JPH0543063Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) This invention relates to a device for manufacturing a micropipette used in a micromanipulator that micromanipulates cells in the field of biotechnology that handles cells. .

(Conventional technology) A micropipette with a sharp tip has a diameter of 1
It can be manufactured by heating and stretching a glass tube of about mm size.

The device for manufacturing a micropipette has a pair of glass tube mounts that sandwich the glass at two points; one glass tube mount is fixed to the base, and the other glass tube mount is fixed to the base. It is supported by a base so that it can slide in the axial direction of the tube, and is biased away from one glass tube mount, and a heater that heats and melts the glass tube between both glass tube mounts is attached to the heater pedestal. There is a micropipette manufacturing apparatus in which the heater stand is also supported by the base so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the glass tube.

There are two ways to make a micropipette: one is to heat a glass tube and pull it all at once to make a micropipette (single pull), and the other is to make a micropipette at once to make the tip shape into the desired shape. There is a method of making a micropipette by stopping the glass tube in a constricted state without pulling it until it reaches the constricted position, then heating the constricted position again and pulling it to make a micropipette (two-step pulling). In two-stage heating, the position of the heater must be changed between the first stage heating and the second stage heating.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) When manufacturing a micropipette using the two-stage drawing method, after heating the second stage by moving the position of the heater, in manufacturing the next micropipette, If you forget to return the heater to its original position and perform the operation, the length of the constriction after the first stage of heating will change in the next micropipette, and you will have to make another micropipette with the same shape. I won't be able to do that.

The present invention has a micropipette manufacturing device that can slide the position of the heater so that it can perform two-step pulling. The purpose of this is to automatically return the heater to its original position when manufacturing a pet.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the present invention, a contact portion is provided between the movable glass tube mounting base and the heater base to maintain the positional relationship between the two bases before sliding.

(Function) Even if the heater is moved by performing two-stage pulling, the movable glass tube mount is returned to its original position when attaching the next glass tube to the mount. At this time, the movable glass tube mount comes into contact with the heater stand and pushes the heater stand back to its original position. As a result, when the glass tube is attached, the heater is positioned at the first heating position.

(Example) FIG. 1 represents one embodiment.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a fixed glass tube mounting base, which is fixed to the base 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a movable glass tube mount, which can be slid in the direction of moving away from or approaching the fixed glass tube mount 2.
It is supported by the base 4 by a slider 7 at its base end.

A spring 22 is applied to the slider 7 to urge the glass tube mount 6 in a direction away from the glass tube mount 2 on the fixed side. 23 is a knob for fixing the spring 22, and 24 is an adjustment knob for adjusting the tension of the spring 22.

A clamping member 10 for clamping the glass tube 8 is provided at the upper end of the glass tube mount 2 . The clamping member 10 is made of a soft material such as polytetrafluoroethylene, and fixes the glass tube 8 by clamping a part of the glass tube 8 and tightening the clamping member 10 to the mounting base 2 using the mounting knob 12. be able to. A holding member 14 having the same structure is also provided at the upper end of the glass tube mount 6. Holding member 14
Also, hold a part of the glass tube 8 in between and tighten the mounting knob 16.
By tightening, the glass tube 8 can be fixed.

A heater stand 18 is provided between the fixed glass tube mount 2 and the movable glass tube mount 6. A heater 20 for heating and melting the glass tube 8 is provided on the heater stand 18 . The heater stand 18 is located at the first position (third position) where the first stage of the glass tube 8 is heated.
A slider 19 is installed at the base end of the glass tube 8 so that it can slide in the axial direction between a) in the figure and a second position (b in Figure 3) where second-stage heating is performed. It is slidably supported on the stand 4.

The slider 7 of the movable glass tube mounting base 6 is provided with a pin 26 that comes into contact with the slider 19 of the heater base 18 . The length of the pin 26 is such that the heater stand 18 is positioned at the first heating position when the movable glass tube mount 6 is in the pre-movement position.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a stopper that stops the movement of the movable glass tube mounting base 6. The position of the stopper 28 is the first stop position when pulling the movable side glass tube 6, and the stopper 28 is moved to the position 28a for the second step. Then, the movement of the glass tube mount 6 is stopped at that position.

The glass tube 8 is passed through a heater 20 and installed between the glass tube mounts 2 and 6, as shown in FIG.

This device can be pulled in one stage and two stages,
The temperature adjustment knob 30 is used to set the temperature of the heater 20 in the case of the first stage of pulling and the first stage of the second stage of pulling.
is provided, and the heater 20 in the case of two-stage pull-out
A temperature adjustment knob 32 is provided to set the temperature. 35 is a power switch button, and 34 is a start button for starting electricity supply to the heater 20. The heater 20 is turned off when the glass tube mount 6 comes into contact with the stopper 28, for example, by providing a microswitch on the stopper 28.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

A glass tube 8 is attached between the glass tube mounts 2 and 6 with the movable side mount 6 shifted to the left side in the figure. At this time, the slider 7 of the glass tube mount 6
The pin 26 provided on the heater base 18 comes into contact with the slider 19 of the heater base 18 to move the heater base 18 to the left end position (first position) in the figure. The first position of the heater stand 18 is such that the heater 20 is mounted on both glass tube mounting stands 2 and 6.
Adjust it so that it is in the middle, for example. However, the first position may be a position other than the center between the glass tube mounts 2 and 6.

