JP2020008464A - Collection container and collection device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a collection container and a collection device, capable of collecting a liquid specimen itself held to a cotton swab or the like in a state of reducing as much as possible a residual amount on the cotton swab.SOLUTION: There is provided a collection container 20 for collecting a liquid specimen held on an absorber 41 on a specimen collection tool 40 comprising: a rod-shaped axis 42; and the absorber 41 which is formed on a tip of the axis 42 and which can hold the liquid specimen. The collection container comprises: a cylindrical trunk 22; an upper end opening 24 formed on an upper end of the trunk 22; a tapered wall face 25 which is formed so that an inner diameter becomes narrower downward on an inner peripheral face of the trunk 22; and a collection opening 27 provided on a lower end of the tapered wall face 25. The tapered wall face 25 has a wall face groove 25B communicated with the collection opening 27. The tapered wall face 25 is formed so that the absorber 41 of the specimen collection tool 40 is inscribed therein, and thereby can support the specimen collection tool 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3A

Description

  The present invention relates to a collection container and a collection device for collecting a liquid sample from a sample collection tool such as a cotton swab holding the liquid sample.

  Using a sample collection tool having an absorber capable of holding a liquid, a sample of saliva, blood, urine, etc. is collected, a sample held in the absorber is collected, and various physical properties or Inspections and surveys of components are being conducted. As such a sample collection tool, for example, a cotton swab having a rod-shaped shaft and having a cotton body as an absorber at the tip of the shaft is used.

  Swabs used to collect specimens may vary depending on the type of specimen (eg, human or non-human animal), the type of specimen (eg, blood, urine, or saliva) and the amount of specimen needed, The length of the shaft to which the body is attached is appropriately selected. Therefore, various types of swabs are used.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 below discloses a container for collecting forensic materials in which a basket having a transparent bottom is provided in a cylindrical container. Specifically, a sample containing DNA (for example, an oral swab) is put into the basket, a decomposition / lysis buffer is added into the container so as to fill the basket, and a liquid from which DNA has been eluted is collected. It is possible to collect the liquid remaining in the sample by centrifugation.

  Further, Patent Document 2 below discloses a device capable of squeezing a sample by inserting a sample collected with a sponge with a handle into a container having a reduced inner diameter containing a diluent. .

  Further, Patent Literature 3 below discloses a sample container in which the length of the rib in the direction of the center of the container gradually increases from the top to the bottom. The inside of the container is filled with an extract in advance. A swab is inserted here, and the swab is rotated so as to rub against the rib, so that the specimen can be discharged from the swab into the extract.

JP 2010-534324 A JP-A-10-090131 Japanese Patent No. 5080395

  In each of the above-mentioned prior arts, a diluting solution or a dissolving solution is contained in a container, and the extraction target is recovered in a state of being dissolved in the diluting solution or the dissolving solution.

  In view of the above problems, it is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to recover a liquid specimen itself held in an absorber such as a cotton swab with the remaining amount in the absorber as small as possible.

A collection container according to the present disclosure is a sample collection tool having a rod-shaped shaft and an absorber formed at the tip of the shaft and capable of holding a liquid sample, for collecting the liquid sample held by the absorber. A collection container,
A cylindrical body,
An upper end opening provided at an upper end of the trunk,
On the inner peripheral surface of the body, a tapered wall surface formed so that the inner diameter is narrowed downward,
A collection opening provided at a lower end of the tapered wall surface,
With
A wall groove communicating with the collection opening is formed on the tapered wall surface,
The tapered wall surface is formed so as to be able to support the sample collection tool by inscribing the absorber of the sample collection tool.

  In addition, the collection device according to the present disclosure includes the collection container and an extraneous container that stores the collection container.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to increase the collection amount of the liquid specimen itself held in the absorber such as the cotton body of the cotton swab while minimizing the remaining amount in the absorber.

It is a front view of a collection container in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the collection container of FIG. 1A. It is II sectional drawing of FIG. 1B, FIG. 1D, and FIG. 1E. It is a top view of the collection container of FIG. 1A. It is a bottom view of the collection container of FIG. 1A. It is a side view of an extrapolation container in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the extrapolation container of FIG. 2A. It is II-II sectional drawing of FIG. 2B. It is a front view of the collection device in the embodiment of the present invention. It is III-III sectional drawing of FIG. 3A. It is a front sectional view showing the use state of the collection device in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front sectional view showing the use state of the collection device in an embodiment of the present invention.

