JPS60224485A - Apparatus for measuring microorganism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application: The invention consists of a hanging container closed by a cover, in which a nutrient medium carrier is arranged in the form of an elongated carrier body, and a podium for carrying the nutrient medium material. The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring microorganisms, which has a large number of troughs for accommodating microorganisms, and has a removable cover on the top surface of the troughs.

PRIOR ART: Such devices are supplied to a user, for example a doctor, with the same or a different nutrient medium material arranged in a trough, the carrier body being in a closed case-like container. This device is used for diagnostic purposes, testing of microbial content in industrial processes and sanitary monitoring, and agar is a typical nutrient substrate material, whether immersed or applied.

The difficulty in manufacturing such a device lies in the critical behavior of the nutrient matrix material, which must not be completely dry during use to achieve its full effectiveness and whose surface has an initial homogeneity. Must. The carrier body coated with the nutrient substrate can be easily removed before inoculation in order to avoid evaporation of water from the nutrient substrate and to prevent the collected condensate from reaching the surface of the nutrient substrate and damaging its homogeneity. It is housed in a cover (see West German Patent No. 3119541). The cover shall consist of an impermeable plastic film in the form of a rigid, completely closed collar, leaving no free space relative to the total volume of the container, or a small free space between the cover itself and the covered carrier body. , so that, relative to the total volume of the container, either no space or only a relatively small volume is left for accommodating the water vapor from the nutrient substrate.

Although in this way it is possible to largely avoid complete drying of the nutrient substrate material or premature deterioration due to runoff of condensate or snorch, it is nevertheless possible to fill the tube with a possibly different nutrient substrate material, cool it down and apply a cover. It is difficult to carry out this procedure and to place the final prepared carrier body into a container under completely microorganism-free conditions. This difficulty is primarily due to the laboratory nature of the filling of the trench and its assembly caused by the construction of the equipment. In the case of the known device, this means that the carrier body is coated with a nutrient matrix substance before or after placing the rigid cover on the carrier body, the lid of the container is connected to the carrier body, the carrier body is placed into the container, and the container is covered with the lid. This is done by closing the .

In commercial devices, there is no cover, and the nutrient substrate material is placed with the uncovered exposed side of the carrier body, and the exposed side of the carrier body is placed in a container closed with a screw-on lid. Particularly with relatively long storage periods, sterility is lost, which leads to erroneous results in medical microbial count measurements.

Problem to be solved by the invention: It is an object of the invention to be able to produce a device of the type mentioned above, in which all steps of its manufacture can be mechanically carried out under microorganism-free conditions, and to ensure that the device remains sterile for a long period of time. The goal is to form the product in such a way that it can be stored without damaging it.

Means for solving the problem: According to the invention, a nutrient medium carrier in the form of an elongated carrier body having a container which can be closed with a cover and having a plurality of troughs for accommodating the nutrient substrate material is accommodated. A device for measuring microorganisms is obtained, the top surface of which is provided with a removable cover and in which at least one closable filling connection formed in the carrier body opens in each case.

Effect: This formation allows mechanical filling under sterile conditions with a hollow needle inserted into the filling connection tube with a nutrient substrate substance when the entire surface is closed with a cover and closed to each other. The various nutrient matrix substances are introduced into the well in strict separation from each other via individual filling connections that open into the well independently of each other, so that each nutrient matrix substance retains its specific properties and the nutrient matrix components No undesired deposition of The carrier body is filled in particular as a tube arranged in the container, so that after the filling process it is only necessary to close the filling connection and the container. This can also be carried out mechanically under aseptic conditions, so that after removing the cover the user of the device obtains a population of nutrient substrate completely free of microorganisms, which nutrient substrate material can be used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of microorganisms, especially pathogenic bacteria. The bacteria can be evaluated by conventional methods after incubation. Due to its aseptic processing, the storage stability of the device is greatly improved.

Advantageously, the carrier body has a number of longitudinally running grooves around its periphery, and all the filling connections are arranged on one end face of the carrier body.

In one embodiment of the invention, each filling connection tube is formed as a small tube, so that the closing means are on the cover.

The carrier body has the form of a plate with troughs arranged on two wide sides, and the small tube-shaped light bulb connecting tubes are preferably arranged staggered relative to one another on the end faces of the carrier body. Therefore, if there are at least two grooves on each side of the carrier body, the line running through the center point of the filling connection is wavy. The staggered arrangement of the filling connections provides room for rapid filling of the tubes with hollow needles and allows the diameter of the filling connections to be sufficiently large.

Projecting from the inner surface of the closed bottom of the cap-shaped cover is a collar or plug that mates with the tubular light bulb connection tube. This collar or plug serves as a closing means for the tubular light connection tube. Furthermore, they stably support the carrier body standing within the container, and disadvantageous vibratory movements of the nutrient substrate material during transport etc. are avoided.

