JP2017106731A - Optical measurement device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical measurement device capable of efficiently cooling sample tubes and a tube holder.SOLUTION: An optical measurement device comprises; a measurement mechanism comprising a tube holder having formed thereon tube reception recesses for accommodating sample tubes, a light source unit for irradiating samples contained in the sample tubes with light, and a light reception unit for detecting light from the samples; and a heating mechanism for heating the sample tubes via the tube holder. The device is also provided with a cooling air channel that is formed around the tube holder to extend in a longitudinal direction of the sample tubes accommodated in the tube reception recesses, and a cooling mechanism for circulating cool air through the cooling air channel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical measurement apparatus that can be applied to an absorbance measuring instrument that irradiates a sample with light and measures its absorbance, and a fluorescence measuring instrument that irradiates a sample with light and measures fluorescence from the sample. .

Conventionally, as a method for measuring the concentration of a measurement target component in a sample, an absorptiometric method, a laser-induced fluorescence method, or the like is known.
Thus, in recent years, in the life science field, an optical measuring device such as an absorbance measuring device that measures the concentration of a component to be measured by an absorptiometry, or a fluorescence measuring device that measures the concentration of a component to be measured by a laser-induced fluorescence method. As a demand for this, it is required to be small and easy to carry for the purpose of use in point-of-care testing.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a solid-state light source that irradiates a sample in a sample tube with excitation light, a fluorescence measurement device that detects fluorescence, and a fluorescence collection optical system that guides fluorescence emitted from the measurement sample to the fluorescence measurement device. Describes a fluorescence measuring instrument having a structure embedded in a resin transparent to excitation light and light containing fluorescence. In this fluorescence measuring instrument, the sample tube is set in a tube holder made of silicone resin.

  In such a light measurement apparatus, for example, when measuring the absorbance of a sample containing DNA as a measurement target component, it is necessary to heat the sample to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting temperature of DNA. For this reason, the light measuring device is provided with a heating mechanism for heating the sample tube via the tube holder.

JP 2014-032064 A

  However, in an optical measurement device having a heating mechanism, the tube holder and the sample tube are heated to a considerably high temperature immediately after the measurement is completed, and there is a risk that the operator may be burned. In addition, since the light source unit and the light receiving unit are disposed around the tube holder, it takes a considerably long time until the sample tube and the tube holder are sufficiently cooled. For this reason, the work efficiency of the inspection is lowered, and there is a possibility that a sensor or the like disposed around the tube holder is exposed to a high temperature for a long time, thereby causing a failure.

  This invention is made | formed based on the above situations, Comprising: The objective is to provide the optical measuring device which can cool a sample tube and a tube holder efficiently.

The optical measurement device of the present invention detects a tube holder in which a tube receiving recess for receiving a sample tube is formed, a light source unit for irradiating light to a sample accommodated in the sample tube, and light from the sample A measurement mechanism having a light receiving portion to perform,
A light measuring device comprising a heating mechanism for heating the sample tube via the tube holder,
A cooling air passage extending along the longitudinal direction of the sample tube received in the tube receiving recess is formed around the tube holder, and a cooling mechanism for circulating cooling air through the cooling air passage is provided. It is provided.

In the optical measurement device of the present invention, a housing for housing the measurement mechanism, the heating mechanism, and the cooling mechanism, in which a tube attachment / detachment opening for attaching / detaching the sample tube is formed in the tube holder, and the housing A lid body that opens and closes the tube attachment / detachment opening of the body,
The lid body is preferably provided with an auxiliary heating mechanism that contacts the upper surface of the sample tube in the closed state.
In such an optical measurement device, the lid body has an air inlet for introducing cooling air into the housing in the closed state,
It is preferable that after the cooling mechanism is activated, the cooling air introduced from the intake port circulates through the cooling air passage after hitting the auxiliary heating mechanism.

Further, in the light measurement device of the present invention, a first optical path forming body that is provided between the light source unit and the tube holder and forms a first optical path through which light from the light source unit passes, A second optical path forming body that is provided between the tube holder and the light receiving unit and forms a second optical path through which light from the sample tube passes;
The cooling air path is preferably formed between an outer surface of the tube holder and at least one outer surface of the first optical path forming body and the second optical path forming body.
In such an optical measurement device, the tube holder has a groove for forming the cooling air passage extending along the longitudinal direction of the sample tube received in the tube receiving recess on the outer surface thereof. It is preferable.

  According to the optical measurement device of the present invention, the cooling air flows through the cooling air passage formed along the longitudinal direction of the sample tube formed around the tube holder by the cooling mechanism. Can cool well. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the operator from being burned after the measurement is completed, to improve the work efficiency of the inspection, and to prevent failure of the sensors arranged around the tube holder. can do.