  A collection container according to the present disclosure is provided with a rod-shaped shaft, an absorber formed at the tip of the shaft, and capable of holding a liquid sample, for collecting a liquid sample held by the absorber in a sample collection tool. Things. The collection container has a cylindrical body, an upper end opening provided at an upper end of the body, and a tapered wall surface formed so that an inner diameter is narrowed downward on an inner peripheral surface of the body. A collection opening provided at the lower end of the tapered wall surface, and a wall groove communicating with the collection opening is formed in the tapered wall surface. It is formed so as to support the sampling tool.

  A cotton swab provided with a cotton body as an absorber is suitable as a sample collection tool. The axis of the specimen collection tool may be rod-shaped. In other words, the swab as the specimen collection tool has a cotton body as an absorber at the tip of the rod-shaped shaft. Further, the collection container according to the present disclosure is particularly suitable for a long-axis cotton swab. The absorber may have an occlusion property capable of holding the liquid sample in the absorber by, for example, capillary action. Further, it may be provided with easy flexibility so that the liquid specimen can be easily squeezed out. Examples of the absorber include a cotton body or a sponge.

  The collection container has a cylindrical body with both ends opened. Here, in the present disclosure, the upper and lower sides are determined by the state in which the collection container is placed when collecting the liquid specimen. That is, in the collection container, the direction in which the liquid sample moves according to gravity is downward, and the opposite direction is upward.

  The upper end opening provided at the upper end of the body has a diameter such that the absorber of the sample collection tool can be inserted into the body. Here, the body portion refers to a portion of the collection container that has a cylindrical appearance and has a space inside.

  The tapered wall surface refers to a portion having a structure in which the inner diameter is narrowed downward on the inner peripheral surface of the body. Further, a wall groove is provided on the tapered wall surface. Here, the bottom surface of the wall surface groove may or may not be inclined like a tapered wall surface. In other words, the tapered wall surface can be said to be a portion having at least an inclined surface that narrows the inner diameter as it goes downward. Here, the inner diameter of the tapered wall surface refers to the diameter of an inscribed circle inscribed on the inner surface side of the tapered wall surface. Specifically, when an absorber (eg, a cotton swab at the tip of a cotton swab) formed at the tip of the sample collection tool is inserted into the collection container, the inscribed circle of the tapered wall portion with which the absorber can come into contact It can also be called the diameter of. With such a configuration, the tapered wall surface is formed so as to be able to support the sample collection tool by inscribing the absorber of the sample collection tool. For example, in supporting a sample collection tool such as a cotton swab including the shaft portion at the axis of the collection container, the tapered wall surface may be inclined in the axial direction of the collection container downward. preferable.

  The shape of the wall groove can be selected as appropriate according to properties such as the surface tension, contact angle, density, viscosity, and presence or absence of foreign substances of the liquid sample. For example, the width, depth and length of the wall groove can be selected to be optimal for causing capillary action of the liquid specimen. Further, for example, the capacity of the wall groove can be made sufficiently large with respect to the sample amount. Thus, a wall groove into which the liquid sample held by the absorber can flow can always be secured, and the liquid sample can be detached from the wall groove without any delay. Then, it is possible to increase the collection amount of the liquid sample from the absorber and prevent the liquid sample once separated from the absorber from being re-absorbed by the absorber. Further, for example, when the liquid specimen contains insoluble contaminants, it is possible to prevent such insoluble contaminants from clogging the wall grooves by increasing the width and depth of the wall grooves.

  When a plurality of ribs protrude in the axial direction from the inner peripheral surface of the body, the wall surface groove occupies most of the tapered wall surface. In other words, the space between the ribs serves as a wall groove, and the tapered wall surface can be grasped as a structure including all of the rib and the wall groove. In such a case, an inscribed circle inscribed on the inner surface side of the tapered wall surface is in contact with the plurality of ribs. In other words, the bottom of the wall groove does not need to be inclined so as to be narrowed downward, as long as the inner peripheral edge of the rib is inclined downward in the axial direction.