Adjustment knob 24 adjusts the spring tension.

For one-step pull, move the stopper 28 to position 28a.
Move it to. When the start button 34 is pressed, the heater 20 is energized and the glass tube 20 is heated, stretched, and cut to complete a micropipette. The glass tube mounting base 6 is the stopper 28
When this happens, the power supply to the heater 20 is turned off.

In the case of two-stage pull, the stopper 28 is fixed at the leftmost position 28 in the figure. When the start button 34 is pressed, the glass tube 8 is heated and the glass tube mount 6 is extended to a position where it hits the stopper 28. Then, the glass tube mounting base 6 is moved to the stopper 28.
By hitting this, the power supply to the heater 20 is turned off. At this time, the glass tube 8 is stretched and a constricted portion is formed, as shown in FIG. Since only the movable side 6 of the glass tube mounting base moves, the glass tube 8
The constricted position b is shifted from the heater position a.

Before performing the second stage heating, the position of the heater 20 is moved to the constriction position b of the glass tube 8. Then readjust the spring tension using the adjustment knob 24,
Move the stopper 28 to position 28a. After that, press the start button 34 again to start the heater 20.
The glass tube 8 is heated, stretched, and cut to produce a micropipette.

To make a micropipette with the same shape again,
Return the glass tube mount 6 to its original position. At this time, the heater stand 18 is also returned to its original position by being pushed by the pin 26. The tension of the spring 22 is returned to the first stage value using the adjustment knob 24. Thereby, micropipettes of the same shape can be manufactured by repeating the same operation.

The spring tension can be adjusted steplessly using the adjustment knob 24. If a scale is provided on the adjustment knob 24, the spring tension of the first stage and second stage can be switched based on the scale. Some conventional devices use a weight to adjust the spring tension, but the weight can only be adjusted in three to four steps. On the other hand, the spring tension can be finely adjusted using the adjustment knob 24, and an easy-to-use micropipette can be manufactured according to the user's preference.

The position of the first stage of the stopper 28 can also be adjusted. Thereby, the tip shape of the micropipette can be adjusted. The second stage position 28a of the stopper 28 is a position sufficient for the glass tube 8 to be pulled and cut.

To adjust the spring tension pulling the glass tube mount 6, two springs 40, 42 can also be used, for example as shown in FIG. spring 4
0 is fixed with a fixing pin 36 and has a constant tension, and the tension of the spring 42 can be adjusted with an adjustment knob 38. If the spring 42 is set so that it does not work unless the tension is increased to a certain level, the variable range of the tension can be considerably widened.

In the embodiment, the pin 26 is shown as the contact part between the movable glass tube mounting base 6 and the heater base 18, but
The contact portion is not limited to a pin, but may be any other mechanism as long as it maintains the positional relationship between the glass tube mount 6 and the heater pedestal 18 and allows the glass tube mount 6 to push the heater pedestal 18. Good too.

(Effect of the invention) In this invention, the positional relationship between the movable glass tube mount and the heater stand is maintained at the contact part, and the movable glass tube mount is returned to its original position from the position where it slid in the direction in which the glass tube extends. At this time, the heater stand was also returned to its original position by the abutting portion, so that
After manufacturing a micropipette, when manufacturing the next micropipette, simply return the movable glass tube mount to its original position, and the heater will automatically return to its original position. Manufacturing yield is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of one embodiment, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the heater and the glass tube, and Fig. 3 is the shape of the glass tube after the first drawing in the case of two-stage drawing. The sectional view and FIG. 4 are front views showing another example of the spring tension adjustment mechanism. 2...Fixed side glass tube mounting stand, 4...Base,
6...Movable side glass tube mounting base, 7...Mounting base slider, 8...Glass tube, 18...Heater stand,
19... Heater stand slider, 20... Heater, 2
2, 40, 42... spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It has a pair of glass tube mounts that hold the glass tube at two points; one glass tube mount is fixed to the base, and the other glass tube mount is supported by the base so that it can slide in the axial direction of the glass tube. A heater that heats and melts the glass tube between both glass tube mounts is attached to the heater pedestal, and this heater pedestal is also biased toward the axis of the glass tube. Manufacturing a micropipette that is supported by a base so that it can slide in the direction, and that is provided with an abutment part between the movable glass tube mounting base and the heater base to keep both bases in the positional relationship before sliding. Device.