It is sectional drawing for description which shows the internal structure in an example of the optical measurement apparatus of this invention. It is sectional drawing for description which shows the structure of the sample tube used for the optical measuring apparatus shown in FIG. It is the top view which looked at the measurement mechanism and heating mechanism in the optical measurement apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from upper direction. It is AA sectional drawing of the measurement mechanism and heating mechanism which are shown in FIG. It is BB sectional drawing of the measurement mechanism and heating mechanism which are shown in FIG. It is CC sectional drawing of the measurement mechanism and heating mechanism shown in FIG. (A) is a top view of a tube holder, (b) is a side view of a tube holder.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the internal configuration of an example of the light measurement apparatus of the present invention. The light measuring device 10 is configured as a portable absorbance measuring device that measures the concentration of a measurement target component in the sample by irradiating the sample in the sample tube with light and measuring the absorbance. .

  The light measurement apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a casing 11 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that houses a measurement mechanism 20, a heating mechanism 40, and a cooling mechanism 50, which will be described later. In this example, the left surface of the housing 11 in FIG. 1 is the front surface, and the right surface of the housing 11 is the back surface. On the upper surface of the housing 11, a tube attaching / detaching opening 12 for attaching / detaching the sample tube 1 made of a microtube having the configuration shown in FIG. On the rear surface (right surface in FIG. 1) of the housing 11 is provided an exhaust port 13 formed of a louver for discharging cooling air from a cooling mechanism 50 described later to the outside.

The sample tube 1 includes a tube body 2 having a bottomed cylindrical shape, and a lid 3 that is detachably provided in the opening of the tube body 2 and closes the opening of the tube body 2. The lid body 3 is integrally connected to the opening edge portion of the tube body 2 via a connecting portion 4 extending from the peripheral edge portion. The sample tube 1 has, for example, an internal volume of about 0.2 mL, a total length of about 21 mm, and a maximum diameter of the tube body 2 of about 8 mm.
The sample accommodated in the sample tube 1 contains, for example, Escherichia coli, protein, DNA obtained by amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a dye, and the like as components to be measured.

Inside the housing 11, a measurement mechanism 20 is disposed at a position directly below the tube attachment / detachment opening 12. A heating mechanism 40 that heats the sample tube 1 via the tube holder 21 is provided immediately below the measurement mechanism 20. A cooling mechanism 50 that cools the tube holder 21 with cooling air is provided between the measurement mechanism 20 and the exhaust port 13 of the housing 11.
A cup-shaped lid body 15 that opens downward is provided in the housing 11 so as to be freely opened and closed with respect to the tube attaching / detaching opening 12 by an opening / closing mechanism 60. Further, the casing 11 is provided with a buckle 14 that fixes the lid body 15 in the closed state.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the measurement mechanism 20 and the heating mechanism 40 in the optical measurement apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above with the sample tube set. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the measurement mechanism 20 and the heating mechanism 40 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a BB cross-sectional view of the measurement mechanism 20 and the heating mechanism 40 shown in FIG. 6 is a CC cross-sectional view of the measurement mechanism 20 and the heating mechanism 40 shown in FIG.
The measurement mechanism 20 includes a tube holder 21 that holds the sample tube 1, a light source unit 30 that irradiates measurement light to the sample accommodated in the sample tube 1, and detection from the sample accommodated in the sample tube 1. And a light receiving unit 35 that detects light for use.

FIG. 7A is a plan view of the tube holder 21, and FIG. 7B is a side view of the tube holder 21.
The tube holder 21 is integrally formed on a long plate-like base portion 22 so that a rectangular parallelepiped holding portion 23 extending in the same direction as the base portion 22 protrudes from the base portion 22. Yes. A plurality of tube receiving recesses 24 for receiving the sample tube 1 are formed on the upper surface of the holding portion 23 so as to be spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal direction of the holding portion 23. Each of the tube receiving recesses 24 has a shape that fits the tube main body 2 of the sample tube 1, that is, a tapered shape having a small diameter from the opening at the upper end toward the bottom at the lower end.

In the tube holder 21, an incident hole 25 for allowing measurement light to enter the sample tube 1 is formed so as to penetrate the tube receiving recess 24 from one outer surface 21 a of the tube holder 21. An emission hole 26 for emitting detection light from 1 is formed so as to penetrate from the tube receiving recess 24 to the tube receiving recess 24 from the other outer surface 21 b of the tube holder 21.
Further, a plurality of grooves 27 for forming a cooling air passage W to be described later are received in the tube receiving recess 24 at a position between the adjacent tube receiving recesses 24 on the outer surface of the tube holder 21. The sample tube 1 is formed so as to extend along the longitudinal direction.

