JPS63212867A - Method and apparatus for washing and removing reaction bead in examination of blood - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently remove a residual liquid within a short time without damaging an instrument, by a method wherein a guide wall having a predetermined shape is arranged in a test tube to bias the flow of compressed air to one side to rotate a reaction bead and the residual liquid blown up from the bottom part of the test tube is sucked. CONSTITUTION:A funnel-shaped guide wall (f) gradually enlarged in its diameter downwardly is arranged in a test tube T having a reaction bead R.B allowed to fall therein and compressed air is injected from the open port (g) of a blow-off pipe (e) mounted to the central part of said guide wall on the under surface side thereof so as to be biased to one side. By this method, the flow (y) of the compressed air generated in the lower part of the guide wall (f) so as to be blown up toward the central part inside the guide wall (f) is biased to one side and the bead R.B levitated in the air by said flow (y) is rotated and the residual liquid of a washing liquid W blown up from the bottom part of the test tube T is shaken out by the rotation of the bead R.B and sucked by the suction port of the suction pipe (a) arranged at the central part on the under surface side of the guide wall (f) or on the upper surface side of said wall and removed. By this method, the residual liquid can be removed cleanly without bringing the reaction bead into contact with an instrument.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides reactive beads (
In blood tests performed using reaction beads), when the coated antibodies are reacted with the sample and reagent and the reaction beads are washed with a washing solution in a test tube, the inner wall surface of the test tube and the reaction beads are washed. The present invention relates to improvements in a cleaning method for removing cleaning liquid remaining on a peripheral surface and a cleaning liquid removal device.

Washing of the reaction beads after the reaction, which is carried out in blood tests using reaction beads coated with antibodies on the surface, is to wash off the specimen or reagent that came into contact with the reaction beads and measure the changes in the antibody. Therefore, in order to obtain accurate measured values, it is desirable to completely remove the cleaning liquid used for cleaning.

However, when this washing solution is removed by drying, the washing solution remains attached to the surface of the reaction beads and dries, allowing the reaction beads to be measured using a colorimeter or other instrument to determine the antibody status. Since an error occurs when measuring changes, drying means cannot be used and the material is removed by suction.

By the way, when this washing solution is removed by suction, the washing solution inevitably remains between the bottom of the test tube that contained the reaction beads and was washed, and the bottom side of the reaction beads. There is a problem in that it is difficult to remove the remaining cleaning solution by suction.

For this reason, in the past, as shown in FIG. Sometimes, the suction tube a is arranged so as to be located on one side of the tube and hangs down longer than the dispensing tube for dispensing the cleaning liquid, and the lower end side of the suction tube a is bent freely. It is formed into a flexible tube C, and when the suction tube a is inserted into the test tube T, the flexible tube C on the lower end side bends following the inner surface of the tube wall of the test tube T, and an arc-shaped A method is used in which the reaction beads R@B enter the lower surface side of the reaction beads R@B in a posture along the bottom surface, and the cleaning solution remaining at the bottom is suctioned away. By rubbing the surface of @H, it will damage the antibody surface coated on the surface, making the measured value inaccurate, and the flexible tube C may be damaged during use. Due to the irregular shape, it causes a lot of residual liquid and causes other problems such as the surface of the reaction beads R-H being pecked and the coated antibody surface being seriously damaged. There is.

From this, as shown in Figure 2, the suction pressure by the suction tube a inserted into the test tube T is strengthened so that the reaction beads R-B inside the test tube T are sucked up when the suction tube a is activated. At the same time, a receiver d is provided around the tip of the suction tube a to catch the reaction beads R and B that are sucked up, and the inside of the test tube T is strongly suctioned with the suction tube a to remove the reaction beads. Attempts have been made to suck up the reaction beads R-B, pull the lower surface side of the reaction beads R-H away from the bottom of the test tube T, and aspirate the washing solution W, but even with this method, one reaction bead R-B There is a problem in that the antibody layer on the surface is damaged due to the collision with the receiver d.

The invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the conventional means, and it is possible to remove the bottom of the test tube T and the reaction beads R without damaging the antibody layer on the surface of the reaction beads R-H. - It is an object of the present invention to provide a new means for cleanly and efficiently suctioning and removing the cleaning liquid W from the circumferential surface of It was completed based on knowledge obtained through various experiments and research.