  A collection opening is formed at the lower end of the tapered wall surface. A wall groove communicates with the collection opening. Note that a lower end opening provided at the lower end of the body may be formed below the recovery opening. The collection opening and the lower end opening are connected by a collection path.

  In addition, a guide path may be interposed between the upper end opening and the tapered wall surface on the inner peripheral surface of the trunk. Here, the guide path refers to a portion where the inner diameter is not particularly narrowed from the upper end opening to the tapered wall surface.

  With the above configuration, the recovery container according to the present disclosure has the following operational effects.

  First, with the absorber of the sample collection tool holding the liquid sample at the head, the sample collection tool is inserted from the upper end opening of the collection container, and the absorber at the tip of the sample collection tool is brought into contact with the tapered wall surface. At this time, the tapered wall surface is inclined downward so that the inner diameter of the inside of the body is narrowed. Therefore, in the case of a sample collection tool having an absorber whose size falls within the range of the inner diameter, the absorber is sandwiched between the tapered wall surfaces by inserting the absorber below the collection container. Thereby, the absorber is supported on the tapered wall surface at a plurality of positions, and the absorber is locked on the tapered wall surface. In addition, since the inner diameter of the tapered wall surface is continuously narrowed downward, the collection container can securely fix sample collection tools having absorbers of various sizes, and collects a liquid sample. be able to. In addition, since the absorber is supported at a plurality of positions, the standing state can be stably maintained, including the axis of the sample collection tool. Therefore, even when swabs having cotton bodies of various sizes are used as a sample collection tool, the shaft of the swab does not need to be particularly supported by fingers or other means. Therefore, for example, it is suitable for operating the sample collection tool inserted into the collection container, for example, when cutting the axis of the sample collection tool that hinders the operation when collecting the liquid sample.

  Next, a wall surface groove is formed on the tapered wall surface in contact with the absorber. The wall groove is formed so as to cause a capillary phenomenon of the liquid specimen. Therefore, the liquid sample held by the absorber is drawn into the wall groove from the absorber using the capillary force as a driving force. Further, since the tapered wall surface is provided with the wall surface groove, the contact area between the tapered wall surface and the absorber is reduced. Therefore, when the liquid sample is drawn into the wall groove from the absorber by the capillary force, the amount of the liquid sample staying at the contact portion between the tapered wall surface and the absorber is reduced, and the liquid sample is suppressed from remaining in the absorber. You. Further, since the wall groove is not in contact with the absorber, the liquid specimen that has once separated from the absorber and flowed into the wall groove does not come into contact with the absorber again. This can prevent the liquid sample once taken out of the absorber from returning to the absorber again. By these actions, the liquid sample can be separated from the absorber and collected without leaving the liquid sample in the absorber. The wall groove is desirably formed straight along the long axis direction of the collection container, but may be formed obliquely or spirally with respect to the long axis direction.

  Then, the liquid sample that has permeated the wall groove is guided to the collection opening by capillary force and collected. When the collection container has a collection path and a lower end opening, the liquid sample guided to the collection opening is collected from the lower end opening corresponding to the lower end of the body via the collection path. Further, by reducing the opening areas of the collection opening and the lower end opening, the liquid sample can be collected in a narrow range.

  Here, the liquid sample is not particularly limited as long as it has a liquid property, but a liquid component derived from a living body, for example, saliva, sputum, nasal discharge, blood, urine or digestive system, respiratory system, urinary system or Reproductive mucosal secretions are suitable for the present disclosure. The living body is, for example, a human or a non-human animal, specifically, a patient or a patient.

  When the viscosity of such a liquid sample is low, if the collection container containing the sample collection tool is allowed to stand vertically so that the absorber holding the liquid sample is in contact with the tapered wall surface, the collection opening can be The liquid specimen can flow out and be collected by free fall. The collection method includes, for example, receiving the outflowing liquid sample in a container such as a commercially available microtube, beaker, or petri dish. In addition, for example, the outflowing liquid sample may be directly received at a portion where a sample provided in a test paper or a test device is introduced. When performing such a collection method, it is preferable in that it is not necessary to prepare a special member other than the collection container of the present disclosure.

