JPH07280813A - Method and apparatus for automatic analysis - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the data from degrading due to insufficient cleaning of measuring container, for example, in the automatic analysis and to fully automate the cleaning operation during continuous analysis. CONSTITUTION:In an automatic analyzer, a mixture liquid of an alkali and polyoxyethylene alkylether represented by a formula R-O-(CH2CH2O)nH(R represents an alkyl group of 8-20C, n is an integer of 3-12 representative of the additional number of ethylene oxide) is employed as a detergent 13 for removing contaminants derived from organic proteins, e.g. protein or fat, inorganic compounds, pigment, etc. The detergent is used for cleaning a reaction container 4 and the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic analyzer and method, and more particularly to an automatic analyzer and method suitable for obtaining an improved cleaning effect on a portion of a sample, a reagent, or both reaction liquids in contact with each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Most of clinical chemistry analysis for analyzing biochemical components such as inorganic ions, proteins, nitrogen-containing components, sugars, lipids, enzymes, hormones and drugs in biological samples such as blood and urine is an automatic analyzer. Running in. Most of the automatic analyzers other than those using disposable reaction cuvettes employ a system in which the reaction cuvette is washed and reused after measurement.

Recently, blood and urine contain proteins, lipids, etc., and reagents containing protein components such as enzymes have become particularly common these days, and reaction cuvettes tend to be contaminated with dirt. It is in.

Conventionally, such stains are washed with water for each test or automatically washed with a detergent in a specially improved apparatus. Further, in many cases, a cleaning function for the reaction cuvette is provided as a maintenance function separately from the automatic cleaning for each test.

Examples of detergents include alkaline liquids, acidic liquids, neutral detergents (surfactants), hypochlorite agents and the like.

An alkaline solution such as sodium hydroxide is effective against the dirt of proteins and inorganic substances, and dissolves and decomposes the dirt. It also has the effect of preventing the reproduction of microorganisms.

Neutral detergents make stains an emulsion and disperse them in water. It also dissolves and decomposes dirt. Effective against organic substances and lipids.

The acidic liquid dissolves and decomposes dirt and is effective for inorganic substances and organic substances. Hypochlorite-based detergents dissolve and decompose dirt. Further, by oxidizing and foaming the dirt, the solidified dirt is peeled off and dissolved. Further, it is highly effective in preventing the reproduction of microorganisms, and is effective in sterilizing organic substances, inorganic substances, microorganisms and the like.

As described above, each component of the cleaning agent is effective depending on the type of dirt, but blood and urine contain various components such as proteins, lipids, etc. Since the pigment also contains pigments, the types of stains are not uniform, and the degree is not uniform.

It is desirable to be able to select the type of cleaning solution depending on the type of dirt and the degree of contamination, but in the case of an automatic analyzer, particularly in the case of a random access type automatic analyzer for single line multiple item analysis, one reaction cuvette is randomly selected. To the reaction liquid of various properties,
During continuous analysis, it is difficult to select an appropriate cleaning solution for the dirt and perform automatic cleaning. Therefore, in many automatic analyzers, it is the actual situation that during continuous analysis, only the washing with water or the washing with a single component is performed.

On the other hand, in an automatic analyzer having a special countermeasure function against dirt as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 164762/1993, it is possible to clean a dirt with an optimum type and concentration. Is.

Adsorption and accumulation of dirt also occur in the serum sampling mechanism, reagent pipetting mechanism, and stirring mechanism.
The same applies to the occurrence of data failure due to it. That is, the current situation is that data failure occurs due to insufficient cleaning during continuous analysis.

[0013]

The mere surface-active agent alone or the alkali alone cannot completely remove the stains each time, and eventually the accumulated and solidified stains are regularly analyzed separately from the continuous analysis of hypochlorous acid. It is necessary to remove it manually with a detergent such as sodium or an enzymatic detergent, or with a dedicated function for washing, which complicates maintenance. Further, the sodium hypochlorite-based cleaning liquid is effective against relatively various stains, but hypochlorite ions are easily decomposed by light and temperature, and it is difficult to maintain an effective concentration. Further, since it is a strong oxidant, it has a great influence on the data when the detergent remains, such as inhibiting the reaction, and cannot be used as an automatic washing detergent during continuous analysis.