That is, when removing the cleaning liquid W from the inside of the test tube T by suction,
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a blow-off pipe e leading to a pressure source is arranged at the center of the test tube T, and around the open opening at the lower end of the blow-off pipe e, When an inverted funnel-shaped guide wall f that gradually expands in diameter toward the bottom is installed and air is blown out at high pressure from the blow-off pipe e, the pressure air blown out from the blow-off pipe e is shaped like an inverted funnel. By blowing out while adhering to the guide wall f, the air is blown out in an umbrella-like manner, and at that time, due to the negative pressure generated on the center side of the funnel-shaped guide wall f, As shown by the arrow, the tip side of the pressure air that is blown out in an umbrella shape curves back toward the center of the guide wall f, and a flow y of the pressure air that blows up is generated at the center of the guide wall f. This flow of pressure air y causes the reaction beads R-B
are floated as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the floated reaction beads R-B are pushed against the guide wall f by the pressure of the pressure air blowing out from the opening g of the blow-off pipe e. It does not rise beyond a certain distance between the two, but maintains a suspended state as shown in Figure 3, and the above-mentioned pressure air flow y, The lower surface of the floating reaction beads R-8 and the bottom of the inner surface of the tube wall of the test tube T are blown up and attached to the lower surface of the reaction beads R-B and the inner surface of the tube wall. The cleaning liquid W is blown up as droplets and carried to the suction port of the suction tube a provided on the upper surface side of the guide wall f of the blow-off tube e or at the center inside the guide wall f, and The result was that the cleaning liquid could be cleanly suctioned and removed from the inner wall surface of the test tube T.

However, with this method, the reaction beads R@B floating in the air may be balanced and become stationary, and if this happens, the droplets blown up from the bottom of the test tube T may not be carried to the suction port. , the reaction beads R- floating in the air and in a stationary state
A problem has arisen in that it takes a long time to remove the cleaning liquid W completely due to interference from the cleaning liquid W.

Therefore, after repeated experiments and research, the opening g of the blow-off tube E was biased toward the - side as shown in Fig. 7, and the reaction beads R were floating in the air. -B
The opening g is moved slightly toward the biased direction, and at the same time, it begins to rotate at a considerable speed in the counterclockwise direction as shown in Fig. 7, shaking out the cleaning liquid adhering to the surrounding surface. In addition, the pressure air flowing along the inner surface of the tube wall of the test tube T below the flow of pressure air y that lifts up the reaction beads R-B is shown by the double-lined arrow in Figure 7. As shown in the figure, a flow Z flows in one direction from the biased side of the opening g toward the opposite side, and the cleaning liquid W remaining at the bottom of the inner surface of the tube wall of the test tube T is transferred to the tube wall. The result is that the reaction beads R-H are efficiently carried upward along the inner surface, and the blow-off tube e and the guide wall f are brought closer to the bottom of the test tube T, so that the lower surface side of the reaction beads R-H floating in the air is As shown in Fig. 8, when the surface of the cleaning liquid W remaining at the bottom of the test tube T comes into contact with the liquid surface, the rotating reaction beads R-B attach the cleaning liquid W to the peripheral surface and carry it upward. The present invention was completed based on these results.

For this reason, in the present invention, an inverted funnel-shaped guide wall whose diameter gradually expands downward is arranged in the test tube into which the reaction beads are dropped, and at the center of the lower surface of the By blowing out pressure air biased to one side from the open opening of the installed blow-off pipe, a flow of pressure air is generated below the guide wall so as to blow upward toward the center inside the guide wall. is biased to one side, the flow of pressure air causes the reaction beads to float in the air, and the remaining washing liquid that blows up from the bottom of the test tube is shaken out upwards by the rotation of the reaction beads. The present invention proposes a method for removing a washing solution from reaction beads in a test for blood, etc., which is characterized by suctioning through a suction port of a suction tube disposed at the central portion on the lower surface side or on the upper surface side of the guide wall, and further includes: As a device for carrying out this washing solution removal method, the above-mentioned mounting table is equipped with a mounting table on which a reaction test tube or a test tube into which reaction beads are dropped, and a blowing pipe and a suction pipe for blowing out pressure air. A dispensing head disposed above is mounted on the aircraft body so that they are relatively close to each other, and a diameter of a blowout pipe installed in the dispensing head is gradually expanded downward. An inverted funnel-shaped guide wall is provided, and the opening of the blow-off pipe that opens at the center of the guide wall is biased to one side, and the suction pipe has its suction port facing the lower surface of the guide wall. The present invention proposes a washing liquid removal device for reaction test tubes or reaction beads in testing blood, etc., which is disposed at the central portion of the test tube or on the upper surface side of its guide wall.

Next, an example of implementation will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals in the drawings as in the conventional means are used for constituent members having the same effect.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts of a washing device A for reaction test tubes and reaction beads for testing blood, etc., which is used to carry out the present invention. tube), R and B... are the reaction beads dropped into the test tube T..., 1 is the mounting table, 2 is the dispensing head,
e is a blowout pipe, f is a guide wall, a is a suction pipe, 3 is a cleaning liquid tank, 4 is a drain tank □, 5 is a vacuum pump, and 6 is a discharge pump. The mounting table l is operated by a motor M. It is mounted on the fuselage (not shown in the drawing) so that it can be raised and lowered by a lifting device 10.

