane including the moving direction of the magnet 71 be aligned in parallel with a plane having the rotation axis of the rotating body 61 as a perpendicular line. By doing in this way, the PCR apparatus 50 can be reduced in size in the direction in which the rotation axis of the rotator 61 is a perpendicular line.

<About PCR equipment>
The above-described PCR device 50 changes the posture of the cartridge 1 by a predetermined number of cycles as the thermal cycle process, and the PCR container 30 is turned upside down. However, the number of times of changing the posture of the cartridge 1 is not limited to a plurality of times, and may be one.

  In the PCR apparatus described above, the rotating shaft of the rotating body is positioned closer to the tube than the PCR container. However, when the posture of the cartridge is changed by rotating the rotating body, the droplet can move inside the PCR container. In this case, the position of the rotating shaft of the rotating body is not limited to this.

  In the above-described PCR apparatus, the fixing portion 63 having a notch and the insertion hole 64A are used as the cartridge mounting portion. However, the configuration is not limited as long as the cartridge can be mounted on the rotating body. Further, the mounting portion may have a structure in which the cartridge is fixed to the rotating body by fixing only the tube side, or a structure in which the cartridge is fixed to the rotating body by fixing only the PCR container side. good. However, the mounting portion needs to have a structure in which the cartridge is stably fixed to the rotating body even when the rotating body rotates and the posture of the cartridge changes.

  The PCR device 50 includes a high temperature side heater 65B and a low temperature side heater 65C as PCR heaters. However, the PCR device 50 is not limited to this configuration as long as a temperature gradient can be formed inside the PCR container, which is a nucleic acid amplification reaction container. It is not something that can be done. For example, a heater may be provided only on the high temperature side. Alternatively, a heater may be provided on the high temperature side and a cooler may be provided on the low temperature side.

  Further, the PCR device 50 described above is provided with a PCR heater (a high temperature side heater 65B and a low temperature side heater 65C) on the rotating body, but can form a temperature gradient inside the PCR container which is a nucleic acid amplification reaction container. If present, a PCR heater may be provided outside the rotating body. For example, when the PCR device rotates the rotating body 180 degrees as shown in FIG. 15B and the first PCR heater facing the PCR container when the rotating body 61 is at the reference position as shown in FIG. 15A. A second PCR heater facing the PCR container may be provided outside the rotating body. Even in this case, a temperature gradient can be formed inside the PCR container which is a nucleic acid amplification reaction container. However, it is desirable that the PCR heater is provided on the rotating body because the positional relationship between the PCR container of the cartridge and the heater is maintained regardless of the rotational position of the rotating body.

  The PCR device 50 may include only the PCR heater (for example, the high temperature side heater 65B and the low temperature side heater 65C) without including the elution heater 65A. However, it is desirable that the PCR device 50 includes the elution heater 65A because release of nucleic acids from the magnetic beads is promoted.

  The PCR device 50 may not include a magnet moving mechanism that moves the magnet along the tube. In this case, for example, the operator may have a magnet and move the magnet along the tube. However, it is desirable that the PCR device 50 includes a magnet moving mechanism because there is a possibility that the moving speed or the like of the magnetic beads, which are nucleic acid-binding solid phase carriers, varies depending on the operator.

  Further, the magnet moving mechanism 70 of the PCR device 50 may not include the swing mechanism 75. In this case, although the magnet cannot be swung, the magnet can be moved along the tube, so that the magnetic beads to which the nucleic acid is bound can be moved to the plug containing the eluate.

  The PCR device 50 may not include the pressing mechanism 80. In this case, for example, the operator may push the plunger of the cartridge by hand. When the plunger is not provided in the cartridge, the operator may pressurize the inside of the tank by deforming the tank and push the liquid from the tube to the PCR container.

  The PCR device 50 may not include a fluorescence measuring device. In this case, the apparatus cannot perform real-time PCR, but can perform a polymerase reaction for amplifying a nucleic acid.

