JPS61277047A - Apparatus for analyzing colloid particles - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to simultaneously measure the zeta potential of colloid particles and the magnitude thereof at every respective particles, by measuring the migration speed and sedimentation speed of colloid particles. CONSTITUTION:When a colloid particle image 26 traverses a first vertical line 24 as shown by a locus alpha, the Q-output of a R/S flip-flop circuit 16 comes to '0' and a vertical count circuit 12 counts a horizontal synchronous pulse and, at the same time, a horizontal count circuit 13 counts a clock pulse. Thereafter, when the colloid particle image 26 traverses a second vertical line 25, the Q- output of the R/S flip-flop circuit 16 comes to '1' to reset the vertical count circuit 12 and the horizontal count circuit 13. Immediately before the resetting, a first latch circuit 14 and a second latch circuit 15 are operated and the respective count values corresponding to the sedimentation speed and migration speed being the outputs of the vertical count circuit 12 and the horizontal count circuit 1 at that time are held. Thereafter, the count value held to the first latch circuit 14 and that held to the second latch circuit 15 are respectively read by an operation means 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a colloidal particle analyzer that simultaneously measures the size of colloidal particles in a colloidal particle suspension and the zeta potential of their surfaces.

(b) Prior art Conventionally, the surface zeta potential of colloidal particles has been measured by electrophoresis, and the particle size has been measured, for example, by a sedimentation velocity method based on Stokes' sedimentation law. These measurements were carried out using separate measurement devices, or by a single measurement device that performed completely independent and individual measurements.

Among the above, the simplest measuring device for measuring electrophoretic speed is the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-52979, which measures only the electrophoretic speed of colloidal particles. be.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-mentioned measuring device, the information that is important for colloid physical chemistry, ``Which zeta potential is the size of the particle?'' Simultaneous measurements were not carried out, and it was not possible to visualize each of them in three-dimensional space.

This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a colloidal particle analyzer that can simultaneously measure the zeta potential and magnitude of each colloidal particle.

(d) Means for solving the problems and this invention includes a display means, a counting means for measuring the migration velocity and sedimentation velocity of 1046 particles, and a zeta potential larger than the migration velocity and a larger difference than the sedimentation velocity. A more detailed structure includes a colloidal particle that simultaneously measures the zeta potential and the size of the colloidal particle in a medium to which an electric field is applied in the horizontal direction and gravity is applied in the vertical direction. The analyzer includes a display means for displaying the movement of colloid particles as a two-dimensional image, and a colloid particle image corresponding to the colloid particles passing between two straight lines drawn perpendicularly on the screen of the display means. a counting means for measuring the moving speed in the horizontal direction between two straight lines and at the same time measuring the moving speed in the vertical direction between the two straight lines; A colloidal particle analyzer is characterized in that the apparatus further comprises calculation means for calculating the size of each colloidal particle based on the moving speed in the vertical direction.

(E) Action When a colloid particle displayed as a two-dimensional image on the display means passes between two straight lines on the screen, the counting means measures the horizontal movement speed ff (migration speed) and at the same time vertical The moving speed in the direction (sedimentation speed) is measured, and the calculation means calculates the zeta potential of the colloidal particles from the migration speed and the size of the colloid particles from the sedimentation speed.