The dispensing head 2 is disposed above the mounting table 1 and fixedly supported on the machine body. This dispensing head 2 may be mounted on the body of the machine so that it can be raised and lowered by a lifting device. In that case, the above-mentioned 'I1. The stand 1 may be fixedly provided to the aircraft body.

The blowoff pipe e... is the above-mentioned 1i! The test tubes T... (which may be reaction test tubes with antibodies coated on the inner surface of the tube wall) that are positioned and placed on the mounting table 1 are aligned when they rise due to the lifting operation of the mounting table 1. The test tubes T are arranged so as to be inserted into the tubes T... and installed on the lower surface of the dispensing head 2, and their upper ends are installed inside the dispensing head 2. Each of them communicates with a distribution pipe 20, and the distribution pipe 20 communicates with a discharge port of a vacuum pump 5 installed in the aircraft body through a pipe line 21 having a valve (1) interposed therebetween. Around the open opening g at the lower end of these blow-off pipes e, there is an inverted funnel-shaped guide wall f whose diameter gradually expands downward. It is arranged so that it is located.

The opening g of these blow-off pipes e is arranged at a position slightly eccentric with respect to the center of the inverted funnel-shaped guide wall f surrounding it, and is opened in the eccentric direction. . The deviation of the opening g of the blow-off pipe e is the 10th
In addition to the case where the opening g is biased toward the opening direction as shown in the figure, the opening g may be tilted toward the center of the guide wall f while opening downward, as shown in FIG. 11. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the tip of the blow-off pipe e is passed through from the upper surface side of the guide wall f toward the lower surface side,
The opening g thereof may be installed at a position slightly eccentric from the center on the lower surface side of the guide wall f so as to open in a direction parallel to the inner surface of the guide wall f on the opposite side to that position.

The suction pipe a is formed into an outer cylindrical shape that surrounds the blow-off pipe e, and is arranged around each blow-off pipe e and installed on the lower surface side of the dispensing head 2 described above. The center hole of the above-mentioned inverted funnel-shaped guide wall f is integrally connected to its lower end. The inner surface of this guide wall f may be formed into an arcuate surface similar to the arc of the surface of the reaction bead RφB, as shown in FIG. 13, instead of being a flat tapered surface. Thus, each upper end side of the blow-off pipe e... is connected to and communicates with a collecting pipe 30 disposed in the dispensing door 2,
The collecting pipe 30 is connected and communicated with the drain tank 4 through which the suction side of the vacuum pump 5 described above communicates through a communication pipe 31 having a valve v2 interposed therebetween. Further, the communication pipe 31 has the aforementioned valve v2 formed into a three-way valve, and is connected to the discharge side of the discharge pump 6 whose suction side communicates with the cleaning liquid tank 3 via the valve V2. The switching operation of v2 communicates with the discharge pump 6 which discharges the washing liquid, supplies the washing liquid to the suction pipe a, and the suction pipe a is switched to a dispensing pipe for use.

Next, FIG. 14 shows another example device. In this embodiment, the cleaning liquid W is supplied from the cleaning liquid tank 3 to each test tube T.
This is an example in which the dispensing pipes for dispensing to... are provided independently from the suction pipe a, and each dispensing pipe is connected to an external cylindrical suction pipe a in parallel with each blow-off pipe e. Each upper end side communicates with a distribution pipe 70 installed in the dispensing head 2, and the distribution pipe 70 connects to the discharge of the dispensing pump 6 via a communication pipe 71 equipped with a valve V3. The components are the same as in the previous embodiment, except that the collecting pipe 30 communicating with the outlet and leading to each suction pipe a communicates only with the drain tank 4 via a communicating pipe 31 equipped with a valve v2. are given the same reference numerals and detailed explanations will be omitted.

Next, FIG. 15 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of the suction tube a, the dispensing tube S, and the blow-off tube e used in the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. , a fitting part 80 for attachment to the lower surface of the dispensing head 2 is formed, and an enlarged diameter cylindrical part 81 is connected to the lower end, and an inverted funnel-shaped part 81 is connected to the lower end of the enlarged diameter cylindrical part 81. The guide wall f is continuous. The opening at the lower end of the dispensing tube housed inside the suction tube a and the opening g at the lower end of the blow-off tube e are located within the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 81, respectively. Note that the blow-off pipe e in this example has an outer diameter of 0.88 mm and an inner diameter of 0.5 mm.
8 mm, and the dispensing tube has an outer diameter of 1.06 mm and an inner diameter of 0.70 mm. In addition, the suction tube a has an inner diameter D1 of 2.4 mm on the upper end side and an inner diameter D2 of the enlarged diameter cylinder part 81 of 5.0 mm.
It is millimeter. Moreover, the guide wall f has an inner diameter D3 at the lower end.
is 7.0 mm, height Hl is 2°4 mm, and angle of inclination α is 6.
It is 0 degrees. In addition, the test tube T has a height H2 of 20 mm.
The inner diameter D4 is 8.8 mm.

