JP2662788B2 - Microplate heating method and device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a microplate heating method.

[Summary of the Invention]

In the heating method of the microplate, a step of sandwiching the microplate with an upper heating plate and a lower heating plate,
A step of separating only the hot plate from the state below is provided to effectively heat the sample in the microplate.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when heating the liquid in the microplate, the second
As shown in the figure, the lower surface of the microplate 203 is heated by the heating plate 204 while the upper surface of the microplate 203 is pressed by a lid 202 having a plate 201 made of an elastic material such as rubber on the lower surface. The liquid 205 was prevented from evaporating by heating. Also, when cooling from the heated state, by turning off the heat source of the heating plate 204 in a state where the lid 202 is pressed against the upper surface of the microplate 203, the liquid 205 in the microplate evaporates to the atmosphere during cooling. Was preventing that.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional heating apparatus for a microplate, since the heating was performed only by the heating plate 204, a temperature gradient was formed in the vertical direction, and the temperature control accuracy and the angle of the liquid 205 in the microplate were poor. Further, since the temperature of the well 206 of the microplate and the temperature of the space 207 confined in the lid 202 tend to be higher than the temperature of the surface of the lid 202, the vaporized liquid 205 in the space 207 is cooled during the cooling.
There was a disadvantage that the liquid 205 was reduced due to condensation on the surface of No. 2.

Therefore, the present invention solves the drawbacks of the prior art, and provides a method for heating a microplate in which the accuracy and accuracy of temperature control in the microplate is good and the amount of reduction of the liquid 205 after the completion of the heat treatment is extremely small. It is intended to provide.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, heating the microplate by heating the microplate with an upper heating plate and a lower heating plate, and pressing the upper heating plate against the upper surface of the microplate, And cooling the lower heating plate away from the lower surface of the microplate.

[Action]