According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, a collar projects from the inner surface of the bottom of the cap-shaped cover, which fits onto the small tubular filling connection tube, and a passage concentric with the collar is formed in the bottom of the cover, which passage A plug projecting into the filling connection tube is arranged, this plug being formed on a plate that is in close contact with the outer surface of the bottom of the cover. In this case, the closing element provided on the cover for the optical connection tube is designed as a plug, which plug can be introduced into the hole of the filling connection tube separately from the cover for closing the container. This structure makes it possible to close the vessel containing the carrier body with the grate closed and to fill the grate via the passage in the bottom of the cover. Since the collar fits over the filling connection tube, the carrier body is stable and the channels leading to it are sealed off from the interior space of the container, so that the nutrient substrate material reaches only the interior of the container. As soon as the grate is filled, a plate with a plug is introduced into the recess in the bottom outer surface of the cover, and the plug projects into the filling connection pipe as a closing stop.

After production has been completed, an additional closure of the device with a synthetic resin cover or film can be carried out by heat or ultrasonic welding; this work step follows immediately after the filling of the trough and can be carried out in the filling machine. can.

According to another embodiment of the invention, all the tubes extend to the filling end of the carrier body and share a common enclosure which has the shape of the cross-section of the carrier body over a short part of its length to form a filling connection tube. closed by a wall. An axial blind hole is formed in the area of the filling connection tube of all the trough connections, into which a pin projects from the threaded cover of the container fits. This device is simple to manufacture and can also be filled and closed under completely sterile conditions.

The end of the carrier body opposite the filling connection tube is provided with a centering stem that fits into the central bottom recess of the container. This alignment device stabilizes the carrier body inside the container,
Tilting during filling of the carrier body standing in the container according to the second embodiment is avoided.

Another important improvement of the device according to the invention is that the removable cover consists of a thin flexible film sealingly connected to the carrier body, which flexible film is made of, for example, a synthetic resin or a metal such as aluminium. able to make. The film is a flexible film in the form of leaves, and each can be provided with an individually removable leaf film. For a sealing connection of the leaf film and the carrier body, the peripheral edge of the film is completely welded or glued around the entire circumference of each tube.

With this means of covering, each tube can be accessed individually and the contents of the other tubes remain sterile until required. The leaf-like flexible film can also cover a large number of grate, and the filling-side opening of the filling connection can also be tightly closed by the leaf-like film.

Alternatively, the flexible film can be formed as a tube that tightly surrounds the carrier body.

This type of cover simplifies the manufacture of the device.

Furthermore, the construction of the device according to the invention allows filling of the nutrient broth with a computer-controlled filling plant. In this case, after bacterial screening, the colonies can be harvested and diluted and spread to obtain individual colonies. The individual colonies were seeded from the plates, and the Mueller-Hinto (Mueller-Hinto)
n) introduction into the broth, where the microbial suspension is again
Must be a time device. After this process, 1-2 drops of the microbial suspension are removed and diluted with sterile physiological saline. A 4-hour incubation process with Muller-Pinton broth can be carried out reliably in the apparatus of the invention. The subsequent process can in principle be a bactericidal screening with CLED or McConkey agar, i.e. completely removing the flexible film from one side of the carrier body, collecting the seeds and removing, for example, Gram-negative bacteria. In this case, 6 of the 4 holes in the carrier body are needed to diffuse into other Matsukonkii agar.

Dilution spreading, which is normally carried out on plates in other ways, is carried out on a nutrient substrate in one of the four wells. After obtaining individual colonies, they can be reseeded and placed in Mueller-Hinton broth in the fourth well of the carrier body for 4 hours.

For use in the microbial industry, it is desirable to be able to overfill, so to speak, a tube closed with a flexible film and use it as a dabbing offdip after the film is peeled off.

The carrier body can optionally be formed as a plate with longitudinally arranged troughs on its surface, or as a column with a cross-section of longitudinal segments, segments whose troughs form troughs, and ment cross-sections.

The container has a circular or polygonal cross section, and the shapes of the carrier body and the container can be combined with each other to the extent that is geometrically possible.

Example: Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The device according to FIGS. 1 to 11 mainly consists of a container 1 in the form of a hollow cylinder of circular cross section made of a transparent synthetic resin material and a plate-shaped carrier body 2 also made of a synthetic resin material, in which the elements are located inside the container 1. It stands upright and is closed at one end by a cap-shaped cover 3 and at the other end by a stopper-like pace 4. ``The container 1 has a three-start external thread 6 above the shoulder 5 at its upper end. Inside its lower end, the container has an annular recess 7 into which the inserted stopper-like paste 4 fits, the annular flange 8 at its lower edge forming a stop at the lower edge of the hollow cylinder of the container 1.

On the side of the paste 4 facing the interior of the container, a conical recess 9 is provided, which in particular has an apex angle of 120° (FIG. 11).