  When the viscosity of such a liquid specimen is high, it is desirable that the wall groove occupies most of the tapered wall surface. In this case, the structure of the tapered wall surface is a structure in which a rib extending in the axial direction from the inner peripheral surface of the body is formed. And this rib comes in contact with and supports the absorber. Then, the contact area between the absorber and the ribs forming the tapered wall surface is reduced, and even a liquid sample such as highly viscous saliva flows out by free fall through the wall groove occupying most of the tapered wall surface. Can be recovered.

  When the viscosity of the liquid sample is high, or when it is desired to collect the liquid sample remaining in the absorber as little as possible, the liquid sample can be further centrifuged by centrifuging the collection container in which the absorber is in contact with the tapered wall surface. Can be recovered. At this time, if the collection container is centrifuged while being housed in a commercially available one-size-larger microtube, the liquid specimen flowing out from the collection opening is collected at the bottom of the microtube.

  When the collection container has a collection path, its shape can be selected as appropriate according to properties such as surface tension, contact angle, density, viscosity, and presence or absence of impurities of the liquid sample. For example, the inner diameter and length of the collection channel can be selected to be optimal for causing capillary action of the liquid specimen. Further, for example, the capacity of the collection path can be made sufficiently large with respect to the sample amount. Further, for example, the recovery path may be formed in a shape in which the inner diameter increases downward. As a result, the liquid sample can be guided from the collection opening to the collection path without interruption, and the amount of liquid sample collected from the absorber can be increased. In addition, the liquid sample once separated from the absorber is re-absorbed by the absorber. Can be prevented. In addition, for example, when the liquid specimen contains insoluble contaminants, it is possible to prevent the insoluble contaminants from clogging the recovery path by increasing the inner diameter of the recovery path.

  It is desirable that a collection groove is provided around the collection path of the collection container. Preferably, a plurality of the collecting grooves are equally arranged around the collecting path. By providing such a collecting groove, it is possible to further increase the capillary force of the collecting path, thereby improving the liquid holding property of the collecting path.

  The recovery container according to the present disclosure may have a guide path that communicates with the tapered wall surface from the upper end opening. Accordingly, the absorber inserted from the upper end opening can be guided to contact the tapered wall surface, and the absorber can be reliably locked on the tapered wall surface.

  The shape of the guideway can be selected as appropriate according to the size of the sample collecting tool, the size and shape of the absorber, and the properties of the sample collecting tool such as the length, thickness and shape of the shaft. For example, when a cotton swab having a long shaft is used as a sample collection tool, it is desirable to lengthen the guide path in order to stably hold the swab even when the shaft of the swab is inclined.

  A collection device according to the present disclosure includes a collection container and an extraneous container that stores the collection container.

  The external container has a cylindrical structure in which one upper end is open and the other lower end is closed. The collection device into which the collection container is inserted from the upper open end is the collection device.

  In this collection device, the sample collection tool holding the liquid sample is inserted through the upper end opening of the collection container, and the tip of the absorber is brought into contact with the tapered wall surface. At this time, the liquid specimen held by the absorber penetrates into the wall groove by capillary force, is guided to the collection opening by capillary force, and is collected from the lower end opening of the lower end of the collection container to the bottom of the extrapolated container through the collection path. Is done. At this time, more liquid samples are collected by centrifuging the entire collection device. It is desirable that the bottom of the extrapolation container be a tapered collection section so that the liquid specimen collected in the extrapolation container can be easily taken out with a pipette or the like.

  In addition, in the collection device, it is desirable that a locking edge that locks to the edge of the opening of the extraneous container be provided at the edge of the upper end opening. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the collection container from being stuck in the external container during centrifugation and cannot be removed. Further, a gap can be formed between the lower end portion of the collection container and the bottom of the extrapolation container. This can prevent the liquid sample collected in the extrapolation container from coming into contact with the lower end portion of the collection container, and can prevent the collected liquid sample from being contaminated.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the reference numerals common to the drawings refer to the same configuration without special description in the drawings.

