JPH10307122A - Sample storage device of time-of-flight mass spectrometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store a sample stably for a long time by heating and cooling the heating/cooling body of a Peltier element by a DC power supply and at the same time controlling the heating/cooling temperature of the heating/cooling body using a controller. SOLUTION: In a Peltier element 1, a phenomenon where heat is generated or absorbed is utilized for the contact between different kinds of conductors 1a and 1b and a heating/cooling body 1c. A sample M is dripped to a sample holder 2 and is retained, is installed the heating/cooling body 1c, and is initially dried at a drying setting temperature. At this time, a drying temperature is set by a thermocouple 7 for drying while the temperature of the heating/cooling body 1c is being controlled by a controller 5. Then, when current is allowed to flow by reversing the current direction of a DC power supply 4, the heating/ cooling body 1c is cooled, so that the sample M can be cooled to a required storage setting temperature, thus storing the sample M that is dripped on the sample holder 3 in a cooled state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sample storage device for storing an analysis sample of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer,
In particular, the present invention relates to a small and lightweight sample storage device for a time-of-flight mass spectrometer capable of storing a sample in a stable state.

[0002] When analyzing a peptide, which is a kind of protein, or a polymer sample such as a protein contained in a body fluid, a qualitative analysis is often performed using a mass spectrometer, particularly a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. In this time-of-flight mass spectrometer, a sample is placed in an ion source in a vacuum vessel, ionized by laser light irradiation, etc., and a constant high voltage is applied to the ionized sample to perform analysis in the vacuum vessel. Fly through the tube space,
The qualitative analysis of the sample is mainly performed by measuring the time until it reaches the detector.

That is, in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, as shown in FIG. 2, a sample M is placed in an ion source 11 and irradiated with laser light, and each ion in the ionized sample is placed in a vacuum vessel. This is an analyzer that measures the time required to fly the fixed distance L within 10 and reaches the detector 12, and specifies components in the sample from data recorded in time series.

[0004]

Samples such as biopolymers tend to change over time and are often unstable. Conventionally, a sample to be used for measurement is prepared by dropping an appropriate amount of a mixed solution (adjusted sample) with a solvent or the like into a predetermined place of a sample holder and drying the sample to prepare a dry mixture sample. There is a problem that the state of drying and storage of the sample after drying affects the quality stability and life of the sample. However, at present, unstable room temperature drying and insufficient storage using general refrigerators and the like are common. That is, considering the device of the object in the prior art, the temperature control mechanism becomes complicated in principle, and it is difficult to reduce the size in terms of space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and realizes an apparatus capable of continuously drying and storing a sample under consistent temperature control with a minimum necessary space. Things. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sample drying and storage device that is integrated into a time-of-flight mass spectrometer by reducing its size and weight.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a sample storage device of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer is provided with a different type of conductor (or semiconductor) (1a, 1).
b) and a heating / cooling element (1c), and a heating / cooling element (1) of the Peltier element (1).
c) Sample holder removably mounted on (2)
A DC power supply (4) for heating and cooling the heating / cooling body (1c) of the Peltier element (1) and a controller (5) for controlling the heating / cooling temperature of the heating / cooling body (1c).
And comprising:

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a configuration of a sample storage device of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a view taken in the direction of arrow P in FIG. 1A. This sample storage device uses different types of conductors (or semiconductors).
A Peltier device 1 composed of 1a, 1b and a heating / cooling body 1c; a sample holder 2 that can be removably mounted on the heating / cooling body 1c; A cooling fin 3, a DC power supply 4 capable of heating and cooling the Peltier device 1, and the DC power supply 4
And a controller 5 for controlling the temperature of the heating / cooling body 1 of the Peltier element 1 through the controller 5.

The sample holder 2 is a holder that can hold a liquid sample M by instilling it, and can hold a large number of samples side by side. The sample holder 2 is provided with flange portions 2a, 2a on both sides so that the sample holder 2 can be slid and held on the heating / cooling body 1c, and can be removed. A cover 6 is placed on the sample holder 2.
Is placed to keep it warm and to protect it from dust. .