(F) EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

In FIG. 1, (1) is an imaging means, and an objective lens (a
Colloidal particles (5) are migrating in the direction of arrow P in the medium in the wave tube (4), which is subjected to gravity perpendicular to the migration direction (from the front surface to the back surface of the drawing) by the image pickup tube (3) and the image pickup tube (3).
) and outputs the corresponding electrical signal. (6) is a display means that displays colloidal particles as a two-dimensional image on the screen of, for example, a CRT display, based on the electric signal from the imaging means (1). , (The sword is a signal separation means that separates the electrical signal into a video signal, a horizontal synchronization pulse, and a vertical synchronization pulse.The video signal is divided into two by a comparison circuit (8).
A colloidal particle image corresponding to a colloidal particle (
The sign/level setting variable resistor (29) of the comparator circuit (8) is used to set the output signal so that the part c) becomes 1" and the background becomes "Opp. (Comparison circuit (
The sign of 8) differs depending on the illumination method (dark field, bright field) of the electrophoresis tube (4). ) (9) is a counting means that simultaneously measures the migration time and sedimentation time of colloid particles from the horizontal synchronization pulse and vertical synchronization pulse, and calculates the results by calculating the results.
Output to. The computing means value is, for example, a microcomputer. 0υ is a clock pulse oscillation circuit, which is a conventionally known circuit using, for example, a crystal oscillator surface. The counting means (9) includes a vertical counting circuit [F
], and a horizontal counting circuit a'3J that counts clock pulses.
, a first latch circuit (I5) that latches the counting result of the vertical counting circuit surface, a second latch circuit (I5) that latches the counting result of the horizontal counting circuit 0, and an S/R that controls each of the above circuits. A flip 70 block circuit (5), a direction selection circuit for converting/resetting the S/R flip 70 block color, and a first vertical setting circuit for setting the two straight lines drawn on the screen ( 31) of the second vertical line setting circuit, an AND circuit (31) (branch), and an OR circuit (c).

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.

Now, assume that the oscillation frequency of the clock pulse oscillation circuit Gυ is, for example, 5.12 MH2. If the vertical resolution is 256.1 seconds and the number of screens (vertical frequency) is 20, then the horizontal resolution is 500. In this case, if you try to measure the migration time with an error of ±1%,
Five measurement areas are provided in the horizontal direction, and up to five colloidal particles can be measured at the same time, and the number of counting means (9) can be increased to five. (The measurement error in the sedimentation direction depends on the sedimentation speed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an image displayed on the screen of the display means (6), and shows the first vertical line set by the first vertical line setting circuit (18).
A vertical line (C), a second vertical line (C) set by the second vertical line setting circuit, and a colloid particle image (G) corresponding to the colloid particle (5) are displayed. The first line is two straight lines drawn perpendicularly on the screen of the display means (6).
The vertical line (E) and the second vertical line (C) are defined by setting the first vertical line setting circuit (2) to 100 and setting the second vertical line setting circuit 0 to 3.
If each is set to 00, the measurement area will be 115 from the left of the screen at the oscillation frequency of the clock pulse described above.
The area is surrounded by the first vertical line drawn at positions 315 and 315) and the second vertical line C.

For the first vertical line setting circuit and the second vertical line setting circuit (toward), for example, an MCI4040B having eight C-MO elements can be used. (Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, the display means (6) will be described in detail assuming that it is of a non-interlaced type.) The respective outputs of the first vertical line setting circuit Oa and the second vertical line setting circuit are connected to the AND circuit (21 ) and the video binary signal input to the AND circuit (sub) and output from the comparison circuit (8), it is detected whether the colloid particle image (g) is on each vertical line. AND of each
The output of circuit 31) ＼ is the first vertical line (
The set input (S) or reset input (C) of the S/R flip-flop circuit (G) can be switched between the start line and the second vertical line (C).
R) via the direction selection circuit a7). S/R
The Q output of the flip-flop circuit (5) is the horizontal counting circuit surface and the vertical counting circuit 03) (ri,!:,IcC-M
O8 element (7) MC14040B > (7) Input to reset input, and counting is performed when Q-0. Here, as the direction selection circuit surface, for example, TTL
A 74LS 139 demultiplexer (shown in Figure 3) may be used, one output (17a) being R/
It is connected to the set input (S) of the S flip-flop circuit color, the other output terminal (17b) is connected to the OR circuit (to), and the R/S flip-flop circuit (5) is connected from the output terminal (17a). The signal to set is output, and the output terminal (17
The output signal from b) is sent to the AND circuit, where the vertical synchronization pulse and the video binarized signal are ANDed, and then ORed.
R/S flip-flop circuit (5) through circuit (to)
Reset. Here, input the direction selection circuit surface (17c
) is the input (17) to the output of the first vertical line setting circuit (goods).
d) is the output of the second vertical line setting circuit S, and the input (1
7e) are respectively connected to the outputs of the comparator circuit (8),
When the output signal of the comparison circuit (8) is "1", the output signal from the first vertical line setting circuit is outputted to the output terminal (17a). This will stop counting not only when the colloidal particle image (c) passes through the second vertical line (c), which is the stop line, but also when the colloidal particle image (e) goes to the bottom of the screen. It is.