<About the eluent plug 47A>
The eluate plug 47A may be divided into a reverse transcription reaction solution plug and an eluate plug. In this case, the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier washed with the washing solution is moved to the reverse transcription reaction solution plug, and the reverse transcription reaction is carried out in the reverse transcription reaction solution plug. This reaction can be performed under conditions suitable for the reverse transcriptase used. For example, the reverse transcription reaction solution is heated to 30 to 50 ° C., preferably 42 to 45 ° C., and the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is held therein for a certain period of time, so that the RNA remains bound to the carrier and is reversed. It can cause a photoreaction. The heating method is not particularly limited. For example, a method of contacting a heat medium such as a heat block at a position corresponding to the reverse transcription reaction solution plug of the tube, a method using a heat source such as a heater, a method using electromagnetic heating, etc. Can be illustrated. Although the practitioner can select the holding time as appropriate, it may be held for 10 seconds to 5 minutes, preferably 30 seconds to 1 minute. The cDNA synthesized at this stage is bound to the solid support in a state of being bound to RNA.
Thereafter, the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is moved to the eluent plug. Here, it is preferable to heat the eluate plug in order to efficiently release nucleic acid, particularly cDNA, from the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier. The heating method is not particularly limited, but the same method as that used for heating the reverse transcription reaction solution plug can be used. The heating temperature should just be higher than 40 degreeC, 50 degreeC or more is preferable and 60 degreeC or more is more preferable. The upper limit of the heating temperature is not particularly limited, but is preferably 70 ° C. or less, more preferably 65 ° C. or less, further preferably 60 ° C. or less, and most preferably 60 ° C.
After releasing the nucleic acid from the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier, the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is moved upward from the eluate plug using a magnet. If the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is not mixed in the eluate plug, it may be moved anywhere.
Thus, by separating the reverse transcription reaction solution plug and the eluate plug, it is possible to perform the reverse transcription reaction and the nucleic acid elution under highly efficient conditions.

[Experimental example]
In the present experimental example, as shown in FIG. 21, the configuration having the first plug 210 to the seventh plug 270 inside the tube 200 in the above-described nucleic acid extraction kit was used.

  First, 375 μL of the adsorbing liquid and 1 μL of the magnetic bead dispersion were stored in a polyethylene container 130 having a capacity of 3 mL. The adsorbent was an aqueous solution of 76% by mass of guanidine hydrochloride, 1.7% by mass of disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate dihydrate and 10% by mass of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (manufactured by Toyobo, MagExtractor- Genome-, NPK-1) was used. As the magnetic bead stock solution, a solution containing 50% by volume of magnetic silica particles and 20% by mass of lithium chloride was used.

  50 μL of blood collected from a human was put into the container 130 through the mouth 121 using a pipette, and the container 130 was covered with a lid 122 and shaken by hand for 30 seconds to be stirred. Thereafter, the lid 122 of the container 130 was removed and connected to the tube 200. The tube 200 has plugs 110 at both ends. The plug 110 on the first plug 210 side was removed and the container 130 was connected to the tube 200.

  Here, the first plug 210, the third plug 230, the seventh plug 270, and the fifth plug 250 are made of silicon oil. The 1st washing | cleaning liquid of the 2nd plug 220 was made into 76 mass% guanidine hydrochloride aqueous solution. The second cleaning solution for the fourth plug 240 was a Tris-HCl buffer solution (solute concentration 5 mM) having a pH of 8.0. The eluate of the sixth plug 260 was sterilized water.

  Then, the permanent magnet 410 was moved to introduce the magnetic beads 125 in the container 130 into the tube 200. Then, the magnetic beads 125 were moved to the sixth plug 260. The time that the magnetic beads 125 existed in each plug in the tube 200 was approximately as follows. 1st, 3rd and 7th plugs: 3 seconds each, 2nd plug: 20 seconds, 4th plug: 20 seconds, 6th plug: 30 seconds. In the second plug 220 and the fourth plug 240, an operation such as vibrating the magnetic beads was not performed. The volumes of the second plug 220, the fourth plug 240, and the sixth plug 260 were 25 μL, 25 μL, and 1 μL, respectively.

  Next, the stopper 110 on the seventh plug side of the tube was removed, the container 120 was deformed by hand, and the seventh plug 270 and the sixth plug 260 were discharged into the PCR reaction container. This operation was performed after the magnetic beads were moved by a permanent magnet and retracted to the second plug 220.