The carrier body 2 is formed as a rectangular plate and has two longitudinal grooves 10 and 11 running parallel to each other on one wide side thereof.
and two similar grooves 12 and 13 on the other wide side.
has. The four grooves 10, 11, 12 and 13 have a common base plate 14 (FIG. 4), which is delimited on the outside by a continuous wall 15 projecting from the two surfaces. A central continuous wall 16 on each side of the base plate 14 is provided for dividing into two grooves 10, 11'' and 12.13, respectively.

The wall 16 of the lower narrow end face 18a of the carrier body 2 is provided with a pointed centering axle 17, which abuts the apex of the conical recess 9 of the pace 4 during assembly of the device. At the upper narrow end face 18 of the carrier body 2, the outside of the wall 15 has a pyramidal shape, in each case extending from a long slope to the carrier body 2.
Two filling connection pipes 19 and 20 exit, which run axially with respect to the longitudinal axis of. The filling connections 19 and 20 are open at both ends. Each inner end has grooves 10.11.12 and 1
3 open to one of the staggered filling connection pipes 19.20 (
5), the connecting pipe 19 is filled with grooves 10 and 1.
1, the filling connection pipe 20 connects with the grooves 12 and 13. The outer pyramidal surfaces of the walls 15 are each arranged at an angle of 45° to the end faces 18. On the side facing the grooves 10, 11, 12 and 13, the wall 15 runs at right angles to the base plate 14 at both end faces 18.18a. Alternatively, the tube can narrow at the end face 18 towards the filling connection tube 19 or 20.

A cap-shaped cover 3 (6th to 1st
0) is used, the circular peripheral wall 21 of which has a six-start internal thread that engages with the external thread 6 of the container 1. A collar 22 protrudes from the inner surface of the bottom 3a of the cover 3, and its arrangement is similar to that of the filling connection pipe 1.
Corresponding to the 9°20 configuration, the collars are joined together in one piece for reasons of manufacturing technology and to increase stability. When the cover is in the closed position, the collar 22 connects to the filling connection tube 1
9 and 20 and together with the centering axle 17 hold the carrier body 2 firmly in the center of the container 1. Furthermore, a passage 23 concentric with the collar 22 is formed in the bottom 3a of the cover 3, so that the collar is open not only to the outside but also to the inside. A plug 24 can be inserted into the channel 23 and the collar 22, which plug is supported by a plate 25 (FIGS. 8 and 9) and projects at right angles from this plate. Board 2
Although the vertical sides of 5 run parallel, they are not round at their narrow sides and fit into recesses 26 in the bottom 3a of the cover 3 (FIGS. 7 and 10). When the plate 25 is introduced into the recess 26, the plug 2
4 passes through the bottom 3a and fits into the filling connections 19 and 20, closing them like a stopper.

When preparing the apparatus for qualitative and quantitative determination of microorganisms under sterile conditions, each hole 10.
11.12.13 closed with film strip 30;
This film is permanently welded to the edge of the wall 15 and can be peeled off individually. The carrier body 2 is then placed again in the container 1 under sterile conditions and the collar 2 of the cover 3 is
2 with the filling connection tube 19, 20, and screw the cover 3 onto the container 1. The plate 25 with the plug 24 is removed from the cover 3 and the hole road 23 and the filling connection pipe 19.
Insert the needle through 20 and thread through the needle 10,11.12
and 13 optionally mechanically filled with various desired nutrient matrix materials. Immediately after the filling process has ended, plate 25 is connected to cover 3 and filling connections 19 and 20 are closed by means of plugs 24. The device is stored in this state, and the parts necessary for microorganism measurement are kept completely sterile until use. The nutrient matrix has the correct consistency and properties and its surface is not damaged when the film 30 is peeled off for use.

In the embodiment of the invention according to FIGS. 12 to 16, the carrier body and the filling connection are improved.

This device has a container 51 mainly made of transparent synthetic resin in the form of a hollow cylinder with a circular cross section, and a plate-shaped carrier body 40 also made of synthetic resin and standing within the container 51. The carrier body 40 is formed as a rectangular plate with a rectangular cross section;
It has two parallel longitudinal grooves 41 and 42 on one wide side and two identical longitudinal grooves 45 and 46 on the other wide side. The four grooves 41, 42.45° 46 have a common base plate 56 (FIGS. 15 and 16), which is partitioned at its outer periphery by a continuous wall 57, which protrudes from both sides of the base plate; It extends to the end of the carrier body 40.

Intermediate walls 54 and 55 on each side of the base plate 56 are provided in reservoirs that partition the two grooves 41 and 42 on one side of the base plate 56 and the two grooves 45 and 46 on the other side of the base plate 56. At the bottom of the carrier body 40 there is provided a centering axle 52, which serves the same purpose as the centering axle 1γ of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-11.