Further, in the above-mentioned automatic analyzer having a special countermeasure function against dirt, although the cleaning effect can be secured, there are problems in space for setting several kinds of cleaning agents, and cleaning of them. It does not take into consideration the complexity of the mechanism when using the agent, the software complexity when operating the cleaning mechanism, and the problem of running cost.In addition, several types of cleaning agents are used in the reaction cuvette and reagents. The influence on the measurement data when mixed in the pipetting mechanism becomes a problem.

As described above, the prior art described above does not consider the automation of cleaning and the influence on the data.

The object of the present invention is to maintain the cleaning effect
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic analysis apparatus and method suitable for enabling complete automation of washing during continuous analysis without affecting data.

Another object of the present invention is to eliminate the problem of space, to make the mechanism and software complicated, and to carry out the analysis without increasing the running cost as much as possible. To provide.

[0018]

A sample is sampled in a measurement container by a sampling mechanism, a reagent is injected into the measurement container in which the sample is sampled by a reagent injection mechanism, and the sampled sample and the injected reagent Is stirred by a stirring mechanism so that it reacts, the reacted liquid is measured by a measuring device, and the measured liquid is discharged from the measuring container by a discharging mechanism. Further, after the sampling, the sampling mechanism is washed with a cleaning agent, after the reagent injection, the reagent injection mechanism is washed with a cleaning agent, and after the stirring, the stirring mechanism is washed with a cleaning agent, Alternatively, the measurement container is washed with a cleaning agent after the measured liquid is discharged. Cleaning agent used and lye R-O- (CH ₂
CH ₂ O) _n H (wherein R represents an alkyl group having 8 to 20 carbon atoms, n is the number of ethylene oxide added, and represents an integer of 3 to 12). And a surfactant as a main component.

[0019]

[Function] As a result of repeated studies, an alkaline solution was used aiming at the effect of dissolving and decomposing dirt, and the dissolving and decomposing power of this alkaline solution was increased to further emulsify, disperse and solubilize dissolved and decomposed dirt. It was found that it is effective to use a mixed system of an alkaline solution and a certain nonionic surfactant as the main component of the cleaning agent, aiming at the effect.

The alkaline liquid is not particularly limited as long as it has properties such that a solution having a large solubility and a high concentration can be prepared, and a reaction with a surfactant and a precipitation or the like do not occur. They may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Examples of the alkali used in the present invention include sodium hydroxide and the like, and the concentration thereof is sufficient for cleaning in a practical use state, that is, a reaction cuvette (also known as a reaction vessel or a measurement vessel) and an alkali. It is desirable that the concentration is high enough to maintain the degree and does not affect the next analysis.
About M to 0.2M is required. Due to space limitations, in the case of a device that is diluted with water in the device and dispensed, for example, when diluted 10 times, the detergent concentration is 0.5 M to 2
It is desirable that it is M.

As a surfactant, there is no influence on the measurement,
Excellent in emulsification, dispersion, solubilization of poorly soluble substances,
It is required to have excellent heat resistance, acid resistance, alkali resistance, and chemical resistance, and nonionic surfactants are particularly preferable. Examples of nonionic surfactants include large solubles, lathering,
Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether with excellent penetration and detergency, polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ether with excellent wetting, penetration and detergency and also antistatic properties, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester with a slightly poor detergency, Examples include polyoxyethylene hydrogenated castor oil, which is soluble in fat-soluble substances but slightly inferior in detergency.