  Then, 19 μL of a PCR reaction reagent was added to the extract, and real-time PCR was performed according to a conventional method. The breakdown of PCR reaction reagents is 4 μL of Light Cycler 480 Genotyping Master (Roche Diagnostics 4 707 524), 0.4 μL of SYBR Green I (Life Technologies S7563) diluted 1000-fold with sterilized water, 100 μM β-actin detection primer (F / R) each 0.06 μL and sterile water 14.48 μL. The amplification curve of PCR of Experimental Example 1 is shown in FIG. Note that the vertical axis in FIG. 22 is the fluorescence luminance, and the horizontal axis is the number of PCR cycles.

[Experiment 2]
In Experimental Example 2, nucleic acids were extracted by a general nucleic acid extraction method.

  First, 375 μL of the adsorbed liquid and 20 μL of the magnetic bead dispersion were stored in a 1.5 mL polyethylene container (Eppendorf tube). The compositions of the adsorbing liquid and the magnetic bead dispersion are the same as in the above experimental example.

  Next, 50 μL of blood collected from a human being is introduced from the mouth of the container using a pipette, the container is covered, stirred with a vortex mixer for 10 minutes, and a magnetic stand and pipette are operated to perform a B / F separation operation. It was. In this state, magnetic beads and a small amount of adsorbed liquid remained in the container.

  Next, 450 μL of the first cleaning solution having the same composition as in Experimental Example 1 was introduced into the container, the cap was put on, and the mixture was stirred for 5 seconds by a vortex mixer, and the first cleaning solution was removed by operating the magnetic stand and pipette. This operation was repeated twice. In this state, the magnetic beads and a small amount of the first cleaning liquid remained in the container.

  Next, 450 μL of the second cleaning solution having the same composition as that of Experimental Example 1 was introduced into the container, covered, stirred for 5 seconds by a vortex mixer, and the magnetic cleaning stand and pipette were operated to remove the first cleaning solution. This operation was repeated twice. In this state, the magnetic beads and a small amount of the second cleaning liquid remained in the container.

  Then, 50 μL of sterilized water (eluate) was added to the container, the container was covered, and the mixture was stirred with a vortex mixer for 10 minutes, and the supernatant was recovered by operating a magnetic stand and pipette. This supernatant contains the target nucleic acid.

  Then, 1 μL was dispensed from the extract, 19 μL of PCR reaction reagent was further added, and real-time PCR was performed according to a conventional method. The breakdown of PCR reaction reagents is 4 μL of Light Cycler 480 Genotyping Master (Roche Diagnostics 4 707 524), 0.4 μL of SYBR Green I (Life Technologies S7563) diluted 1000-fold with sterilized water, 100 μM β-actin detection primer (F / R) each 0.06 μL and sterile water 14.48 μL. The amplification curve at this time is shown in FIG.

[Experimental result]
The following can be understood from the above experimental example.

(1) Comparing the time required for the nucleic acid extraction process, which is a pretreatment of PCR, the time from the insertion of the specimen into the container until the introduction of the target nucleic acid into the PCR reaction container is approximately 2 minutes. In Experimental Example 2, it was approximately 30 minutes. Thus, the nucleic acid extraction method of Experimental Example 1 requires significantly less time for nucleic acid extraction than the nucleic acid extraction method of Experimental Example 2.

(2) The amount of each cleaning liquid was about 18 times smaller than that of Experimental Example 2 in Experimental Example 1. Further, the amount of the eluate was about 1/50 of that of Experimental Example 1 in Experimental Example 1. Therefore, in Experimental Example 1, a very small amount of the cleaning solution and the eluent is sufficient as compared with Experimental Example 2.

(3) Comparing the concentration of the target nucleic acid in the eluate in terms of the amount of the adsorbed solution and the eluate, it is considered that Experimental Example 1 is ideally 50 times more concentrated than Experimental Example 2. However, in this experimental example, the amount of nucleic acid contained in the blood sample is large and exceeds the adsorbable amount of 1 μL of magnetic beads, and the whole amount of nucleic acid contained in the blood sample cannot be recovered. The concentration 50 times that of Experimental Example 2 was not obtained. In the case of a specimen having a low nucleic acid content and not exceeding the adsorbable amount of 1 μL of magnetic beads, Experimental Example 1 can obtain a concentration 50 times that of Experimental Example 2.

