JPS627980B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic chemical analysis method that includes a function of easily removing water droplets and the like remaining in a reaction tube after washing.

As is well known, the automated chemical analysis method involves dispensing the sample to be analyzed, such as a large number of serum samples, one by one into a reaction tube, and then injecting a reaction reagent and a diluent into the reaction container to proceed with the reaction. This is a method of analysis in which the reacted sample (hereinafter referred to as a specimen) is exposed to light and the amount of transmitted light is measured.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional apparatus, and the above-mentioned automatic chemical analysis method will be specifically explained along with its operation. 1 is a liquid tank filled with constant-temperature liquid W; 2 is a transferable endless belt that is disposed so as to pass above and below the liquid tank 1; 3 is a sample storage device that is installed on this belt 2 at predetermined intervals. The reaction tubes 3 are a plurality of test tube-shaped reaction tubes, and as the belt 2 moves, the reaction tubes 3 are transferred in the direction of the arrow A in the figure, and are sent to the upper surface side of the liquid tank 1, so that the bottom surface thereof is placed in the constant temperature liquid W. It is kept warm by being immersed and sent to the end side of the liquid tank 1. Here, 15 is a suction tube provided near the upper end of the liquid tank 1, and is used to aspirate the sample in the reaction tube 3 that has reached the position of this suction tube 15, and this suction is performed by a drive mechanism (not shown). The tube 15 is operated to move in the direction of arrow B-C. Reference numeral 9 denotes a transparent hollow cylindrical flow cell for analyzing the sample aspirated through the suction tube 15. After passing through the flow cell 9, the sample is disposed of outside via the discharge tube 9a. 1
0 is a heat-retaining tank for circulating a heat-retaining liquid around the circumferential surface of the flow cell 9 in order to keep the flow cell 9 at a constant temperature, 11 is a pipe for sending the heat-retaining liquid to the heat-retaining tank 10, and 12 is the pipe 11. 13 is a heater for heating the heat-retaining liquid provided on the feeding side of the heat-retaining tank 10 of the pipe 11; 14 is a photometer that analyzes the sample in the flow cell 9 from the amount of transmitted light; A light source that emits white light, a filter that extracts light of a specific wavelength according to the analysis target from this white light, a lens that collects the light extracted by this filter and irradiates it onto the sample in the flow cell 9, and a sample that passes through the sample. It consists of a detector that detects the amount of light afterward. Here, a predetermined analysis is performed, and after the analysis is completed, the reaction tube 3 is sent to the end of the liquid tank 1 as described above, and then turned upside down along the belt 2 to the lower side of the liquid tank 1. It turns out. During this inversion, the remaining liquid in the reaction tube 3 is discharged into the drain tank 4, and after cleaning,
Served for drying. That is, the inside of the reaction tube 3 sent upside down is first cleaned by the discharge nozzle 5 that discharges cleaning liquid from below, then re-cleaned by the pure water discharge nozzle 6, and then the heater 7
The sample is dried by heating or hot air from the hot air discharge nozzle 8 to remove water droplets adhering to the liquid during the cleaning process, and then sent to the upper surface of the liquid tank 1 again, where a sample is injected and used for analysis.

By the way, when the heater 7 is used as a means for drying the reaction tube 3 after washing as in the method described above, there is a problem that a large-capacity power source for heating the heater is required, which increases power consumption, which is not preferable. When hot air 8 is used, there is a problem that the inside of the device becomes hot and humid, which adversely affects electrical contacts and the like, and adversely affects temperature control of the constant temperature liquid.

As a drying means that can alleviate the above-mentioned problems, as shown in FIG. 2, a suction nozzle 17 that performs a suction action using a vacuum pump 16 is inserted into the reaction tube 3 to suck up water droplets on the inner wall of the reaction tube 3. There is a way. According to this method, although it is not possible to completely dry the reaction tube 3, it is possible to reduce the amount of water droplets inside to the extent that it does not affect the reaction, and there are advantages such as there is no need to turn the reaction tube upside down. There is. However, when performing multi-item analysis where multiple reaction tubes are placed side by side, it is necessary to increase the capacity of the vacuum pump accordingly, which increases exhaust noise and vibrations. A new problem arises.

