JPH0720539B2 - White blood cell separator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Object of the Invention <Field of Industrial Application> The present invention relates to a leukocyte separator. More specifically, the present invention relates to a white blood cell separator using a thin plate-shaped membranous filter medium made of at least a porous body.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, there is known a filtering device having a structure in which a rib-shaped or dot-shaped projection is provided on the surface of the housing that is in contact with the filter medium in order to prevent the housing and the filter medium from coming into close contact with each other and causing the liquid flow to deteriorate. Has been.

When a soft material such as a sponge-like foam is used as the filter medium, the filter medium is deformed by the pressure when the liquid flows, and the pore size set according to the purpose of filtration changes.

2 and 3 each show an enlarged view of a main part of a conventional liquid filtering device, in which a sponge-like foam body (soft filter material) 1 is attached to a housing 2 by a pressure of a liquid to be filtered. It is in a state of being deformed so as to be recessed between the provided rib-shaped or dot-shaped hollow bodies 2a. In the case of FIG. 2,
Since the deformation of the foam 1 is small, there is a filtrate outflow space 3 secured by the protrusions 2a, but the pore diameter of the foam 1 set according to the purpose of filtration changes. In the case of FIG. 3, the height of the dots or ribs is low, or the deformation of the filter medium is large, so that the foam 1 is largely deformed and closely adheres to the housing 2, and the filtrate outflow space disappears. The installation purpose of the body 2a cannot be achieved.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned points, and is improved so that the filter medium is not deformed and adhered to the surface having the protrusion provided to secure the filtrate outflow space. It is an object of the present invention to provide a leukocyte separator in which the pore size of the filter medium does not change and the filtrate outflow space does not disappear.

(2) Configuration of the Invention <Means for Solving Problems> An object of the present invention is to capture and separate leukocytes from a liquid containing white blood cells and red blood cells in a housing having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet. A leukocyte separator in which a membrane-shaped filter medium is hermetically housed at the end portions of the entire circumference thereof, wherein the housing has a large number of protrusions on the inner surface and liquid-flow passage forming walls facing each other. The filter medium is composed of at least a membrane filter medium made of a porous body, and a liquid inflow space secured by the protrusion between the membrane filter medium and one of the liquid flow path forming walls of the housing is at the liquid inlet. A liquid outflow space that is communicated and is secured between the membrane filter medium and the other liquid flow path forming wall of the housing by the protrusion is in communication with the liquid outflow port, and the white blood cells flowing from the liquid inflow port and The liquid to be filtered containing red blood cells is The liquid to be filtered when the white blood cells pass through the membrane filter medium from the liquid inflow space and flow out from the liquid outlet through the filtrate outflow space as a filtrate containing red blood cells captured and separated by the membrane filter medium. In order to prevent the membrane filter material from being easily deformed by the pressure of 1., a mesh-like or porous reinforcing plate that is not easily deformed is provided on the liquid outflow space side of the membrane filter material. Achieved by a leukocyte separator.

<Operation> A liquid containing white blood cells to be filtered flows into the liquid inflow space 10 from the liquid inlet 11 and is filtered while the white blood cells are captured by the membrane filter material 8. The leukocyte-free filtrate that has passed through the membrane filter material 8 and the reinforcing plate 14 flows out from the filtrate outlet port 13 through the filtrate outlet space 12. White blood cells, which are the substances to be removed, in the liquid to be filtered that has passed through the liquid inflow space 10 are captured and separated by the membrane filter material 8.

The pressure of the liquid to be filtered is applied to the membrane filter material 8, and the reinforcing plate 14 receives the back surface of the membrane filter material 8.
Is deformed into a mesh shape or a porous shape that is difficult to be deformed by the pressure of the liquid to be filtered.
To maintain the bridge state without being deformed (maintaining the planar state) and maintain the volume of the filtrate outflow space 12 from the beginning, while compensating the planar state of the membrane filter medium 8 to form the membrane state. The pore size of the filter medium 8 does not change. Therefore, high,
Stable filtration performance and filtration flow rate can be obtained.

<Example> FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a leukocyte separator of the present invention.

In the white blood cell separator of this embodiment, a dense and dense filter material 7 made of polyester is contained in a plastic housing 6.
And a polyvinyl alcohol-based porous body 8
And a mesh-shaped reinforcing plate 14 made of polyester are stacked and accommodated, and a lid 9 made of transparent plastic is covered.