  The tube holder 21 is formed with a through-hole 28 that penetrates a portion between adjacent tube receiving recesses 24. Specifically, the through hole 28 is formed so as to penetrate from the bottom of the groove 27 formed in one outer surface 21a to the bottom of the groove 27 formed in the other outer surface 21b. By forming such a through hole 28, the heat capacity of the tube holder 21 is reduced, and the surface area of the tube holder 21 is increased. Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the tube holder 21 can be improved.

  As a material constituting the tube holder 21, a metal material such as aluminum, or a heat-resistant resin material such as silicone resin or polycarbonate resin can be used. When a metal material is used as the material constituting the tube holder 21, it is preferable to use a material whose surface is blackened by anodizing or the like. Moreover, when using a resin material as a material which comprises the tube holder 21, it is preferable to use what was colored black with the black pigment etc. With such a configuration, light reflection and scattering can be suppressed in the incident hole 25 and the emission hole 26.

The light source unit 30 includes a substrate 31 and a plurality of light emitting elements 32 arranged on the substrate 31 corresponding to the tube receiving recesses 24 of the tube holder 21. As the light emitting element 32, an LED that emits white light can be used.
The light receiving unit 35 includes a sensor substrate 36 and a plurality of light receiving sensors 37 arranged on the sensor substrate 36 corresponding to the tube receiving recesses 24 of the tube holder 21. As the light receiving sensor 37, for example, a photodiode such as an RGB color sensor can be used.
The light source unit 30 and the light receiving unit 35 are arranged such that the light emitting element 32 and the light receiving sensor 37 face each other through the incident hole 25, the tube receiving recess 24 and the emission hole 26 of the tube holder 21. Yes.

  A first optical path forming body 33 is provided between the tube holder 21 and the light source unit 30. In the first optical path forming body 33, a plurality of first optical paths 34 through which measurement light from each of the light emitting elements 32 in the light source unit 30 passes are formed. The first optical path forming body 33 is arranged such that the first optical path 34 communicates with the incident hole 25 of the tube holder 21. In the first optical path forming body 33 in the illustrated example, a plurality of recesses 33a that respectively communicate with the first optical path 34 are formed on the outer surface on the light source unit 30 side, and the light emitting element 32 of the light source unit 30 includes: It arrange | positions so that it may be accommodated in the recess 33a.

  A second optical path forming member 38 is provided between the tube holder 21 and the light receiving unit 35. The second optical path forming body 38 is formed with a plurality of second optical paths 39 through which detection light from the sample in each sample tube 1 passes. The second optical path forming body 38 is arranged such that the second optical path 39 communicates with the emission hole 25. In the second optical path forming body 38 in the illustrated example, a plurality of recesses 38a respectively communicating with the second optical path 39 are formed on the outer surface on the light receiving unit 35 side, and the light receiving sensor 37 of the light receiving unit 35 is It arrange | positions so that it may be accommodated in the recess 38a.

The first optical path forming body 33 and the second optical path forming body 38 are preferably made of, for example, a light-absorbing material, and preferably made of an elastic material. Thereby, in the 1st optical path 34 and the 2nd optical path 39, reflection and scattering of light can be suppressed.
As the elastic material having a light absorption property, it is preferable to use a silicone resin such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in which a light absorption material is dispersed in that autofluorescence is small. As the light absorbing material, black powder such as carbon black or carbon nanotube can be used.

  A cooling air passage W extending along the longitudinal direction of the sample tube 1 is formed between the outer surface of the tube holder 21 and each of the first optical path forming body 33 and the second optical path forming body 38. . In the illustrated example, the cooling air passage W is formed by a space surrounded by the wall surface forming the groove 27 on the outer surface of the tube holder 21 and the outer surfaces of the first optical path forming body 33 and the second optical path forming body 38. Is formed.

  The heating mechanism 40 includes a support plate 41 made of a heat insulating material, and a sheet heater 42 supported on the support plate 41, for example, formed of a polyimide resistance wire on a polyimide film. As the heat insulating material constituting the support plate 41, it is preferable to use a heat-resistant resin material such as a ceramic material, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin, or the like.

  The heating mechanism 40 is disposed on a plate-like support 55 fixed to the housing 11 via a spacer 56, and the tube holder 21 is disposed on a seat heater 42 in the heating mechanism 40. The tube holder 21 and the support plate 41 in the heating mechanism 40 are fixed to the support body 55 by bolts 57.