(4) Referring to the graph of FIG. 22, even in the whole blood sample having a high nucleic acid content, the rise of the nucleic acid amplification rate is about 0.6 cycles earlier in Experimental Example 1 than in Experimental Example 2. That is, the concentration of the target nucleic acid in the PCR reaction solution used in Experimental Example 1 is higher than that in the PCR reaction solution used in Experimental Example 2. That is, the concentration of the target nucleic acid in the eluate is higher in Experimental Example 1 than in Experimental Example 2.

1 cartridge,
3 tank, 3A lid, 3B deformation part,
5 Adapter, 5A lid, 7 Magnetic beads,
9 Cartridge body
10 Plunger, 11 Cylindrical part, 11A Mounting base,
12 rod-shaped part, 12A seal, 13 rib,
20 tube, 21 upper syringe, 22 lower syringe,
23 capillary, 25 fixed claw, 26 guide plate,
30 PCR container, 31 seal forming part,
32 oil receiving part, 32A oil receiving space,
33 Stepped portion, 34A Upper seal portion, 34B Lower seal portion,
35 channel formation part, 35A bottom,
36A high temperature region, 36B low temperature region,
41 solution, 42 oil, 43 cleaning solution,
44 first oil plug, 45 cleaning liquid plug, 46 second oil plug,
47 reaction solution (PCR solution),
47A lysis solution, 47B oil plug, 47C nucleic acid amplification reaction solution,
48 3rd oil plug,
50 PCR device, 51 base, 52 support base, 53 side wall,
53A cartridge insertion port, 55 fluorescence measuring instrument,
60 rotating mechanism, 61 rotating body,
62 mounting part, 63 fixing part,
63A guide rail, 64A insertion hole,
65 heater, 65A elution heater,
65B high temperature side heater, 65C low temperature side heater,
65D spacer, 66 motor for rotation,
70 magnet moving mechanism, 71 magnet, 72 arm,
73 Lifting mechanism, 73A carriage,
73B lifting / lowering motor, 73C carriage guide,
73D belt, 73E pulley,
75 swing mechanism, 75A swing motor, 75B swing rotating shaft,
80 pressing mechanism, 81 motor for plunger, 82 rod,
90 controller

Claims (8)

(A) It has a mounting part which can mount a cartridge provided with a tube having a plug containing an eluate, a nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel communicating with the tube, and a plunger for pushing the eluate into the nucleic acid amplification reaction vessel. A rotating body,
(B) a pressing mechanism that presses the plunger of the cartridge mounted on the mounting portion of the rotating body and discharges the eluate;
With
The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus, wherein the pressing mechanism is arranged so that the pressing direction is at an angle different from a vertical direction. The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus according to claim 1,
The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus, wherein the pressing mechanism is arranged such that the pressing direction is an angle different from a vertical direction, and the pressing direction is an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. . The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
When the nucleic acid amplification reaction container of the cartridge mounted on the rotating body is moved to the lower part of the cartridge by the rotation of the rotating body, the fluorescence measurement is performed at a position facing the nucleic acid amplification reaction container below the nucleic acid amplification reaction container. A nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus characterized in that a vessel is provided. A nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A magnet for moving the nucleic acid binding solid phase carrier housed in the cartridge mounted on the mounting portion of the rotating body by magnetic force, and a magnet moving mechanism for moving the magnet,
The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus characterized in that a plane that includes the pressing direction and is perpendicular to the rotation axis is parallel to a plane that includes the moving direction of the magnet and is perpendicular to the rotation axis. The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The length in the pressing direction including the pressing mechanism and the cartridge when the cartridge is arranged at an angle at which the plunger is pressed by the pressing mechanism is such that the nucleic acid-binding solid phase carrier is the magnet moving mechanism. A nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus characterized in that it is longer than the length of the magnet in the moving direction including the magnet moving mechanism and the cartridge when the cartridge is arranged at an angle at which the cartridge is moved. A nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus according to any one of claims 4 and 5,
The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus, wherein the magnet moving mechanism is arranged so that a moving direction of the magnet is a vertical direction. A nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus, wherein the pressing mechanism is arranged so that the pressing direction forms an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. A nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The nucleic acid amplification reaction apparatus, wherein the pressing mechanism is arranged so that the pressing direction is at an angle orthogonal to the vertical direction.