<Recovery container>
As shown in the front view of FIG. 1A and the side view of FIG. 1B, the collection container 20 of the present embodiment includes a cylindrical body 22 having an upper end opened as an upper end opening 24, and a lower end portion of the body 22. The tapered portion 23 includes a tapered portion 23 whose diameter is reduced downward, and a flange-shaped locking edge 21 whose upper edge of the body portion 22 is enlarged. A pair of gripping pieces 21A protrude from both left and right sides of the locking edge 21. The gripping piece 21A has a substantially inverted L-shape (see FIG. 1A) which rises once from the locking edge 21 and bends outward.

  As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1C, a portion having a constant inner diameter inside the trunk portion 22 is a guide path 26. The inside of the tapered portion 23 has a tapered wall surface 25 whose inner diameter is narrowed about half from above, and a recovery path 28 that opens to a lower end opening 29 at the lower end.

  As shown in the plan view of FIG. 1D, the tapered wall surface 25 has four ribs 25 </ b> A projecting inward from the inner surface of the tapered portion 23 and four wall groove 25 </ b> B interposed therebetween. And a structure having: In other words, the wall surface groove 25 </ b> B is a space recessed outward with respect to the tapered wall surface 25. Alternatively, it can be said that four wall grooves 25B are formed on the tapered wall surface 25, and portions other than these wall grooves 25B are formed as four ribs 25A extending in the axial direction. That is, it can be said that the tapered wall surface 25 is constituted by the four ribs 25A and the four wall grooves 25B. When the sample collection tool 40 is inserted from the upper end opening 24 with the absorber 41 at the top, the absorber 41 comes into contact with the inclined surface on the axial center side of the four ribs 25A of the tapered wall surface 25 (see FIG. 4A). The inclined surfaces of the four ribs 25 </ b> A are inclined so that the inner diameter decreases toward the lower part of the body 22. Therefore, by inserting the lower part of the sample collection tool 40, the absorber 41 is sandwiched between the inclined surfaces of the four ribs 25A of the tapered wall surface 25. As a result, the absorber 41 is supported by the tapered wall surface 25 at a plurality of locations, and as a result, the sample collection tool 40 can be locked. On the other hand, the four wall grooves 25B are formed as spaces depressed outward with respect to the tapered wall surface 25. Therefore, the absorber 41 does not touch the four wall grooves 25B.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, the recovery path 28 extends from the recovery opening 27 opening at the lower end of the tapered wall surface 25 to the lower end opening 29 at the lower end of the tapered portion 23. Further, as shown in the bottom view of FIG. 1E, around the recovery path 28, four recovery grooves 28A along the longitudinal direction are equally arranged.

<External container>
As shown in the side view of FIG. 2A and the front view of FIG. 2B, the extrapolation container 30 of the present embodiment is continuous with the cylindrical portion 32 having a certain diameter, and It has a reduced diameter portion 33 whose diameter is reduced toward the bottom and whose lower end is closed, and a flange-shaped flange portion 31 whose upper edge is enlarged in diameter at the cylindrical portion 32. A pair of gripping portions 31A protrude from the front side and the rear side of the flange portion 31. The grip portion 31A has a substantially inverted L-shape (see FIG. 2A) which rises once from the flange portion 31 and bends outward.

  As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2C, the inside of the tubular portion 32 is a space having a constant inner diameter that can accommodate the outer diameter of the body 22 of the collection container 20. Further, the inside of the reduced diameter portion has a tapered surface that is reduced in diameter downward, and the recovery portion 35 has a closed bottom in an arc shape at the lower end.

<Recovery device>
When the collection container 20 is inserted into the extraneous container 30, the collection device 10 as shown in the front view of FIG. 3A is obtained. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3B, the locking edge 21 of the collection container 20 is locked by the flange portion 31 of the outer container 30. The body 22 of the collection container 20 is housed in the cylindrical portion 32 and the reduced diameter portion 33 of the extrapolated container 30. Further, the distal end of the tapered portion 23 of the collection container 20 reaches halfway of the reduced diameter portion 33 of the extrapolation container 30, and the lower end opening 29 faces the collection portion 35.

