JPH0714352U - Needle for automatic sample aspirator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Construction] For an automatic sample aspirator that moves the needle part 116 relative to the sample bins 110 arranged in a predetermined arrangement and moves it up and down to sequentially aspirate the sample in each sample bin 110 from the tip of the needle part 116. In the needle, a thin film 114a sealing the bottle mouth of each sample bottle 110
A needle for an automatic sample aspirator, characterized in that a needle portion 116 for penetrating at the tip and sucking the sample in the sample bottle 110 is formed of an inert resin having rigidity. [Effect] Since the needle portion 116 that comes into contact with the sample is formed of an inert resin such as polyethyl ether ketone, it is possible to prevent erosion of the needle portion 116 and denaturation of the sample.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a needle for an automatic sample aspirator, and more particularly to improvement of its material and structure.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 When a large number of samples are to be separated and quantified in high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC), an automatic sample aspirator is commonly used to efficiently and efficiently transfer samples from each sample bottle to the column. When a large number of samples are sequentially sent to the column using the automatic sample aspirator, the sample bottles arranged in a predetermined sequence and the needle as the sample aspirator of the automatic sample aspirator are moved relative to each other, and the needles are placed on the sample bottle. Located in. Then, the needle is lowered and inserted into the sample bottle to suck the sample, the needle is raised to withdraw the sample from the sample bottle and deliver the sample to the column, and then the needle is moved to the next sample bottle. The process is repeated. Here, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the sample bottle 10 has a packing 14 at the bottle mouth to seal the inside of the sample bottle 10 so that the sample 12 inside is not vaporized.

On the other hand, in the automatic sample aspirator, a large number of sample bottles 10 shown in FIG. 5 (A) are arranged, and the sample in each sample bottle 10 must be automatically sucked from the needles one after another. I won't. Therefore, when the needle is inserted into each sample bottle 10, the packing 14 of the sample bottle 10 is not removed, but the tip of the needle 16 is used to separate the septum surface 14a of the packing 14 as shown in FIG. And insert it. As the material of the septum surface 14a, silicone rubber is generally used in order to maintain a good airtight state in the sample bottle 10. To break through the septum surface 14a made of the silicone rubber, a needle is used. Hard materials must be used for the 16 materials, and metal has been used in the past.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, if the needle 16 is made of metal, there is a problem that it adversely affects the sample 12 with which the needle 16 contacts. That is, particularly in ion chromatography or the like for measuring ions, when the metal needle 16 comes into contact with the sample 12, the metal starts to melt from there, and the sample 12 is contaminated, and accurate measurement and analysis cannot be performed. In addition, when handling biological samples such as proteins, contact with metals, especially iron ions, may change the three-dimensional structure of the biological sample, resulting in denaturation during separation and purification of the target sample. is there. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a needle for a sample aspirator which does not cause contamination or denaturation of a sample due to erosion of the needle even if the needle comes into contact with the sample. Especially.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the needle for an automatic sample aspirator according to the present invention penetrates the thin film that seals the bottle mouth of each sample bottle at the tip, and rigidizes the needle part for sucking the sample in the sample bottle. It is characterized by being formed of an inert resin having Polyether ether ketone is suitable as the rigid inert resin. Further, the needle for an automatic sample aspirator according to claim 3 of the present invention comprises a needle guard part in which the needle part slides in the tube, and the lower end part of the needle guard part of the sample bottle is lowered when the needle part descends. It is characterized in that it is arranged near the upper part of the sealing film.

[0006]

[Action]

 In the needle for an automatic sample aspirator according to the present invention, the needle portion is formed of a rigid inert resin such as polyetheretherketone as described above. For this reason, when the sample is sucked from the needle part, when the sample is contacted with the needle part, the sample of the needle part is not corroded and the sample can be prevented from being contaminated. Further, even when contacted with a biological sample such as protein, denaturation of the sample can be prevented. Even if a hard resin such as polyetheretherketone is used for the needle portion, its rigidity is inferior to that of metal. However, since most of the samples that have erosion such as erosion of the needle portion due to contact with the sample described above are aqueous solutions, there is no problem even if the airtight state in the sample bottle due to the packing is not so high. Therefore, it is possible to use a thin film of polyethylene or the like on the septum surface of the packing, and there is no problem in penetration of the thin film due to the rigidity of the resin such as polyether ether ketone.

Further, the automatic sample aspirator according to claim 3 is provided with a needle guard part, and is arranged such that the lower end thereof is located above and above the sealing film of the sample bottle. Therefore, when the tip of the needle part that slides down in the needle guard part contacts the sealing film of the sample bottle, the needle part protruding from the needle guard part is only near the tip. In this way, when the tip of the needle portion penetrates the sealing film of the sample bottle, the needle guard portion is reinforced except for the vicinity of the tip of the needle portion, so that the sealing film is a commonly used silicone rubber. However, even if the film thickness is adjusted, it is possible to sufficiently penetrate even the rigidity of a resin such as polyethylene ether ketone.

[0008]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an automatic sample aspirator needle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The needle for an automatic sample aspirator shown in the figure has a needle portion 116 and a tubular metal needle guard portion 118 provided on the outer periphery of the needle portion 116. Further, the needle guard portion 118 is fixed to an arm (not shown) of the automatic sample sucker by a mounting member 120 and is maintained at a constant height. On the other hand, the needle portion 116 is slidably provided in the pipe of the needle guard portion 118, and is a mechanism that moves up and down by a feed screw (not shown) connected to the upper portion of the needle portion 116. ing. Then, as shown in the drawing, the needle portion 116 and the sample bottle 110 containing the sample 112 are relatively moved to position the needle portion 116 above the sample bottle 110.