In the present invention, the surfactant has a large solubilizing power for a poorly soluble substance, has a foaming property, and has a permeability,
A polyoxyethylene alkyl ether having excellent detergency was selected. For determining the structure of polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, especially for determining the number of additions of ethylene oxide, H shown below is used.
The relationship with the LB value was used. In other words, various actions such as emulsification, dispersion, washing, and foaming are carried out at the interface of two phases, and the hydrophilic group and lipophilic group of these substances show the balance of hydrophilicity and lipophilicity for each phase. It is considered to be decided by. HLB, which should also be called the coefficient of emulsifying power of surfactants
Value (hydrophilic, lipophilic balance, hydrophile-lypophile
The smaller the number, the stronger the lipophilicity, and the larger the number, the stronger the hydrophilicity.
-18 has a solubilizing action, 13-15 has a washing action, 8-18 has an emulsifying action, and 7-9 has a wetting action. Phenomena required to design a surfactant suitable for the purpose and hydrophilic groups of surfactant molecules,
It is desirable to make a decision based on the balance of lipophilic groups. The ethylene oxide group — (CH ₂ CH ₂ O) _n — can freely change its hydrophilicity by changing n. In fact, in the surfactant used in the cleaning agent of the present invention, the HLB value increased as the number of ethylene oxide added increased. That is, as a result of the examination, the number of ethylene oxide added is 3 to 9 (mol).
Has wettability, detergency, and emulsifying ability, and 10-15 (mol) has detergency and emulsifying ability, but has a slightly reduced penetrating power.
It was found that 20 had emulsifying property, dispersibility and solubility.
Further, when it was made into an aqueous solution, it was translucent or transparently dispersed at 10 to 13 (mol), and was transparently dissolved at 13 to 20 (mol). From these results, it was concluded that it is appropriate that the addition number of ethylene oxide is 3 to 12 (mol).

Further, in the automatic analyzer, it is desired that the suction and discharge of the sample, the reagent or their reaction solutions and the cleaning and rinsing with the cleaning agent be completed within a short time to prepare for the next operation. For this reason, it is a necessary condition for the cleaning agent for the automatic analyzer to have the ability to eliminate bubbles. Considering this, the type of alkyl side chain was determined. That is, when the alkyl side chain is branched, the wetting power, degreasing power and detergency are increased as compared with the straight chain. It was also found that the bubbles disappeared quickly after washing. From this fact, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether
It is desirable that the tell is first-class or second-class.

As described above, the type of alkali side chain and the number of ethylene oxide are one of the points in selecting the surfactant used in the present invention.

The carbon number of the alkyl group is also related to the detergency. The smaller the carbon number, the more hydrophilic it becomes, and the larger the carbon number, the more lipophilic it becomes. If the number of carbon atoms is less than 8, the hydrophilicity is too strong.
On the other hand, if it is greater than 0, the lipophilicity is too strong and the balance is lost, and the cleaning properties of the surfactant are impaired. In addition, most of those usually available are those having 8 to 20 carbon atoms. From the above, the carbon number of the alkyl group was determined to be 8 to 20. It has been found that the combination of the specific surfactant thus selected and the alkaline solution produces a strong cleaning effect which is not present in each case.

The concentration of the surfactant in the detergent is not particularly limited, but is preferably the concentration actually used.
0.005% to 1%, due to space limitation, in the case of a device that automatically dilutes with water in the device and dispenses, for example, when diluted 10 times, the cleaning agent concentration is 0.05% to 10% Used as.

As described above, the cleaning agent used in the present invention is configured so as to complement the respective cleaning characteristics without canceling each other. That is, by adding a specific surfactant in the alkali, it dissolves and decomposes dirt, and further increases the power of emulsifying and dispersing it, so that it can be used alone against liquid protein dirt and lipid-derived dirt. Strong cleaning power is produced compared to the cleaning liquid of the ingredients. For this reason, it is not necessary to unnecessarily increase the concentration of the cleaning liquid, and the influence on the measurement data is eliminated. Further, a space for setting several kinds of cleaning agents, a mechanism for operating them, and software are not required. Also, running costs can be reduced.
Since the bubbles disappear quickly, it is also efficient when washed with water. Further, it is possible to avoid the influence on the vacuum bottle for sucking after cleaning and other mechanisms.

The cleaning liquid used in the present invention has a sufficient cleaning power, and since the influence on the measurement data has been carefully considered, it can be used as an automatic cleaning liquid during continuous analysis, and complete cleaning is possible. An automatic analyzer that can be automated and contributes to simplification of maintenance is provided.

Inside the automatic analyzer, there are places where the temperature becomes high due to heat from the motor, heat from the constant temperature bath, heat from the photometer, etc., generated when the mechanical system operates. The heat is released to the outside by a fan etc.,
Depending on the place, the temperature may be as high as 80 ° C. Depending on the kind of the surfactant, there are those which are separated in the detergent at high temperature and those which are cloudy or colored due to their properties. Therefore, if there is such a concern, the alkaline liquid, which is a component of the cleaning agent, and the surfactant are set separately in the apparatus independently, and when it is time to use the cleaning agent, the cleaning agent is set in the apparatus. You may mix and prepare automatically. Set each concentrated solution of alkali and surfactant solution,
It may be diluted with a diluting solution when it comes to the timing of use, and this configuration has an advantage that no space is required on the device.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Example 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of operation of an automatic analyzer of the single line multiple item analysis type. In the figure, a large number of reaction vessels 4, such as 120, are provided on the outer periphery of the reaction disk 3. The entire reaction disk 3 is kept at a predetermined temperature by a constant temperature bath 9.