  The cooling mechanism 50 includes a fan, and is disposed such that the intake side faces the measurement mechanism 20 and the exhaust side faces the exhaust port 13 of the housing 11.

The opening / closing mechanism 60 of the lid body 15 freely moves in a substantially circular path between a closed state and an open state while maintaining the posture of opening the lid body 15 downward.
Specifically, the opening / closing mechanism 60 has a link mechanism including two (two in total) link bars 61 attached to both side surfaces of the lid body 15. A base end portion of each link bar 61 is swingably attached to a protruding plate 62 provided so as to protrude upward on the upper surface of the housing 11 via a pivot shaft. On the other hand, the tip of each link bar 61 is swingably attached to a projection plate 63 provided so as to protrude downward on the ceiling surface in the lid body 15 via a pivot shaft.

  In the optical measurement device 10 of this example, an auxiliary heating mechanism 45 is provided inside the cup-shaped lid body 15 so as to be in contact with the upper surface of the sample tube 1 in the closed state. In addition, the lid body 15 is provided with an air inlet 16 formed of a louver for introducing cooling air into the housing 11 in the closed state at a side position of the auxiliary heating mechanism 45.

  The auxiliary heating mechanism 45 is for preventing condensation on the inner surface of the lid 3 in the sample tube 1 during measurement. The auxiliary heating mechanism 45 of this example includes a support plate 46 made of a heat insulating material, a seat heater 47 supported on the support plate 46, for example, a polyimide film formed with a resistance wire made of stainless steel, and the seat heater. It is comprised by the heat-transfer plate 48 which was provided in the surface of 47, for example, consists of aluminum. The auxiliary heating mechanism 45 is fixed to the ceiling surface in the lid body 15 by the support rod 49, and the heat transfer plate 48 is attached to the lid body 3 in the sample tube 1 by closing the lid body 15. It is in contact with the upper surface.

  In the optical measurement device 10 of this example, a contact prevention member 65 that prevents an external object from coming into contact with the auxiliary heating mechanism 45 in the open state of the lid body 15 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 11. . The contact preventing member 65 is disposed so as to be positioned between the opening edge of the lid body 15 and the upper surface of the housing 11 in the open state of the lid body 15.

  In the optical measurement device 10, the lid body 15 is first opened, and the sample tube 1 is set in the tube receiving recess 24 of the tube holder 21 from the tube attachment / detachment opening 12 of the housing 11 in this state. Is done. Next, the lid body 15 is opened, whereby the heat transfer plate 48 in the auxiliary heating mechanism 45 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the lid body 3 in the sample tube 1. In this state, the lid body 15 is fixed to the housing 11 by the buckle 14.

When the optical measurement device 10 is operated, the sample tube 1 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heating mechanism 40 and the auxiliary heating mechanism 45.
In this state, the measurement light emitted from the light emitting element 32 of the light source unit 30 is irradiated to the sample in the sample tube 1 received in the tube receiving recess 24 of the tube holder 21, and the sample in the sample tube 1 is irradiated. The detection light emitted from the sample through the sample is detected by the light receiving sensor 37.

In the above, for example, when the measurement target component in the sample is DNA, the heating temperature by the heating mechanism 40 is, for example, 60 to 70 ° C., and the heating temperature by the auxiliary heating mechanism 45 is, for example, 60 to 70 ° C.
Further, a safety mechanism that stops the operation of the heating mechanism 40 and the auxiliary heating mechanism 45 when the lid body 15 is opened during the operation of the heating mechanism 40 and the auxiliary heating mechanism 45 may be provided.

  Since the measurement light emitted from the light emitting element 32 is absorbed in accordance with the concentration of the measurement target component contained in the sample, the amount of the detection light from the sample is lower than that of the measurement light. Become. Specifically, when the measurement light passes through the sample, the transmittance attenuates exponentially according to the concentration of the measurement target component in the sample. Therefore, the concentration of the measurement target component corresponding to the absorbance is measured by detecting the light amount of the detection light transmitted through the sample in the sample tube 1 by the light receiving sensor 37 and obtaining the absorbance of the sample. be able to. The concentration of the measurement target component is determined by, for example, preparing a calibration curve in advance using a standard solution of the measurement target component having a known concentration as a reference sample, and calculating the amount of detection light detected by the light receiving sensor 37. It can be obtained by comparing with the calibration curve.

