JPH10311827A - Test tool for analyzing liquid sample - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily measure and analyze a fixed quantity of a sample by providing a capillary tube having a hydrophilic area for moving a test solution, a hydrophilic area for holding a reagent, and a hydrophobic area communicating with a drain port. SOLUTION: A quantity slightly larger than a proper quantity of a collected blood is pressed to the inlet port 4 of a test tool 1. The blood is moved toward a hydrophilic area 33 holding a reagent by capillary phenomenon while wetting a hydrophilic area 31, but it is arrested by a hydrophobic area 32 in the middle. When the end surface of a body 2 is patted, the blood filled in the hydrophilic area 31 is passed through the hydrophobic area 32 by the external force, and moved to the hydrophilic area 33. The air in a space surrounded by the hydrophilic area 33 is discharged from a through-hole communicating with the hydrophobic area 32, and the blood starts to react with the reagent. Since the hydrophobic area 32 is never wetted by the blood, the quantity of the blood filled in the hydrophilic area 33 formed by the inner wall of a capillary tube 3 and the hydrophobic area 32 is regularly constant. Thus, a highly precise quantitative analysis can be easily performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a test device for analyzing components contained in a liquid sample, particularly an aqueous solution such as blood or urine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a simple test device for analyzing a liquid sample by reacting with a reagent, a capillary phenomenon is generally used for introducing or moving the sample to a reaction site of the test device with the reagent. As this type of test device, there are a type in which the reagent applied in the capillary is dissolved in the sample, and a type in which the sample permeates a reagent layer provided in the capillary.

As an example of the former, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-27483
No. 9 discloses a test device comprising a lower extension member also serving as a handle and an upper member which forms a capillary via the spacer and a spacer and contains a reagent. As an example of the latter, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-1880065 discloses a support, a reagent layer fixed on the support, and a support and a capillary chamber formed so as to cover the reagent layer. An analytical device comprising a cover having an exhaust port is described.

[0004]

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As for the test device described in Japanese Patent No. 274839, the type in which the reagent dissolves in the sample, the concentration of the reaction solution must be accurately defined. Need to be dispensed. Also,
In the test device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-18865, in which the sample penetrates the reagent layer, the reagent is placed on paper or a film separate from the capillary in order to maintain the volume of the reagent layer. And it must be fixed in the capillary.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to measure a fixed amount of a sample and simultaneously analyze the sample without dispensing the sample into another container or separately forming and fixing a reagent layer. To provide a test device that can

[0006]

In order to achieve the object, a test device of the present invention holds a reagent at a predetermined position in a capillary having a test liquid inlet and an outlet, and supplies the test liquid from the inlet. A test device for analyzing a specific component in a test solution with a reagent by introducing and reacting with a reagent, wherein the capillary tube moves the test solution from the test solution inlet to the reagent. The first hydrophilic region and the second hydrophilic region are separated from the hydrophilic region, the second hydrophilic region having a certain area for holding the reagent, and the first hydrophilic region and the second hydrophilic region. And a hydrophobic region communicating with the exhaust port without passing through.

[0007] According to this test device, the test liquid introduced from the test liquid inlet port flows toward the reagent through the first hydrophilic region by capillary action. Along with this, the air in the capillary is pushed out and exits through the exhaust port. When the test liquid reaches the hydrophobic region, the movement is temporarily stopped by the hydrophobic region. Then, when an external force is applied to the test device, the test liquid passes through the hydrophobic region and moves to the second hydrophilic region.

[0008] Since the area of the second hydrophilic region is constant,
The amount of test solution retained is determined by its area and the inner diameter of the capillary. When passing through the hydrophobic region and moving to the second hydrophilic region, the test solution remaining on the hydrophobic region or the amount not retained in the second hydrophilic region is rejected by the hydrophobic region and eliminated. You. By reacting the retained fixed amount of test solution with the reagent, specific components in the test solution can be analyzed with high accuracy.

The external force applied to pass the test liquid through the hydrophobic region is, for example, instantaneous vibration caused by shaking the test tool with an operator's hand, centrifugal force, or suction force caused by suction from the exhaust port.

The exhaust port is preferably a through hole provided in a direction crossing the capillary. By providing the through holes in this way, the capillaries can be formed into a bag-like tube having only the test liquid inlet opened except for the through holes, and the overflow of the test liquid held in the second hydrophilic region can be prevented. . The intersection angle between the through hole and the first hydrophilic region side of the capillary is preferably an acute angle. This can prevent the test liquid from jumping out of the through hole and becoming a biohazard when the test liquid is moved to the second hydrophilic region by an external force.

The hydrophobic region includes a first hydrophobic region separating the first hydrophilic region and the second hydrophilic region, and a second hydrophobic region sandwiching the second hydrophilic region in combination with the first hydrophobic region. And may be separated. In this case, the second hydrophobic region can be communicated with the exhaust port without passing through the first hydrophilic region and the second hydrophilic region. This facilitates the elimination of air in the capillary and can increase the moving speed of the test solution. It is particularly preferable to provide an exhaust port on the extension of the second hydrophobic region. This is because both ends of the capillary can be released, and the elimination of air becomes easier.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a plan view, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a test device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The test device 1 includes a rectangular parallelepiped main body 2. Body 2
Is composed of three transparent plates, the middle plate of which is processed into a frame shape, and a long and narrow cavity 3 surrounded by the frame and the upper and lower plates functions as a capillary tube. The upper plate of the main body 2 is provided with an inlet 4 communicating with one end of the cavity 3. The inner surface of the cavity 3 is composed of a hydrophilically modified first hydrophilic region 31 following the inlet 4, followed by a hydrophobic region 32 and subsequent second hydrophilic region 33, and the cavity 3 has a second hydrophilic region. It closes behind the area 33. The main body 2 includes an amphiphilic region 3
A through-hole 5 that allows the hydrophobic region 32 to communicate with the outside without passing through 1 and 33 is provided in a direction that intersects the cavity 3 and forms an acute angle with the first hydrophilic region. A reagent (not shown) is applied to the second hydrophilic region 33.

