JP2555002B2 - Continuous quantitative analysis method of urinary components by flow injection method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for quantitatively analyzing urinary components, and more particularly to a method for measuring urine components using a crystal oscillator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Knowing the amount of protein in urine is a useful method for obtaining information on the condition of a living body. Therefore, recently, as shown in FIG. 9, a urine component measuring device is provided in the toilet (toilet bowl) 100 of each home, etc., and this is connected to the medical institution 104 by the telephone line 102 to obtain at each home. It is envisaged to send such data online to the medical institution 104 so that the medical institution 104 can check the health condition of the patient.

This system has a great merit in that it can measure the components of urine that wakes up early in the morning. The urinary components are subject to large daily fluctuations, and are easily affected by dietary content, exercise load status, environment, etc. Therefore, urinary components greatly vary depending on the date and time of urinalysis. It is clinically said that early morning wake-up urine (early morning first urine) is unlikely to be affected by this. Therefore, according to the above concept, this early morning wake-up urine can be easily collected and urine components can be measured. There is a merit that can be done.

[0004] Conventionally, the method mainly clinically used as a method for measuring protein in urine is to make the liquid containing the collected urine acidic to positively charge the protein, and to add a precipitant such as sulfosalicylic acid to this. Is used to precipitate a salt resulting from the reaction of protein with sulphosalicylic acid and the like, and the fact that the precipitation causes turbidity in the liquid is utilized.

More specifically, first, a precipitating agent such as sulfosalicylic acid is added to urine of which the amount of protein is known and the contents thereof are different to cause precipitation. On the other hand, urine with an unknown protein content is subjected to the same procedure to cause turbidity. Then, the amount of protein is known by visually comparing the turbidity of a sample with an unknown amount of protein with the turbidity of a sample with a known amount of protein.

As a method of measuring urinary protein, a method of measuring the turbidity of a sample with an absorptiometer is also used. That is, the sample having turbidity is irradiated with light having a specific wavelength to measure the absorbance of the sample.

However, these methods are complicated in operation and require a great deal of labor and time for measurement, and they are not sufficiently satisfactory in terms of measurement accuracy. In addition, in the method using the absorptiometer, the contamination of the cell becomes a problem, which causes a measurement error.

Therefore, in the latter method, care is taken in the measurement so that the contamination of the cell does not affect, and sufficient maintenance is performed to keep the cell clean. It was a troublesome and complicated task.

Although these methods are suitable for use in medical institutions, they are difficult to use as a method for measuring urinary components in a domestic toilet as described above, and in realizing the concept described above. It was desired to realize a method that can measure urinary components simply, easily and accurately.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has filed a prior patent application (Japanese Patent Application No.
No. 417139), a precipitant is added to the collected urine to precipitate proteins and the like in the urine on the surface of the crystal oscillator, and by measuring the change in the oscillation frequency of the crystal oscillator, A method for determining the amounts of components was proposed.

This method makes use of the fact that the oscillation frequency changes when a precipitate is present on the surface of the crystal oscillator, and according to the present method, proteins and the like in urine can be accurately measured.

By the way, as described above, when measuring urinary proteins and the like in household toilets, it is desirable to be able to automatically measure when urine is used, and the measuring device is compact and easy to use in toilet bowls and the like. It is desirable that it can be built in or assembled to the.

[0013]

The method of the present invention was devised to solve such a problem, and its gist is as follows.
(A) a crystal oscillator provided inside the container, a measurement cell provided with a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, and (b) an inflow passage through which the liquid to be measured flows into the measurement cell, (C) A discharge passage for discharging the measured liquid in the measurement cell, (d) a urine sample liquid introducing passage for guiding the urine sample liquid to the inflow passage, and (e) a urine sample liquid for flowing in through the introducing passage. Urine sample liquid injecting means for injecting into the passage, (f) a precipitating agent introducing passage for introducing a predetermined precipitating agent for precipitating components in urine into the inflow passage or into the measurement cell, (g)
A precipitant injection means for injecting the precipitant through the precipitant introducing passage is provided, and the urine sample liquid is unidirectionally flowed through a path including the measurement cell to allow the precipitant to be deposited on the surface of the crystal resonator inside the cell. That is, the urinary component is measured by causing the precipitate due to the reaction of (3) to precipitate and measuring the frequency change before and after the precipitation of the crystal oscillator.

[Operation and Effect of the Invention] In the method of the present invention, the urine sample liquid is injected into the inflow passage through the introduction passage, and a predetermined precipitant is injected into the inflow passage through the precipitant introduction passage. , And their mixed liquid is caused to flow into the measuring cell through the inflow passage.

Alternatively, the urine sample liquid is caused to flow into the measurement cell through the inflow passage and the precipitant is directly injected into the cell. Then, the precipitate due to these reactions is deposited on the surface of the quartz crystal resonator inside the measuring cell. Then, the oscillation frequency change of the crystal oscillator before and after the precipitation is measured, and the amount of the urinary component is obtained by the frequency change.