In the heating method of the microplate configured as described above, during heating, the upper heating plate and the lower heating plate are controlled to have the same heating temperature, thereby reducing the temperature gradient in the vertical direction between the two heating plates. By
The influence of the ambient temperature can be reduced, and the accuracy and accuracy of the temperature control of the liquid in the microplate can be increased. In addition, by equipping the lower surface of the upper heating plate with a plate made of an elastic material such as rubber as in the past, the upper heating plate also serves as the lid of the microplate, so that the liquid in the microplate evaporates during heating. Can also be prevented. On the other hand, even when cooling from the heating state, it is possible to prevent the liquid vaporized in the microplate from being condensed on the surface of the upper heating plate for the following reason. That is, the heat capacity of the upper heating plate is set to be larger than the total heat capacity of the microplate and the liquid in the inside. During heating, as described above, the upper heating plate, the microplate, and the lower heating plate are set to almost the same temperature. Has become. At the time of cooling, the liquid in the microplate evaporates to the atmosphere during cooling by keeping the upper heating plate pressed against the upper surface of the microplate and separating the lower heating plate from the lower surface of the microplate to cut off the heat source of the heating plate. It is conventional to prevent that, but furthermore, the upper heating plate and the microplate just before cooling are at almost the same temperature, from this state,
While keeping the upper heating plate pressed against the upper surface of the microplate, the lower heating plate is separated from the lower surface of the microplate, and the heat source of both heating plates is turned off. Cooling is performed while maintaining the temperature not lower than the temperature of the space confined by the heating plate, so that the amount of liquid reduction due to the vaporization of liquid in the wells of the microplate condensing on the surface of the upper heating plate is extremely reduced. Can be slightly.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, an upper heating plate 120 has an upper heating element 122 in close contact with the upper surface of an upper heat equalizing plate 121, and further heat insulating material 123.
The upper heat equalizing plate 121 is covered with a plate 124 made of an elastic material such as rubber and having good heat conductivity. On the other hand, the lower heating plate 140 has a structure in which the lower heating element 142 is adhered to the lower surface of the lower heat equalizing plate 141, and the lower heating plate 142 is further covered with a heat insulating material 143 from below. FIG. 1A shows a state where the microplate 130 is being heated between the upper heating plate 120 and the lower heating plate 140. At this time, the upper heating plate 12
Since 0 and the lower heating plate 140 are controlled to have the same set temperature, the temperature gradient in the vertical direction between the two heating plates can be reduced, and the temperature control accuracy of the liquid 150 in the microplate 130 and Accuracy can be improved. In addition, since the well 131 is covered with a lid from the upper surface of the microplate 130 and sealed with an elastic plate 124, the pressure in the space 132 in the well can be increased.
50 evaporation can be reduced. FIG. 1B shows a state in which the lower heating plate 140 is being separated from the lower surface of the microplate 130 and is being cooled while the upper surface of the microplate 130 is pressed against the upper heating plate 120. As described above, the upper heating plate 120, the microplate 130, the lower heating plate
FIG. 1B shows the cooling from the state where 140 is heated to substantially the same temperature. Therefore, since the cooling rate of the liquid 150 in the microplate 130 is faster than the cooling rate of the upper heating plate 120, the liquid 150
What has evaporated inside can be cooled without dew condensation on the surface of the upper heating plate 120. The upper heating plate 12
The mechanism for controlling the position of the lower heating plate 140 of the microplate 130 can be easily realized by using a cam or the like.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the present invention has an effect of improving the accuracy and accuracy of temperature control in a microplate by heating a microplate with an upper heating plate and a lower heating plate sandwiched between the heating plate and the upper heating plate. By cooling the lower heating plate away from the lower surface of the microplate while keeping it pressed against the upper surface of the plate, there is an effect that the amount of decrease in the liquid in the microplate after the completion of the heat treatment is extremely reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state of an upper heating plate, a microplate, and a lower heating plate used in one embodiment of the present invention, and (a) shows a state where the microplate is bitten by the upper and lower heating plates. FIG. 2B shows a state in which a lower heating plate is separated from the state shown in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2 shows a state of a lid, a microplate, and a heating plate in a conventional microplate heating apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view. 120: Upper heating plate 122: Upper heating element 130: Microplate 140: Lower heating plate 142: Lower heating element

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Osamu Segawa, Inventor Hiroshi Kadota, Examiner, Seiko Electronic Industry Co., Ltd., 6-31-1, Kameido, Koto-ku, Tokyo (56) References U)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sample having a heat capacity larger than the sum of an elastic body for sealing the sample, a heat capacity of the microplate, and a heat capacity of the sample stored in the microplate. In order to heat the sample, an upper heating plate comprising an upper heating element provided on the upper surface of the elastic body, and a lower heating plate provided on the lower surface of the microplate for heating the sample are heated to the same temperature. Heating the sample by heating, keeping the upper heating plate pressed against the microplate, separating the lower heating plate from the microplate,
A heating method of a microplate for cooling the sample by turning off heat sources of the upper heating plate and the lower heating plate. 2. A plate-like elastic body for sealing a sample in a microplate, a heat equalizing plate in contact with an upper surface of the elastic body to heat the elastic body to a uniform temperature, and an upper surface of the heat equalizing plate. A heating element that is in contact with and heats the heat equalizer, an upper heating plate that is in contact with the upper surface of the heating element and that is made of a heat insulating material that prevents heat radiation of the heating element, and a position control unit that controls the position of the upper heating plate. A plate-shaped soaking plate separated from the upper heating plate and opposed to the lower surface of the elastic body to heat the lower surface of the microplate to a uniform temperature; and the soaking plate in contact with the lower surface of the soaking plate. A lower heating plate made of a heat insulating material in contact with the lower surface of the heating element to prevent heat radiation of the heating element; position control means for controlling a position of the lower heating plate; Temperature control means to control the lower heating plate to the same temperature A heating device for a microplate, comprising: a step;