A large number of sample containers 25 are arranged in the sample disk mechanism 1. The sample in the sample container 25 is appropriately extracted by the nozzle of the sample sampling mechanism 2,
It is injected into a predetermined reaction container. The reagent pipetting mechanism 5 includes a large number of reagent containers 6, and a reagent pipetting mechanism 7 is arranged in this mechanism. Reference numeral 10 is a multi-wavelength photometer, 26 is a light source, and the reaction disk 3 for accommodating the measurement target is arranged between them. Reference numeral 11 is a cleaning mechanism.

Reference numeral 19 is a microcomputer, 23 is an interface, 18 is a logarithmic converter and an A / D converter, 1
Reference numeral 7 is a reagent pipettor, 16 is a wash water pump, and 15 is a sample pipetter. Further, 20 is a printer, 21 is a CRT, 2
Reference numeral 2 is a floppy disk as a storage device, and 24 is an operation panel.

The operator inputs analysis request information from the operation panel 24. The input analysis request information is stored in the memory in the microcomputer 19. The sample placed in the sample container 25 and set at a predetermined position of the sample disk mechanism 1 is reacted by the sample pipetter 15 and the nozzle of the sample sampling mechanism 2 in accordance with the analysis request information stored in the memory of the microcomputer 19. A predetermined amount is dispensed or sampled in the container. The reaction disk 3 in which 120 reaction vessels are installed is a machine cycle (2
One rotation and one reaction container (121) are rotated every 0 seconds. Of the reagent containers arranged in the reagent disk mechanism 5, a predetermined reagent container is selected according to the stored analysis request information, and the sample is dispensed by the reagent pipetter 17 using the nozzle of the reagent pipetting mechanism 7. A predetermined amount of reagent is dispensed into the reaction container 4 and stirred and mixed by the stirring mechanism 8. The reaction container 4 is kept at a constant temperature by the constant temperature bath 9, and the reaction is performed. The reaction process is measured by the multi-wavelength photometer 10 at regular intervals, and the absorbance of the mixed solution is measured using the two set wavelengths. The measured absorbance is taken into the microcomputer 19 via the logarithmic converter, the A / D converter 18, and the interface 23. The absorbed absorbance is converted into a density value and stored in the floppy disk 22 or output to the printer 20.

The measured reaction container 4 is washed by the washing mechanism 11. That is, the reaction liquid is sucked by the suction nozzle 12, and then the cleaning agent 13 is injected by the injection nozzle 14. Next, distilled water sent from the wash water pump 16 is injected and this is sucked. By repeating the injection and suction of distilled water several times, water washing (water rinsing) is performed, and the washing is completed. The reaction vessel that has been washed is used for the next analysis.

FIG. 2 shows the results of measuring the neutral fat (TG) and lipase with the same device using a conventional alkaline solution as a cleaning agent for automatic cleaning during continuous analysis. In the case of a clean reaction vessel, the average value of 10 measurements of lipase was
11.3 IU / liter, and the reproducibility variation during single measurement is about 1.0 IU / liter. However, when the lipase was measured next in the reaction vessel in which the triglyceride (TG) was measured, the measured average value of lipase was 17.5 IU / liter, 6.2
IU / liter is too high to measure correctly. Moreover, the variation is very large. This is because the lipoprotein lipase contained in the reagent for measuring neutral fat (TG) could not be washed out and remained in the reaction vessel.

In FIG. 3, after measuring the neutral fat (TG), the reaction vessel was once washed with a conventional alkaline solution, and then a surfactant was further dispensed and washed, and then the lipase was measured. The result is shown. As the surfactant, 0.1% polyoxyethylene (9) secondary alkyl ether was used. In the initial reaction vessel, the average measured lipase was 12.2 IU /
The average value measured in the reusable container by the two-step washing with liter, alkali and surfactant was 18.5 IU / liter, which was no improvement compared with the data shown in FIG. It is shown that the stains that could not be removed by the alkali could not be completely removed by the surfactant, and it can be seen that the cleaning effect is insufficient with the separate addition of the cleaning components.