As explained above, the means of the present invention arranges an inverted funnel-shaped guide wall whose diameter gradually expands downward in a test tube into which reaction beads are dropped, and at the center of the lower surface of the guide wall. By blowing out pressure air biased to one side from the open opening of the installed blow-off pipe, a flow of pressure air is generated below the guide wall so as to blow upward toward the center inside the guide wall. is biased to one side, and the flow of the pressure air rotates the reaction beads suspended in the air. The residual cleaning solution is removed by suction through the suction port of the suction tube installed at the center of the bottom or top of the wall, so the reaction beads can be removed cleanly without coming into contact with the equipment. , and 1
Since the reaction beads rotate and draw up the remaining liquid at the bottom of the test tube, the remaining liquid can be efficiently removed by suction in a short period of time.

Further, the washing liquid removal device according to the present invention is equipped with a mounting table on which a reaction test tube or a test tube into which reaction beads are dropped, and a blowing pipe and a suction pipe for blowing out pressure air are provided above the mounting table. A dispensing head arranged in A funnel-shaped guide wall is provided, and the opening of the blow-off pipe that opens at the center of the guide wall is biased to one side, and the suction pipe has its suction port located at the center of the lower surface of the guide wall. Because it is arranged on the upper surface of the site or its guide wall, when the reaction beads dropped into the test tube are washed with a washing solution, the remaining liquid can be removed by suction without damaging the surface of the reaction beads. The reaction beads can be rotated to make the process much more efficient, and the removal of remaining liquid by suction when cleaning reaction test tubes coated with antibodies on the inside of the tube wall can prevent damage to the antibody surface on the tube wall. You will be able to do it much more efficiently without giving too much.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams of the conventional means, FIGS. 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams of the prior art, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams of the action on reaction beads of the same prior art. 7 and 8 are explanatory diagrams of the means of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the cleaning liquid removal device used for carrying out the method of the present invention, and FIG. 10 and 11 are parts of the same device. 12 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the same device, FIG. 13 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the same device, and FIG. 14 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the same device. FIG. 15 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the essential parts of the apparatus according to one embodiment. Explanation of drawing symbols A...Washing device D...Distance M...Motor T...Test tube W...Washing liquid
V1-V3...Valve R-T...Reaction test tube RψB...Reaction bead a...Suction tube
b...Dispensing tube C...Flexible tube d...Receptacle
e...Blowout pipe f...Guide wall g...Opening port y...Flow of pressure air 1...Placement table 10...Elevating device 2...Dispensing head 20...min Piping 21...pipe line
3...Washing liquid tank 30...Collecting pipe
31...Communication pipe 4...Drainage tank 5.
...Vacuum pump 6...Discharge pump 70...
・Distribution pipe 71... Communication pipe 80... Fitting part 81... Expanded diameter cylinder part Hl/H2... Height D1 to D4... Inner diameter Patent applicant Tsukioka
Kang Correspondence Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure R/B Figure 14

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Into the test tube into which the reaction beads are dropped,
By arranging an inverted funnel-shaped guide wall that gradually expands in diameter toward the bottom, and blowing out pressure air to one side from the open mouth of a blow-off pipe installed at the center of the lower surface of the guide wall. , biasing the flow of pressure air generated below the guide wall toward the inner center of the guide wall to one side,
The reaction beads floating in the air are rotated by the flow of the pressure air, and the remaining washing liquid that blows up from the bottom of the test tube is shaken out upwards by the rotation of the reaction beads, and the remaining liquid of the washing liquid is shaken out from the central part of the lower surface side of the guide wall or A method (2) for removing a washing solution from reaction beads in a test for blood, etc., characterized by suctioning through the suction port of a suction tube arranged on the upper surface side, in which a reaction test tube or a test tube into which reaction beads are dropped is placed. A dispensing head equipped with a blowout pipe and a suction pipe that blows out pressure air and disposed above the mounting stand is mounted on the machine so that they are relatively close to each other. Note: An inverted funnel-shaped guide wall that gradually expands in diameter toward the bottom is provided around the open mouth of the blow-off pipe installed in the head, and the open mouth of the blow-off pipe opens at the center of the guide wall. biased to one side, and the suction tube has its suction port disposed at the center of the lower surface of the guide wall or at the upper surface of the guide wall. Washing liquid removal device.