The wall surface 5a of the housing 6 has the protrusions 4, and the protrusions 4 are in close contact with the sparse and dense membrane filter material 7. Therefore, the liquid inflow space 10 is secured by the projection 4 between the sparse and dense membrane filter material 7 and the wall surface 5a, and the liquid is allowed to flow into the membrane filter materials 7 and 8. On the inner surface 5b of the lid 9, the protrusion 4
The compensator 14 is in close contact with these protrusions 4.
Accordingly, the filtrate outflow space 12 is secured by the protrusion 4 between the reinforcing plate 14 and the wall surface 5b, and the filtrate is filtered by the membrane filter material 7,
8. It flows through the reinforcing plate 14 and flows out into the filtrate outflow space 12. The reinforcing plate 14 is formed in a mesh shape so as to compensate the flow of the filtrate to the membrane filter medium 8, and the membrane filter medium 8 is not deformed by the inflow pressure of the liquid and the filtrate outflow space 12 does not disappear. Thus, the surface of the membranous filter medium 8 on the filtrate outflow side is supported flatly. The inner wall of the liquid inflow port 11 extends as a groove to the vicinity of the center of the wall surface 5a and secures a large inflow passage sectional area. Furthermore, the lower end of the filtrate outflow space 12 and the filtrate outlet 13 are in communication.

<Blood flow test> When the concentrated red blood cell liquid derived from 400 ml blood was divided into two equal parts and treated with the white blood cell separator in Fig. 1, the filtration was completed in 6 minutes 34 seconds, and the white blood cell removal in the concentrated red blood cell liquid of the filtrate was completed. Rate is 97.8
%, Whereas the other one obtained by dividing the concentrated erythrocyte fluid into two equal parts has the same filtration area as that of the conventional leukocyte separator (the leukocyte separator shown in FIG. 1) and the membrane filter without the reinforcing plate 14. 8 was in direct contact with the protrusions 4; the membranous filter medium 8 was the same), and filtration was completed in 14 minutes 32 seconds, and the leukocyte removal rate in the concentrated red blood cell fluid of the filtrate was 88.4%. Met.

As is clear from this test, the leukocyte separator according to the present invention was good in both the filtration time of concentrated red blood cells and the leukocyte removal rate in the filtered concentrated red blood cell fluid.

(3) Effects of the Invention As described above, in the white blood cell separator of the present invention, the protrusion provided on the housing for the filter medium to secure the filtrate outflow space is a mesh-shaped or porous-shaped material that is not easily deformed. After the reinforcing plates are overlaid, the membrane filter material is overlaid, so that the reinforcing plate supports the membrane filter material, and the membrane filter material is improved so as not to deform and adhere to the surface of the housing on which the protrusion is provided. The pore diameter of the filter medium does not change, and the outflow space of the filtrate does not disappear, so that high and stable filtration performance and filtration flow rate can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the leukocyte separator of the present invention. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 each show an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a conventional liquid filtering device. 4 ... Projections, 5a, 5b ... Liquid channel forming wall, 6 ... Housing, 7, 8 ... Membrane filter material, 9 ... Lid, 10 ... Liquid inflow space, 11 ... Liquid inlet , 12 …… filtrate outflow space, 13 …… filtrate outflow port, 14 …… reinforcement plate.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-60-193468 (JP, A) JP-A-54-31087 (JP, A) JP-A-58-27608 (JP, A) JP-A 64- 75014 (JP, A) JP-A-57-75657 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A white blood cell separation comprising a membrane filter medium for capturing and separating white blood cells from a liquid containing white blood cells and red blood cells in a housing having a fluid inlet and a liquid outlet and hermetically accommodating the entire circumference of the filter. The housing is provided with a plurality of projecting bodies on the inner surface and opposing liquid flow path forming walls, and the membrane filter comprises at least a membrane filter made of a porous body. A liquid inflow space secured by the protrusion between the filter medium and one fluid flow path forming wall of the housing communicates with the liquid inflow port, and the membrane filter medium and the other liquid flow path forming wall of the housing A liquid outflow space secured by the projection is communicated with the liquid outflow port, and the liquid to be filtered containing white blood cells and red blood cells that has flowed in from the liquid inflow port removes the membranous filter medium from the liquid inflow space. The leukocytes pass through the membrane When the filtrate containing the red blood cells captured and separated by the material passes through the filtrate outflow space and flows out from the liquid outlet, the membrane filter material is prevented from being deformed by the pressure of the liquid to be filtered. A white blood cell separator comprising a mesh-like or porous catching plate that is not easily deformed on the liquid outflow space side of the filter medium.