The manufacturing method of the test device 1 is, for example, as follows. Prepare three rectangular plates made of ABS. ABS is inherently hydrophobic. Hydrophilic region 3 in the region of the first plate
Ultraviolet rays from a low-pressure mercury lamp as a light source are applied to a portion where the first and third portions are to be formed. Thereby, the irradiated portion is modified to be hydrophilic. The second plate is processed into a frame shape and a through hole 5 is opened. Introducing the inlet 4 in the third plate,
As in the case of the first plate, a predetermined portion is modified to be hydrophilic. After applying a reagent (not shown) to the second hydrophilic region 33, three plates are laminated and fixed. This is the end. AB
A plate made of a hydrophilic material may be used instead of the S plate. In this case, the test device 1 can be similarly manufactured by applying a hydrophobic coating agent such as alkoxysilane to only a predetermined portion of a hydrophilic plate such as a glass plate. In any case, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to separately form the reagent.

The procedure for analyzing a liquid sample with the test device 1 is as follows. The slightly collected blood or the blood subjected to the blood cell separation treatment is pressed to the inlet 4 slightly more than the optimal amount. The blood moves toward the second hydrophilic region 33 by capillary action while wetting the first hydrophilic region 31, but is stopped by the hydrophobic region 32 on the way. When blood as collected is used as a sample, the first hydrophilic region 3
A pretreatment means such as a blood cell separation membrane may be provided in the middle of step (1).
Then, the end face (the right side face in the drawing) of the main body 2 is tapped lightly.
The blood filled in the first hydrophilic region 31 moves to the second hydrophilic region 33 through the hydrophobic region 32 by the external force. At the same time, the air in the space surrounded by the second hydrophilic region 33 is excluded from the through-hole 5. The blood starts reacting with the reagent. Since blood does not wet the hydrophobic region 32, the amount of blood filled in the second hydrophilic region defined by the inner wall of the capillary and the hydrophobic region 32 is always constant. Therefore, quantitative analysis can be performed with high accuracy. Moreover, body 2
Is transparent so that it can be analyzed quickly by optical means.

Next, a test device according to a second embodiment is shown in a plan view in FIG. 4 and a sectional view in FIG. The test device 6 has no through-hole 5, the cavity 7 is also open on the side opposite to the inlet 8, and the opening 9 has an exhaust function in place of the through-hole 5, and the cavity 7 has Inside the hydrophobic region 72,
The structure is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that 74 is separated into two portions so as to sandwich the second hydrophilic region 73.

In the case of analysis using the test device 6, the air in the cavity 7 is removed from the opening 9 with the progress of the test solution due to the capillary phenomenon. Since the liquid does not wet the hydrophobic regions 72 and 74, the amount of blood filled in the second hydrophilic region 73 defined by the inner wall of the capillary and the hydrophobic regions 72 and 74 is always constant. Since the air is removed from the opening 9 on the extension of the second hydrophilic region 73, the test liquid progresses quickly.

[0017]

Since the present invention has the above-mentioned features, the reagent can be fixed only by applying the reagent to a predetermined position, so that the test tool can be manufactured with a small number of man-hours. In addition, since an appropriate amount of the test liquid can be spotted and analyzed without being weighed by a measuring instrument, the analysis can be performed quickly and easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a test device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the test device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the test device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a test device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a test device according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,6 Test device 2 Main body 3,7 Cavity 4,8 Inlet 5 Through hole 9 Opening 31,71 First hydrophilic region 32,72 First hydrophobic region 33,73 Second hydrophilic region

Claims (5)

[Claims] A reagent is held at a predetermined position in a capillary tube having a test liquid inlet and an exhaust port, and a specific component in the test liquid is reacted with the reagent by introducing the test liquid from the inlet and reacting with the reagent. A test device for analyzing, wherein the capillary is a first hydrophilic region for moving a test solution from a test solution inlet toward a reagent, and a second hydrophilic region having a certain area for holding the reagent. And a hydrophobic region that separates the first hydrophilic region and the second hydrophilic region and communicates with the exhaust port without passing through the first hydrophilic region and the second hydrophilic region. Test equipment. 2. The test device according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust port is a through hole provided in a direction crossing the capillary. 3. The test device according to claim 2, wherein the intersection angle between the through hole and the first hydrophilic region side of the capillary is an acute angle. 4. The first hydrophilic region, wherein the first hydrophobic region separates the first hydrophilic region from the second hydrophilic region, and the first hydrophilic region intersects the second hydrophilic region. 2. The test device according to claim 1, wherein the test device is separated into a second hydrophobic region communicating with the exhaust port without passing through the hydrophilic region and the second hydrophilic region. 5. The test device according to claim 4, wherein the exhaust port is on an extension of the second hydrophobic surface.