At the upper end of the carrier body 40, a filling connection tube 43 and 44, each having a rectangular cross section, is provided. This connecting tube essentially consists of an extension of the grooves 41, 42 and 45, 46 and is surrounded by a surrounding wall 47 which terminates flush with the opening of the filling connecting tubes 43 and 44. Toi 41, 42 and 4
5.46, the filling connecting tubes 43 and 44 are also arranged in pairs on each side of the base plate 56. An axial blind hole 48 is provided in the base plate 56 of the connection of the four troughs, the length of which approximately corresponds to the axial length of the surrounding wall 47. This blind hole 48 serves to accommodate a pin 49 which projects from the center of the screw cover 50 of the container 51.

Each set of grooves 41, 42 and 45, 46 is covered with a flexible film 58, which covers the surrounding wall 57.
and welded to the intermediate wall 54.55. The nutrient substrate is then filled through the four tubes 41, 42 through the connecting tubes 43 and 44.
and injected into 45° 46, filling connection tube 43.44
The rectangular opening and blind hole 48 of the peripheral wall 5γ and the wall 54.
55 and 5'6 are fixedly welded, for example by ultrasound, and covered with a flexible film 53. The screw cover 50 is then placed on the carrier 40 such that the pin 49 enters the blind hole 48 and passes through the film 53 at this point. The carrier body 40 is placed into the container 51 and the cover 50 is screwed onto the opening of the container 51. All processes are performed under aseptic conditions.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the complete device in the closed state ready for storage, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the container, FIG. 6 is a side view of the wide side of the carrier body, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the narrow side of the carrier body. 5 is a plan view of the carrier body, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the cover seen from below, FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view thereof, FIG. 8 is a plan view of the Zorag board, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the cover. 10 is a plan view of the cover with plug plate, FIG. 11 is a longitudinal section through the container base, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment;
Figures 6, 14, and 15 are shown in Figure 12, respectively.
-■ line, ■-w line, and XV-XV sectional views, and FIG. 16 is a 12-line sectional view XVI-XVI. 1.51...Container, 2.40...Carrier body, 3
．． 50・Cover, 10, 11.12, 13°41.42
, 45.46... and 14.56... base plate,
17.52... Mandrel, 19,20°43.44... Filling connection pipe, 22... Collar, 94... Plug Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A nutrient medium carrier in the form of an elongated carrier body having a plurality of troughs for accommodating a nutrient substrate substance is housed in the container, which can be closed with a cover, and whose upper surface Device for measuring microorganisms, characterized in that the carrier body has a removable cover, and at least one closable filling connection tube formed in the carrier body opens into each tube. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the carrier body has a number of longitudinal grooves around its periphery, and all the filling connections are arranged on one end face of the carrier body. 6. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that each filling connection tube is formed as a small tube, and a closing device for these tubes is provided in the cover of the container. 4. Claims 1 to 6, in which the carrier body is plate-shaped and has grooves on both sides thereof, and the small tubular filling connecting tubes are arranged in a staggered manner on the end face of the carrier body. The device according to any one of the preceding items. 5. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that from the inner surface of the closed bottom of the cap-like cover projects a collar that fits onto the tubular filling connection tube. 6. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a plug projects from the inner surface of the closed bottom of the cap-like cover and fits into the hole of the small tubular filling connection tube. Z A collar that fits onto the small tubular filling connecting tube protrudes from the inner surface of the bottom of the cap-like cover, and a passage concentric with the collar is provided at the bottom of the cover, and a plug that fits onto the connecting tube fills this passage. 5. A device according to claim 1, wherein the plug is formed on a plate which fits onto the outer surface of the bottom of the cover. 8. 8. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that a film or plastic cover is welded to the container as an additional closure surrounding the cover. 9. All troughs continue to the filling end of the carrier body and are surrounded for a short part of their length by a common enclosing wall corresponding to the shape of the cross-section of the carrier body, in order to form a filling connection pipe. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. 10. Device according to claim 9, in which the connections of all the tubes in the area of the filling connection tube are provided with blind holes into which axial pins projecting from the threaded cover of the container project. 11. According to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which a centering axle is arranged at the end of the carrier body opposite to the filling connection pipe and contacts the central conical recess of the container. The device described. 12. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the removable cover consists of a thin flexible film, which film is sealingly bonded to the carrier body. 16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the flexible film is leaf-like, and each thorn has a separate leaf-like film that can be individually removed. 14. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the flexible film is leaf-shaped and covers the plurality of troughs, and the opening of the filling connection tube is also hermetically closed at its filling end by the leaf-like film. 15. The device of claim 12, wherein the flexible film is formed in the form of a tube tightly surrounding the carrier body. 16. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the flexible film is made of synthetic resin. □ 1Z The device according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the thin flexible film is made of metal.