As a cleaning agent for automatic cleaning during continuous analysis, a cleaning agent containing a mixed solution of an alkali and a surfactant according to the present invention as a main component was used, and neutral fat (TG) and lipase were similarly prepared. The result of having measured the same with the same device is shown. In this example, a cleaning solution was prepared by adding 0.1% polyoxyethylene (9) secondary alkyl ether to 0.1N sodium hydroxide. In the state of the reaction vessel without contamination, the measured average value of lipase was 14.5 IU / liter. Even if the lipase is measured next in the reaction vessel measuring triglyceride (TG), the average measurement value of lipase is 14.5 IU / liter, and it is measured correctly without being affected by triglyceride (TG). The cleaning effect of the cleaning agent of the present invention was confirmed.

Example 2 In FIG. 5, a conventional alkaline solution was used as a cleaning agent for automatic cleaning during continuous analysis, β-lipoprotein as an immunity item was measured in the same reaction container, and the degree of contamination of the reaction container was measured. The result measured using the blank function is shown. The cell blank function is to dispense distilled water into a reaction container and measure the absorbance.
Since reagents for immunity include antibodies and the like and have a particularly high protein concentration, the container is easily soiled, and special care is required when measuring with an automatic analyzer.

FIG. 5 is a plot of the absorbance at 340 nm. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that as the measurement is repeated, dirt is accumulated and the relative absorbance is increased. After 20 measurements, the increase was about 330 × 10 ^-4 .

On the other hand, using the detergent of the present invention containing alkali and a surfactant as main components, β-lipoprotein was similarly measured in the same reaction vessel, and the degree of contamination of the reaction vessel was measured. Also shown in FIG. The increase in relative absorbance was about 50 × 10 to ⁴ even after 20 times of measurement, which was almost the same as the increase in the amount in which only water was dispensed into the container. From these results, it was confirmed that the cleaning agent of the present invention has a remarkable cleaning effect on the reagent of the immunity item.

Example 3 The following table shows the polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers of the addition numbers of several ethylene oxides (general formula R--O-(CH ₂ CH
₂ O) _n H) was used as a surfactant, and an overview of the solution when a detergent was prepared was summarized.

Addition number of ethylene oxide HLB value Solution overview (1) 2 9.0 White turbidity (2) 9 13.5 Translucent to transparent (3) 12 14.5 Transparent Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether with an addition number of 2 (1)
Had an HLB value of 9.0. When it was dissolved in an alkaline solution, it became cloudy and a transparent cleaning solution could not be prepared. or,
Polyoxyethylene alkyl ether with addition number 9 (2)
Had an HLB value of 13.5. Once dissolved, it was translucent at one point, but it became a uniform detergent by stirring well. The HLB value of the polyoxyethylene alkyl ether (3) having an addition number of 12 was 14.5. The solution became transparent, and it was confirmed that the cleaning solution of the present invention required the use of polyoxyethylene alkyl ether having an addition number of 3 to 12.

The above description is about an example in which the cleaning agent according to the present invention is applied to the cleaning of the reaction container, but the cleaning agent is the sample sampling mechanism of the automatic analyzer, the reagent pipetting mechanism, the stirring. It can also be applied to a mechanism or the like. Similar to the case of the reaction vessel, these also cause poor data due to insufficient washing, residual reagents, and dirt. Each cleaning mechanism as a countermeasure will be described below.