The present invention solves the above problems and provides an automatic chemical analysis method that removes water droplets remaining in the reaction tube after washing without extensive heating and drying, and is equipped with the water droplet removal function that is optimal for multi-item analysis. The purpose is to

The present invention will be specifically explained below using Examples.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an automatic chemical analyzer used in the analysis method of the present invention. Components that are the same as those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. 1 is a liquid tank, 2 is a transfer belt, 3 is a reaction tube, 4 is a drain tank, 5 is a cleaning liquid discharge nozzle, 6 is a pure water discharge nozzle, and 9 to 15 are analysis mechanisms mainly including a flow cell 9. In particular, in the present invention, a mountain-shaped sponge is attached to the tip of a piston rod 19 that moves up and down by the operation of the crank mechanism 20, below the reaction tube 3a passing above the pure water discharge nozzle 6. I made it look like 18. This sponge is made of a material with good water absorption, such as maltplane,
Its diameter is approximately the same as or slightly larger than the diameter of the reaction tube 3. The piston rod 19 is made of, for example, synthetic resin, and is connected to the sponge 18 by, for example, adhesive (the sponge 18 and the piston rod 19 are collectively referred to as a wiping mechanism). Here, the crank mechanism 20 moves up and down at regular intervals, for example, at every transfer pitch of the reaction tube 3, by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the lower limit of the up and down stroke is such that the sponge 18 is at the lower end of the reaction tube 3. To the extent that it deviates slightly more, and
The upper limit is set so that the sponge 18 is sufficiently pressed against the inner surface of the bottom of the reaction tube 3.
In a multi-item analysis device, a plurality of reaction tubes are arranged in parallel depending on the number of items, and the sponges may be arranged accordingly.

An automatic chemical analysis method using the apparatus configured as described above will be explained. First, a sample is injected into the sequentially transferred reaction tubes 3 by an injection mechanism (not shown) while immersed in the liquid tank 1, and then mixed with a reaction reagent, and then subjected to a predetermined analysis by an analysis mechanism. . Thereafter, the reaction tube 3 containing the residual liquid is turned upside down to discharge the residual liquid into the drainage tank 4, and is further cleaned by the cleaning liquid discharge nozzle 5, and re-cleaned by the pure water discharge nozzle 6. will be done. Next, a cleaning operation is performed to remove water droplets remaining on the inner wall of the reaction tube 3, and the details of this operation will be explained in Section 4.
This will be explained sequentially with reference to Figures a to d. First, the piston rod 19 is raised by the crank mechanism (FIG. 2A), and the sponge 18 is inserted until the tip thereof touches the top of the inner bottom surface of the reaction tube 3 (FIG. 2B). In this state, if the piston rod 19 is pulled downward, the water droplet P shown in FIG. It should be absorbed and disappear, but when reaction tubes are transferred continuously like in an automatic analyzer, normally the next reaction tube arrives before the sponge containing the liquid dries and absorbs water again. As a result, the sponge 18 becomes sufficiently saturated with water, and in such a case, the amount of liquid remaining on the inner wall of the reaction tube 3 after the sponge is pulled out varies widely, ranging from 5 μm to 50 μm, which adversely affects the next analysis. Therefore, in the present invention, in particular, the sponge 18 is pressed further upward beyond the top dead center to bring it into a compressed state.
The water contained in the sponge 18 was squeezed out and dropped into water droplets (c in the same figure). When the compressed state exceeds the top dead center, the sponge 18 is pressed against the inner surface of the bottom of the reaction tube in a sufficiently compressed state. After that, if the sponge 18 is lowered and pulled out, the sponge 18 will be restored to its original state when it is lowered, and at the time of this restoration, the action of sucking the surrounding moisture (especially the moisture above) will work, and the inside of the reaction tube 3 will be activated. The moisture on the wall surface is wiped off to the extent that it does not affect the analysis (d in the same figure). Incidentally, good results were obtained in that the amount of residual liquid was approximately 5 microns or less, and the variation among the reaction tubes was also minimal. The reaction tube from which water droplets have been removed in this way is used again for analysis. If drying is particularly required, a heating means may be used in combination, but since most of the water droplets are removed by the wiping mechanism, a small-capacity heating means is sufficient.