On the other hand, the liquid, which has been introduced into the measuring cell and measured, is allowed to flow out of the cell through the discharge passage.
That is, in the present invention, the liquid is circulated in one direction, and in the process, urine components are quantitatively analyzed.

As described above, this method is for injecting a urine sample solution into a flow for component analysis, and the analyzer can be constructed in a small size. Therefore, it can be easily incorporated in the toilet bowl. You can Alternatively, it can be attached to the toilet bowl as a predetermined measuring unit.

Further, unlike the method of measuring the urinary components by the batch method, it is easy to automate, so that the toilet user can automatically know the urinary components by adding the necessary amount. The management is facilitated and the concept shown in FIG. 9 described above can be realized.

[0019]

EXAMPLES Next, examples in which the present invention is applied to quantitative analysis of protein in urine will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG.
(A) is a flow chart for analyzing protein as a urinary component.
It shows an injection system. 1 in the figure
Reference numeral 0 is a measuring cell, and a crystal oscillator is provided inside the container.

An inflow passage 12 and a discharge passage 14 are connected to the measuring cell 10, a liquid to be measured flows into the measuring cell 10 through the inflow passage 12, and after measurement, is discharged to the outside through the discharging passage 14. It is supposed to be discharged.

A urine sample liquid introducing passage 16 and a urinary protein precipitating agent (sulfosalicylic acid, trichloracetic acid, etc.) introducing passage 18 are connected to the inflow passage 12 at the same location. The urine sample liquid introduction passage 16 is for guiding the urine sample liquid to the inflow passage 12, and the mixing coil 20 is provided on the way.
And a valve 22 for injecting a urine sample into the introduction passage 16.

A cleaning liquid introduction passage 30 is connected to the inflow passage 12 via a solenoid valve 28.

In the case of this flow injection system, first, the buffer solution is sent by the pump 24 to flow from the introduction passage 16 into the inflow passage 12 and then into the measuring cell 10. Then, the pump 24 is once stopped and the liquid supply is interrupted, and in that state, the oscillation frequency F ₁ of the crystal oscillator in the measurement cell 10 is measured.

Next, the urine sample solution is injected into the introduction passage 16 and mixed with the buffer solution in the mixing coil 20, and then flown into the inflow passage 12. At the same time, the precipitant is introduced into the inflow passage 12 through the introduction passage 18, and the combined liquid passes through the reaction coil 26 and then flows into the measuring cell 10 via the solenoid valve 28.

At this stage, the pump 24 is stopped and the oscillation frequency F ₂ of the crystal oscillator in the measuring cell 10 is measured.
Then, based on the oscillation frequency change ΔF = F ₁ −F ₂ , the amount of precipitate, that is, the total amount of urinary protein is obtained.

When the measurement of the frequency change of the crystal unit is completed, the flow path of the solenoid valve 28 is next switched to cause the cleaning solution to flow into the inflow passage 12 by the pump 24 through the introduction passage 30, and the inside of the measuring cell 10 is The inside of the measurement cell 10 including the surface of the crystal oscillator is washed by being circulated.

FIG. 1B shows an example of another flow injection system, in which the precipitant introducing passage 32 is directly connected to the measuring cell 10.

In this system, first, the buffer solution and the urine sample solution are mixed and introduced into the upper measuring cell 10, and the oscillation frequency F ₁ of the crystal oscillator is measured with the pump 24 stopped once. Ru

Next, a precipitating agent is injected into the measuring cell 10 through the introducing passage 32, and the urine sample liquid in the cell 10 is reacted with the precipitating agent to deposit the precipitate on the surface of the quartz oscillator. Then, the oscillating frequency F ₂ of the crystal unit after a lapse of a certain time is read. F ₂ and F ₁ at this time
The total amount of protein in urine can be calculated from the difference ΔF = F ₁ −F ₂ .

After the measurement was completed, the pump 24, which was sending the buffer solution and the precipitant, was stopped, and along with this, the solenoid valve 28
The flow path is switched and the cleaning solution is sent to clean the inside of the measurement cell 10 with the cleaning solution. This completes a series of measurement operations, and the same operation is repeated thereafter to analyze the protein in the next urine sample.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a measuring cell structure used in the flow injection system of FIG. 1A, in which a crystal oscillator 38 is housed. The crystal oscillator 38 is provided such that only one surface side is exposed inside the container.

The measuring cell 36 has an inflow pipe 40 opening at the bottom of the container and an exhaust pipe 41 opening at the top of the container.
Are provided.