Sample Sampling Mechanism A sample of serum, which is a sample, is sucked by a sampling nozzle and discharged into a reaction container. Therefore, cleaning of the inside and outside of the sampling nozzle is required to remove the serum component. As one of the inner cleaning methods, there is a method of cleaning by inhaling and discharging the cleaning agent of the present invention in the same manner as the sample. That is, a cleaning agent is dispensed and set in a sample cup or the like on the sample disk or in a place that replaces it, and after the sampling of one sample is finished, the sampling nozzle sucks the cleaning agent before sampling to clean the next sample. Is the way. After discharging (discharging) the cleaning agent, purified water is sent from the inside rear of the sampling nozzle to wash away the remaining inside the nozzle. As another method, there is a method in which a cleaning agent is sent from the rear of the inside of the sampling nozzle and then purified water is also sent to wash it away. This method requires a mechanism for branching the back of the nozzle, connecting one to the detergent tank and the other to the purified water tank, and switching with a solenoid valve or the like. Also, the required amount of cleaning agent is larger than in the first method. On the outside of the sampling nozzle, a cleaning tank dedicated to the sampling nozzle is provided, and the cleaning agent is sprayed onto the nozzle while the nozzle passes through the cleaning agent tank and is temporarily stagnant to clean the nozzle. Then, a sufficient amount of purified water is similarly sprayed to wash away the water. Furthermore, during the sampling of the same sample a plurality of times, no washing is performed in order to prevent the sample from diluting with water.

Reagent pipetting mechanism It is indispensable to wash the reagent pipetting mechanism with an automatic analyzer that dispenses a plurality of reagents with a single reagent nozzle instead of dispensing a reagent with a dedicated tube. . Like the sample sampling nozzle of the sample sampling mechanism, the reagent is sucked by the reagent pipetting nozzle and discharged into the reaction container. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the inside of the reagent pipetting nozzle before dispensing another reagent. As one of the inner cleaning methods, there is a method in which the cleaning agent of the present invention is set on a reagent disk or a place in place thereof, and cleaning is performed by suctioning and discharging instead of the reagent. After suction and discharge of the cleaning agent, purified water is sent from the rear of the inside of the reagent nozzle to thoroughly wash it so that the cleaning agent component does not remain in the nozzle. Another method is to branch the tube inside the reagent nozzle, connect one to the cleaning agent tank, connect the other to the purified water tank, and switch the cleaning agent and purified water into the reagent nozzle in order by switching with a solenoid valve. It is a method of sending in and cleaning. On the outside of the nozzle, a cleaning tank dedicated to the reagent nozzle is provided, and a cleaning agent and purified water are sufficiently sprayed in sequence while the nozzle passes through the cleaning tank and is temporarily stopped to perform cleaning.

Agitation Mechanism The agitation mechanism is for agitating the reaction solution to mix the sample and the reagent so that the reaction is carried out uniformly. There is also a method in which the reaction container is vibrated by ultrasonic waves or the like to stir, but it is difficult to achieve uniformity, and stirring with a blade-shaped or an oil-shaped stirring rod is common. The stirring of the stirring bar causes carry-over due to the adhesion of the reaction solution, and therefore the cleaning of the present invention is effective. Only the outside of the stir bar is sufficient for cleaning. The method is as follows. Provide a washing tank exclusively for the stirring rod. Move the stirring rod that stirred the reaction solution to this washing tank,
A method in which the cleaning agent and purified water are sufficiently sprayed in sequence while the cleaning tank is temporarily stagnant is used for cleaning.

In the cleaning in the cleaning tank outside the sampling nozzle, reagent nozzle, and stirring rod, it is possible to use a method of immersing the nozzle in the cleaning agent and purified water for a certain period of time instead of spraying. However, in this case, it is desirable to replace the cleaning agent in the cleaning tank with purified water every time.

The purified water may be water or warm water. A further cleaning effect can be expected by using warm water of about 25 ° C to 45 ° C.

Inside the automatic analyzer, there are places where the temperature rises due to heat from the motor, heat from the constant temperature bath, heat from the photometer, etc., generated when the mechanical system operates. The heat is released to the outside by a fan etc.,
Depending on the place, the temperature may be as high as 80 ° C. Depending on the kind of the surfactant, there are those which are separated in the detergent at high temperature and those which are cloudy or colored due to their properties. Therefore, if there is such a concern, the alkaline liquid, which is a component of the cleaning agent, and the interfacial cleaning agent are set separately in the apparatus, and when the cleaning agent is used, it is set in the apparatus. You may mix and prepare automatically. Set each concentrated solution of alkali and surfactant solution,
It may be diluted with a diluting solution when it comes to the timing of use, and this configuration has an advantage that no space is required on the device.