The sample bottle 110 is provided with a packing 114 at the bottle mouth in order to keep the inside of the bottle airtight. Then, at the position shown in the figure, the needle portion 116 is lowered, the septum surface 114a of the packing 114 is pierced by the tip of the needle portion 116, and the needle portion 116 is immersed in the sample 112 in the sample bottle 110 as shown in FIG. The sample 112 is sucked from the tip of the needle portion 116. Here, when the needle portion 116 is made of metal as described above, particularly when the sample 112 is strongly acidic or protein, contact between the needle portion 116 and the sample 112 causes the needle portion 116 to erode or the sample 112 to be eroded. May be denatured.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the needle portion 116 is formed of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) which is an inert resin having solvent resistance. Therefore, even when the sample 112 has strong acidity or protein, contact with the needle portion 116 does not cause erosion of the needle portion 116 or denaturation of the sample 112, which adversely affects the sample 112. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of the above and to extend the life of the needle portion 116. However, on the other hand, when the needle portion 116 is made of PEEK material, it is inferior in rigidity as compared with metal. Therefore, there is a risk that the needle portion 116 may be damaged when the tip of the needle portion 116 penetrates the septum surface 114a of the packing 114.

That is, since the needle portion 116 is formed in an elongated shape and the septum surface 114a is generally made of relatively hard silicone rubber, the PEEK material is insufficient in rigidity. Will end up. Therefore, in this embodiment, the rigidity of the needle portion 116 is reinforced by providing the needle guard portion 118 made of metal such as stainless steel on the outer periphery of the needle portion 116. As shown in FIG. 1, the needle guard portion 118 has a slight gap between the lower end of the needle guard portion 118 and the septum surface 114a of the packing 114 when the needle portion 116 is located above the sample bottle 110. It is arranged as follows. Therefore, when the needle portion 116 is lowered from the state of FIG. 1 and the tip of the needle portion 116 is in contact with the septum surface 114a as shown in FIG. 3, the needle portion 116 protruding from the needle guard portion 118 is shown. Is only near the tip.

As described above, when the septum surface 114a is penetrated by the tip of the needle portion 116, most of the outer periphery of the needle portion 116 is reinforced by the needle guard portion 118, so that the needle portion 116 is prevented from being damaged due to bending or the like. It becomes possible to do. Further, the needle guard portion 118 also serves as a guide for the needle portion 116, and can improve the accuracy of vertical movement of the needle portion 116. The needle guard part 118 is replaceable by a mounting member 120, and the lower end of the needle guard part 118 is appropriately located near the septum surface 114a in accordance with the height of the sample bottle 110. It is preferable to replace it with a longer one. Further, although mechanically complicated, the problem of rigidity of the needle portion 116 can be completely eliminated by moving the needle guard portion 118 up and down independently of the needle portion 116.

That is, when penetrating the septum surface 114a as shown in FIG. 4, the needle guard 118 is lowered from the position shown in FIG. After that, the lowering of the needle guard portion 118 is stopped above the liquid surface of the sample 112 as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, the needle portion 116 is lowered from the state shown in FIG. 2B, the needle portion 116 is dipped in the sample 112, and suction is performed. Thus, if the septum surface 114a is penetrated so that the metal needle guard part 118 does not contact the sample 112, the needle guard part 118 will not be eroded, and the septum surface will not be affected by the rigidity of the needle part 116. It becomes possible to penetrate 114a. In order to prevent the chemical reaction between the needle portion 116 and the sample 112, an inert resin such as PEEK material is used for the material of the needle portion 116 as in the present embodiment. Most of the samples are aqueous solutions and are originally packing. The material of the septum surface 114a of 114 is not required to be so airtight. Therefore, a thin film of polyethylene or the like is sufficient for the septum surface 114a of the packing 114 instead of the conventional silicon rubber. When the thin film is used, the PEEK material can be obtained without the needle guard portion 118. Even if only the needle portion 116 of the above is rigid, the septum surface 114a can be penetrated.

[0014]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the needle for the automatic sample aspirator of the present invention, the needle portion that comes into contact with the sample is formed of the inert resin such as polyetheretherketone, so that the erosion of the needle portion and the sample It becomes possible to prevent denaturation. Further, by providing a needle guard portion on the outer circumference of the needle portion, it is possible to reinforce the rigidity of the needle portion and prevent damage to the needle portion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a schematic configuration of an automatic sample aspirator needle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram when a sample is aspirated by the needle for the automatic sample aspirator shown in FIG.

3 is an explanatory diagram when the packing is penetrated by the needle for the automatic sample aspirator shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a case where a needle guard portion penetrates a packing.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the needle portion of the automatic sample aspirator needle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 110 ... Sample bottle 12, 112 ... Sample 14, 114 ... Packing 16, 116 ... Needle part 118 ... Needle guard part 120 ... Mounting bracket

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A needle for an automatic sample aspirator for moving a needle part relative to a predetermined array of sample bins and moving the needle part up and down to sequentially aspirate the sample in each sample bin from the tip of the needle part. A needle for an automatic sample aspirator, characterized in that a thin film having a sealed mouth is penetrated by a tip and a needle portion for sucking a sample in the sample bottle is formed of an inert resin having rigidity. 2. The needle for an automatic sample aspirator according to claim 1, wherein the needle portion is formed of polyetheretherketone. 3. The needle for an automatic sample aspirator according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a needle guard part in which the needle part slides in a tube, wherein a lower end part of the needle guard part is a sample bottle when the needle part descends. A needle for an automatic sample aspirator, wherein the needle is arranged so as to be located above and above the sealing film.