The Peltier element 1 utilizes a phenomenon in which heat is generated or absorbed at a contact point between different types of conductors (semiconductors) 1 a and 1 b and the heating / cooling body 1. Electrodes 1d and 1e are provided on both sides of the Peltier element 1, and are connected to the DC power supply 4. That is, when the direction of the direct current flowing through the conductors (semiconductors) 1a and 1b is changed by the DC power supply 4, the heating / cooling body 1c is heated in one current direction and cooled in the other current direction.

A thermocouple 7 is provided on the heating / cooling body 1c of the Peltier element so that the temperature during heating and cooling can be measured. A signal of the temperature of the heating / cooling body 1c is sent to a controller (microcomputer) through an I / O interface (signal conversion unit) 8.
Controller 5 calculates a current control signal by the controller 5, and supplies the control signal to the heating / cooling unit 1 via the DC power supply 4.
The temperature of c is controlled. The operator can set the temperature of the heating / cooling body 1c to a required temperature by the temperature setting unit 9. That is, the temperature of the heating / cooling body 1c of the Peltier device 1 is measured by the thermocouple 7, and only the difference from the set temperature is controlled by operating the temperature setting unit 9 to control the current flowing through the Peltier device 1 in the heating or cooling direction. I do. In this way, the operator can determine the required temperature in advance, measure the temperature with the thermocouple 7, and control the temperature setting section 9 so that the temperature is set at the designated gradient.

This sample storage device is constructed as described above. The sample M is dropped and held on the sample holder 2 and placed on the heating / cooling body 1c. Let it. At this time, the drying temperature is measured by the thermocouple 7, and the controller 5 is dried while controlling the temperature of the heating / cooling body 1c. Next, when a current is applied with the current direction of the DC power supply 4 reversed, the heating / cooling body 1c is cooled, so that the sample M can be cooled to a required storage set temperature. The sample M dropped on the sample holder 2 can be stored in a state of being cooled in this way. In some cases, the sample may be cooled (including frozen) without drying and stored.

The sample storage device having the above-described configuration can be configured independently and incorporated into a conventional mass spectrometer later, or can be a device in which a large number of Peltier elements and sample holders are arranged. Alternatively, the sample storage device can be incorporated into an individual time-of-flight mass spectrometer. In particular, when the sample is incorporated into a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, the sample can be dried at an appropriate temperature, then cooled and held as it is, and the analysis can be started at any time when analysis is required. When it becomes necessary to stop the analysis in the middle, the sample can be kept as it is. If such a sample holding and storage were to be performed by a conventional device, it would have to be a large-scale device. However, according to this sample storage device, heating, cooling, and storage could be performed easily and efficiently with a small space. It can be carried out. Further, this sample storage device is an optimum embodiment as an application field of the Peltier device.

[0013]

As described above in detail, according to the sample storage device of the time-of-flight mass spectrometer of the present invention, it is possible to stably store a sample which has conventionally been difficult to store for a long period of time. . Further, this sample storage device can greatly contribute to quality control of a sample, which has been difficult in the past. In particular, samples for time-of-flight mass spectrometers are unstable,
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the sample storage apparatus of this invention, cooling preservation is attained and it can stably store. Further, since this sample storage device can be manufactured independently, it can be installed in a conventional mass spectrometer. Furthermore, since the sample storage device of the time-of-flight mass spectrometer is small and lightweight, it takes up little space, is convenient to carry, and is easy to handle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a view showing a configuration of a sample storage device of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a view taken in the direction of arrow P in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of an internal structure of a conventional time-of-flight mass spectrometer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 Peltier element 2 Sample holder 3 Cooling fin 4 DC power supply 5 Controller 7 Thermocouple 8 I / O interface 9 Temperature setting section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A Peltier device comprising a different type of conductor (or semiconductor) and a heating / cooling body, a sample holder detachably mounted on the heating / cooling body of the Peltier device,
A sample storage device for a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, comprising: a DC power supply for heating and cooling the heating / cooling body of the Peltier element; and a controller for controlling the heating / cooling temperature of the heating / cooling body.