[0051]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, as compared with the case where a conventional detergent is used, it is excellent in dissolving power for stains, decomposing power, penetrating power, dispersing power, emulsifying power, and solubilizing power for poorly soluble substances. Due to the foaming action and the like, a remarkable cleaning effect is produced as compared with the case of using a single component, so that it becomes possible to simultaneously analyze not only the items that affect each other but also the items that affect each other. Therefore, accurate measurement results can be obtained, and not only data defects due to cleaning defects can be eliminated, but also measurement can be performed without dropping the processing speed. Further, it is possible to completely automate the cleaning, and therefore, it is possible to release the complexity of the periodical maintenance. Furthermore, due to its high cleaning effect, it is no longer necessary to mount various cleaning agents on the equipment,
There is no need to avoid running costs, avoiding the complexity of the mechanism and software. Further, the cleaning agent of the present invention does not affect the measurement data. Furthermore, since the bubbles disappear well after cleaning, it does not affect not only the cleaning efficiency but also the hard surface of the vacuum mechanism or the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation principle diagram of an automatic analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the measurement results of neutral fat and lipase according to a conventional example.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing another measurement result of neutral fat and lipase according to a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the measurement results of neutral fat and lipase according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing changes over time in cell blank values during β-lipoprotein measurement according to the conventional example and the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sample disk mechanism 2 ... Sample sampling mechanism 3 ... Reaction disk 4 ... Reaction container (measurement container) 5 ... Reagent disk mechanism 6
... Reagent container 7 ... Reagent pipetting mechanism 8 ... Stirring mechanism 9 ... Constant temperature bath 10 ... Multi-wavelength photometer 11 ... Cleaning mechanism 12 ... Suction nozzle 13 ... Cleaning agent 14 ... Cleaning agent injection nozzle 15 ... Sample pipette 16 ... Cleaning water pump
17 ... Reagent pipettor 18 ... Logarithmic converter and A / D converter 19 ... Microcomputer 20 ... Printer
21 ... CRT 22 ... Floppy disk 23 ... Interface 24 ... Operation panel 25 ... Sample container 26 ... Light source

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Emi Nakayama Emi Nakayama 832 Nagakubo, Horiguchi, Katsuta City, Ibaraki Prefecture 2 Nissei Measurement Engineering Co., Ltd. Factory Measuring Instruments Division

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A means for sampling a sample in a measurement container, a means for injecting a reagent into a measurement container in which the sample is sampled, and a means for stirring the sampled sample and the injected reagent to react with each other. A means for measuring the reacted liquid, a means for discharging the measured liquid from the measurement container, a means for cleaning the sampling means after the sampling, a means for cleaning the reagent injection means after the reagent injection An automatic analyzer provided with at least one of a means for cleaning the stirring means after the stirring and a means for cleaning the measurement container after discharging the measured liquid,
One is the washing means lye and _{R-O- (CH 2 CH 2} O)
_N H (where R represents an alkyl group having 8 to 20 carbon atoms, n is the number of additions of ethylene oxide, and represents an integer of 3 to 12) and is a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether. An automatic analyzer characterized in that it contains a cleaning agent containing an agent as a main component. 2. The automatic analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the polyoxyethylene alkyl ether is primary or secondary. 3. A sample is sampled in a measurement container by a sampling mechanism, a reagent is injected into a measurement container in which the sample is sampled by a reagent injection mechanism, and the sampled sample is allowed to react with the injected reagent. The method includes stirring by a stirring mechanism, measuring the reacted liquid by a measuring device, and discharging the measured liquid from the measurement container by a discharging mechanism, and further, after the sampling, cleaning the sampling mechanism with a cleaning agent. Cleaning step, cleaning the reagent injection mechanism with a cleaning agent after the reagent injection, cleaning the stirring mechanism with a cleaning agent after the stirring, and cleaning the measurement container after discharging the measured liquid. Including at least one of the steps of cleaning with an agent, the at least one step comprising: There detergent used in the alkaline solution and _{R-O- (CH 2 CH 2} O) n H ( wherein, R represents an alkyl group having 8 to 20 carbon atoms, n represents an additional number of ethylene oxide, 3 to 12 Of the polyoxyethylene alkyl ether represented by the formula (4) is included as a main component. 4. The automatic analysis method according to claim 3, wherein the polyoxyethylene alkyl ether is primary or secondary. 5. The alkali and the surfactant are separately prepared, and these components are mixed and prepared at the timing when the at least one cleaning step is performed, to prepare the mixture. The automatic analysis method described in.