  Here, the entire collection device 10 can be easily moved by grasping the grasping portion 31A of the extrapolated container 30 with fingers. In addition, the attachment / detachment of the outer container 30 to / from the rotor of the centrifuge is easy if the grip portion 31A is gripped. On the other hand, the collection container 20 can be easily removed from the extrapolated container 30 by grasping the holding piece 21A of the collection container 20 with fingers.

<Use condition>
Next, the use state of the collection device 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the front sectional views of FIGS. 4A and 4B.

  FIG. 4A shows a state in which a swab as the specimen collection tool 40 is inserted into the collection device 10 in the state shown in FIG. 3B. A cotton body as an absorber 41 is formed at the tip of a rod-shaped shaft 42 of a cotton swab as a sample collection tool 40, and a liquid sample (for example, saliva) is absorbed and held therein. In this state, since the absorber 41 is supported from all sides by the tapered wall surface 25, the sample collection tool 40 can stably maintain the standing position. In other words, the sample collection tool 40 can maintain an independent state without manually supporting the shaft 42 of the sample collection tool 40.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the shaft 42 of the sample collection tool 40 which is in the upright position prevents collection of a liquid sample, especially centrifugation, and can be cut at an appropriate length as shown in FIG. 4B. is there.

  In the state shown in FIG. 4B, the cotton body as the absorber 41 is in contact with the tapered wall surface 25, and the liquid specimen held by the absorber 41 penetrates into the wall groove 25B by the capillary force of the wall groove 25B. . The liquid sample that has permeated the wall groove 25B does not permeate the absorber 41 again against the capillary force and reaches the collection opening 27. When the viscosity of the liquid sample is relatively low, if the collection device 10 is allowed to stand vertically, the liquid sample falls freely from the lower end opening 29 through the collection path 28 to the collection unit 35 of the extracorporeal container 30 by gravity. Stored. At this time, the capillary force of the recovery path 28 is further increased by the recovery grooves 28 </ b> A equally distributed around the recovery path 28.

  Then, by centrifuging the collection device 10 in the state shown in FIG. 4B, the liquid sample remaining in the absorber 41 can be further squeezed out, so that more liquid sample can be collected. In addition, even when the viscosity of the liquid sample is relatively high and the amount of collection is small only by free fall due to gravity, more liquid samples are centrifuged to the collection unit 35 by centrifuging the collection device 10 in the state shown in FIG. 4B. Can be accumulated.

  When the liquid sample is accumulated in the collection section 35, the collection container 20 containing the sample collection tool 40 can be removed, and the accumulated liquid sample can be collected using a micropipette or the like.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as an instrument for collecting a liquid sample from a sample collection tool such as a cotton swab holding the liquid sample.

Reference Signs List 10 collection device 20 collection container 21 locking edge 24 upper end opening 25 tapered wall surface 25B wall groove 26 guideway 27 collection opening 28 collection passage 29 lower end opening 30 extrapolated container 40 sample collection tool 41 absorber 42 axis

Claims (7)

A rod-shaped shaft, an absorber formed at the tip of the shaft, and capable of holding a liquid sample, a collection container for collecting the liquid sample held by the absorber in a sample collection tool,
A cylindrical body,
An upper end opening provided at an upper end of the trunk,
On the inner peripheral surface of the body, a tapered wall surface formed so that the inner diameter is narrowed downward,
A collection opening provided at a lower end of the tapered wall surface,
With
A wall groove communicating with the collection opening is formed on the tapered wall surface,
The collection container, wherein the tapered wall is formed so as to support the sample collection tool by inscribing the absorber of the sample collection tool. A lower end opening formed below the recovery opening,
A collection path communicating the collection opening and the lower end opening,
The collection container according to claim 1, further comprising:   3. The collection container according to claim 1, wherein a guide path is interposed between the upper end opening and the tapered wall surface on an inner peripheral surface of the trunk portion. 4.   The collection container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid sample is saliva.   The collection container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the liquid specimen is derived from an animal other than a human. A collection container according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An extrapolation container containing the collection container,
A collection device comprising:   The collection device according to claim 6, wherein a locking edge that locks to a periphery of the opening of the extraneous container is provided at a periphery of the upper end opening.