In the measuring cell 36, the mixed liquid of the urine sample liquid and the precipitant flows into the measuring cell 36 through the inflow pipe 40 and fills the inside of the cell 36.
Then, the precipitate due to the reaction is deposited on the surface of the crystal oscillator 38, the oscillation frequency of the crystal oscillator is measured, and then the liquid inside the cell 36 is discharged to the outside through the discharge pipe 41.

In the case of this measuring cell 36, air is not allowed to remain inside and is sufficiently extracted through the discharge pipe 41.

FIG. 3 shows another structural example of the measuring cell used in the same flow injection system. In this example, inflow and outflow pipes 42 and 44 are shown.
Rushes in from the upper surface of the measuring cell 43.

One of the pipes 42 extends to the bottom of the measuring cell 43 so that the liquid can flow into the inside of the measuring cell 43 at the bottom. The other pipe 44 is open at the upper part inside the measuring cell 43 so that the liquid inside the measuring cell 43 is discharged from the upper part to the outside.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the structure of a measuring cell used in the flow injection system shown in FIG. 1 (B). In this example, the precipitating agent is added to the measuring cell 46.
A precipitant injection pipe 48 for guiding the inside is provided separately from the inflow pipe 40 and the outflow pipe 41.

FIG. 5 shows another example of the cell structure used in the same flow injection system. In the figure, reference numeral 52 is a precipitant injection pipe.

FIG. 6 shows another example of cell structure in which the ceiling surface inside the measuring cell is an inclined surface 58. By doing so, there is an advantage that the air inside the measuring cell can be guided to the exhaust pipe 56 by the inclined surface 58 and the air can be sufficiently evacuated.

Next, FIGS. 7 and 8 show an example in which an apparatus is constructed according to the flow injection system shown in FIG. 1 (A) and is assembled in a toilet bowl. First, in FIG. 7, 60 is a Western-style toilet bowl, and 62 is a urine protein analyzer unit assembled in the toilet bowl 60.

The concrete construction of the analyzer unit 62 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 64 is a measuring cell, in which a crystal oscillator 65 is incorporated. An inflow passage 66 and an exhaust passage 67 are connected to the measuring cell 64, and a reaction coil 70 is provided in the inflow passage 66.

Reference numeral 72 is an introduction passage for introducing the urine sample solution into the inflow passage 66 together with the buffer solution, and a mixing coil 74 is provided on the way. An electromagnetic valve 76 is provided at the connection between the introduction passage 72 and the inflow passage 66.

Reference numerals 82 and 84 respectively denote a buffer solution and a precipitant, which are housed inside the containers 78 and 80, respectively, and are pump 86 and
The solution is delivered at 88.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 7, a part of urine is collected in a urine collecting cylinder 83 provided in the toilet bowl 60, and the collected urine sample solution is sent by a pump 90 into a predetermined route.

An oscillator circuit 92 is connected to the crystal oscillator 65, and a frequency counter 94 is connected to the oscillator circuit 92.
However, a computer 96 is further connected to the frequency counter 94, and the calculation result, that is, the measurement result is displayed on the display 98.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, but this is merely an example, and the present invention can be carried out in a mode in which various modifications are made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. is there.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an example of a flow injection type urine component analysis method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a measuring cell used in the method shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the measurement cell.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing still another example of the measurement cell.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing still another example of the measurement cell.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing still another example of the measurement cell.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which the analyzer unit configured according to FIG. 1 (A) is attached to a toilet bowl.

FIG. 8 is a specific configuration diagram of the analyzer unit.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the background of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 36, 43, 46, 50, 54, 64 Measuring cell 12, 66 Inflow passage 14, 67 Discharge passage 16, 72 Urine sample liquid introduction passage 18, 32 Precipitant introduction passage 24, 86, 88, 90 Pump 38, 65 Crystal oscillator 40,42 Inflow pipe 41,44,56 Discharge pipe

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. (a) A measuring cell provided with a crystal resonator inside the container, and a liquid inlet and outlet, and (b) a liquid to be measured flows into the measuring cell. Through an inflow passage, (c) a discharge passage for discharging the measured liquid in the measurement cell, (d) a urine sample liquid introduction passage for guiding the urine sample liquid to the inflow passage, and (e) through the introduction passage. Urine sample liquid injecting means for injecting a urine sample liquid into the inflow passage, and (f) a precipitating agent introducing passage for introducing a predetermined precipitating agent for precipitating components in urine into the inflow passage or into the measurement cell, G) A precipitant injecting means for injecting the precipitant through the precipitant introducing passage is provided, and the urine sample liquid is unidirectionally flowed through a path including the measurement cell to cause the precipitation on the surface of the crystal oscillator inside the cell. The precipitate caused by the reaction with the agent is precipitated, and the crystal oscillator is allowed to precipitate. Flow, characterized by measuring the urine component by measuring the frequency change before and after the -
Continuous quantitative analysis of urinary components by injection method.