  Thus, when the measurement on the sample in the sample tube 1 is completed, the heating mechanism 40 and the auxiliary heating mechanism 45 are stopped, and the cooling mechanism 50 is activated. As a result, cooling air is introduced into the apparatus from the air inlet 16 provided in the lid body 15. The cooling air first hits the auxiliary heating mechanism 45 located in front of the intake port 16, thereby cooling the auxiliary heating mechanism 45. Thereafter, the cooling air flows downward of the auxiliary heating mechanism 45 and circulates through the cooling air passage W formed between the tube holder 21 and the first optical path forming body 33 and the second optical path forming body 38. . Thereby, the sample tube 1, the tube holder 21, and the heating mechanism 40 are cooled. Thereafter, the cooling air flows toward the cooling mechanism 50 located on the side of the heating mechanism 40, and is discharged from the exhaust port 13 to the outside of the apparatus via the cooling mechanism 50.

In the above, the cooling mechanism 50 may be controlled to stop the operation when a predetermined time, for example, 5 minutes has elapsed since the start of the operation, and the temperature of the tube holder 21 is a predetermined temperature, for example, 40 ° C. It may be controlled to stop the operation when reaching.
Further, a safety mechanism may be provided that maintains the lid body 15 in a closed state so that the lid body 15 does not open until the operation of the cooling mechanism 50 stops.

  According to the optical measurement apparatus 10 described above, the cooling air flows through the cooling air passage W formed along the longitudinal direction of the sample tube 1 formed around the tube holder 21 by the cooling mechanism 50, and thus the sample tube 1. And the tube holder 21 can be cooled efficiently. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the operator from being burned after the measurement is completed, to improve the work efficiency of the inspection, and to break down the sensor or the like disposed around the tube holder 21. Can be prevented.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of the optical measurement apparatus of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various change can be added.
For example, the light measurement device 10 is configured as an absorbance measuring device, and the concentration of the measurement target component in the sample is measured by irradiating the sample with light and measuring the intensity of fluorescence from the sample. You may comprise as a fluorescence measuring device which measures this.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sample tube 2 Tube main body 3 Cover body 4 Connection part 10 Optical measuring device 11 Case 12 Tube attachment / detachment opening 13 Exhaust port 14 Buckle 15 Lid body 16 Intake port 20 Measuring mechanism 21 Tube holder 21a One outer surface 21b The other outside Side surface 22 Base portion 23 Holding portion 24 Tube receiving recess 25 Incident hole 26 Ejecting hole 27 Groove 28 Through hole 30 Light source portion 31 Substrate 32 Light emitting element 33 First optical path forming body 33a Recess 34 First optical path 35 light receiving unit 36 sensor substrate 37 light receiving sensor 38 second optical path forming body 38a recess 39 second optical path 40 heating mechanism 41 support plate 42 sheet heater 45 auxiliary heating mechanism 46 support plate 47 sheet heater 48 heat transfer plate 49 support rod 50 Cooling mechanism 55 Support 56 Spacer 57 Bolt 60 Opening / closing mechanism 61 Link bar 62 Projection plate 63 Projection plate 6 Contact prevention member W cooling air passage

Claims (5)

A tube holder formed with a tube receiving recess for receiving the sample tube, a light source unit for irradiating light to the sample accommodated in the sample tube, and a light receiving unit for detecting light from the sample; ,
A light measuring device comprising a heating mechanism for heating the sample tube via the tube holder,
A cooling air passage extending along the longitudinal direction of the sample tube received in the tube receiving recess is formed around the tube holder, and a cooling mechanism for circulating cooling air through the cooling air passage is provided. An optical measuring device provided. A housing for housing the measurement mechanism, the heating mechanism, and the cooling mechanism, in which a tube attaching / detaching opening for attaching / detaching the sample tube is formed in the tube holder, and opening / closing the tube attaching / detaching opening of the housing. With lid body,
The optical measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lid body is provided with an auxiliary heating mechanism that contacts the upper surface of the sample tube in a closed state. The lid body has an intake port for introducing cooling air into the housing in the closed state;
The optical measurement device according to claim 2, wherein the cooling air that is introduced from the air intake port circulates through the cooling air passage after the cooling mechanism is activated and then hits the auxiliary heating mechanism. . A first optical path forming body that is provided between the light source section and the tube holder and forms a first optical path through which light from the light source section passes, and between the tube holder and the light receiving section. Provided with a second optical path forming body that forms a second optical path through which light from the sample tube passes,
The cooling air path is formed between an outer surface of the tube holder and at least one outer surface of the first optical path forming body and the second optical path forming body. Item 4. The light measurement device according to any one of Items 3 to 4.   5. The tube holder has a groove for forming the cooling air passage extending along a longitudinal direction of the sample tube received in the tube receiving recess on an outer surface thereof. The light measuring device described.

Images