When the colloid particle image (E) goes out of the screen, a signal is also transmitted in the form of an interrupt to the arithmetic means (Go), which is a microcomputer, so that the output data can be ignored.

The Q output of the R/S flip 7O tube circuit (16) connects the vertical counting circuit [F] and the horizontal counting circuit 03) to 0N10FF.
However, the Q output turns the first latch circuit (14) and the second latch circuit (15) ON10FF. Here, as shown in Figure 2, when the colloid particle image (g) crosses the first vertical line (b) like the trajectory (α), the Q output of the R/S flip-flop circuit becomes '0''. , vertical counting circuit 02) counts horizontal synchronizing pulses (that is, the number of vertical scanning lines), and at the same time, horizontal counting circuit f131 counts clock pulses.Then, the colloidal particle image (c) ), the Q output of the R/S flip-flop circuit (g) becomes 1'', and the vertical counting circuit plane and the horizontal counting circuit 03 are reset. Immediately before this, the first latch circuit (15) and the second latch circuit (15) operate, and the respective count values corresponding to the sedimentation degree and electrophoresis speed, which are the outputs from the vertical counting circuit surface and the horizontal counting circuit a3 at that time, are activated. hold. After this, the calculation means □□□ reads the count value held in the first latch circuit ■ and the count value held in the second latch circuit (151), that is, the first vertical line (C) and the count value held in the second latch circuit (151) are read. 2. When passing between the vertical line (5), the settling time TS is determined from the moving speed in the vertical direction of the screen, and the migration time T is similarly determined from the moving speed in the horizontal direction.
e is calculated, and further, the zeta potential of the colloidal particle (5) is calculated from the electrophoresis time Te, and the size of the colloidal particle (5) is calculated from the sedimentation time TS.

The calculated zeta potential and size of each colloidal particle are displayed on the screen of the display means, as shown in FIG.
By displaying a three-dimensional histogram in which the X-axis of the dimensional space is the zeta potential, the Y-axis is the size, and the Z-axis is the number of particles, a microcomputer, which is the calculation means, is used to perform a comprehensive analysis of colloidal particles. may be controlled.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the vertical and horizontal directions may be completely reversed, that is, the image carrying means may scan vertically (or the imaging means itself may be rotated 90 degrees so that the electrophoretic direction and the scanning line are perpendicular). It is possible. Even in this case, the meaning of the data indicated by the output of the counting means is completely opposite to that of the above embodiment, and the zeta potential and size of the colloidal particles can be measured simultaneously in the same way.

(g) Effects of the invention According to this invention, the zeta potential and size of colloidal particles can be measured simultaneously, which speeds up the analysis, and the colloid that exhibits this effect when analyzing colloidal particles of the same size. A particle analyzer is obtained.

Note that the size of colloidal particles can also be measured by a light scattering method, but this method uses a completely different principle, and depending on the case, the measurement may be performed using a completely different method.

For the measurement of cell-sized particles, for example, applications such as sedimentation due to aggregation and measurement of apparent zeta potential can be considered, but in this case, the light scattering method is inappropriate because it is highly dependent on the shape of the particle surface, and the sedimentation method is It is better to adopt

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the screen of the display means, FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a specific example of the direction selection circuit, and FIG. 4 is another screen of the display means. FIG. (5)... Colloidal particles, (6)...
・Display means, (9)・・・Counting, (goods)・
...Calculation means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A colloidal particle analysis device that simultaneously measures the zeta potential and its magnitude of colloidal particles in a medium to which an electric field is applied in the horizontal direction and gravity is applied in the vertical direction,
A display means for displaying the movement of colloidal particles as a two-dimensional image, and a colloidal particle image corresponding to a colloidal particle passing between two straight lines drawn perpendicularly on the screen of the display means. a counting means for measuring the moving speed in the horizontal direction between the two lines and at the same time measuring the moving speed in the vertical direction between the two straight lines; 1. A colloidal particle analyzer comprising: calculation means for calculating the size of each colloidal particle.