According to such an analysis method, water droplets attached to the reaction tube 3 can be easily removed after washing, and especially when drying is required, instead of heating using a large-capacity heater as in the conventional method, a small Since only a large capacity heating means is required, there is no adverse effect on the constant temperature liquid W.
Moreover, power consumption does not increase. Furthermore, since the vertical movement is performed by a crank mechanism without using a vacuum pump, there is no problem of increased exhaust noise or vibration. However, according to this method, if drying is not performed, the residual liquid adhering to the reaction tube cannot be completely removed, and a residual liquid that does not affect the analysis will remain. , the inner wall of the reaction tube will be slightly wet,
It also has the advantage that small solid matter does not stick to the inner wall surface due to conventional drying and therefore does not promote fouling of the reaction tube due to continuous use. In addition, with this method, the lifespan of the sponge 18 is a problem, but since the material is inexpensive and the structure is simple, periodic replacement is easy, so it can be used semi-permanently. The invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, as shown in Figure 5a,
The wiping mechanism may be configured such that a flange portion 22 is provided at the lower part of the piston rod 19 to which the sponge 18 is attached, and a substantially donut-shaped sponge 21 is placed on the flange portion 22. In this case, the distance between the upper end of the piston rod 19 and the flange 22 is set to be the same as or slightly longer than the height of the reaction tube 3,
In addition, a plurality of holes 22a are provided near the center of the flange 22.
A central hole 21 of the donut-shaped sponge 21 is provided.
The structure should be such that it can communicate with a above and below. With this configuration, when the sponge 18 is raised by the crank mechanism in the same manner as described above, the sponge 18 is compressed on the inner bottom surface of the reaction tube 3 and the donut-shaped sponge 21 is compressed, as shown in FIG. is the tsuba part 22
and the open end of the reaction tube 3 and are compressed. At this time, the water droplet P bulged out by the compression of the sponge 18 is
The liquid is discharged to the outside through the hole 21a in the center of the body 1 and the hole 22a in the flange 22. When the piston rod 19 is pulled out, the water droplets inside the tube are absorbed by the sponge 18, while the water droplets _P1 that have adhered around the reaction tube 3 and below the belt 2 are absorbed by the donut-shaped sponge 21.
It will be absorbed by. If such a method is used, in addition to the effects of the above-mentioned embodiment, the reaction tube 3 will be reversed and adhered to the outside of the reaction tube 3 (the top surface of the belt 2) while the reaction tube 3 is being moved to the top surface of the liquid tank 1. There is no fear that the liquid will enter the reaction tube 3, resulting in an effect that the accuracy of analysis can be improved. Note that the vertical movement mechanism does not necessarily have to be a crank mechanism. Moreover, other flexible materials with good water absorption may be used in place of the sponge of the wiping mechanism.

As detailed above, according to the present invention, water droplets remaining in the reaction tube after washing can be easily removed without extensive heating and drying, and automatic chemical analysis with a water droplet removal function that is optimal for multi-item analysis It becomes a method.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an analyzer used in a conventional automated chemical analysis method, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a drying device used therein, and Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing another example of a drying device used in the automatic chemical analysis method of the present invention. Figures 4a to 4d are cross-sectional views for explaining the operation of the wiping mechanism used therein, and Figures 5a and b are for explaining the configuration and operation of other wiping mechanisms. FIG. 1...Liquid tank, 2...Belt, 3...Reaction tube, 4
... Drainage tank, 5 ... Cleaning liquid discharge nozzle, 6 ... Pure water discharge nozzle, 9 ... Flow cell, 10 ... Heat retention tank, 14 ... Photometer, 18 ... Sponge, 19 ...
...Piston rod, 20...Crank mechanism, 21...
Donut-shaped sponge, 22...Trim part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Multiple reaction tubes containing samples to be analyzed to which reaction reagents, etc. have been added are immersed in a constant-temperature solution and transferred one after another, and after performing the prescribed analysis, the reaction tubes are washed with a cleaning solution. In an automatic chemical analysis method in which a sample to be analyzed is again injected and subjected to the analysis, a wiping member made of a water-absorbing flexible material is inserted from below into the reaction tube which is in an inverted state after the washing. An automatic chemical analysis method characterized in that the material is inserted into the bottom inner surface of the reaction tube under pressure upward to a sufficiently compressed state.