KR101411460B1 - Transilluminator using led - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a transilluminator. More particularly, the present invention relates to a transilluminator, and more particularly, to a transilluminator having an LED light source for confirming a fragment of a sample subjected to electrophoresis in a layer structure surrounding a tray on which a sample is placed, A light guide plate is provided in the inner space enclosed by the LED light source so that the light emitted from the LED light source is uniformly diffused along the light guide plate and is placed in the tray insertion groove formed in the housing And a different type of LED is provided in each layer of the LED light source having a layered structure so that the sample band can be clearly observed with one device even after electrophoresis of other kinds of fragments And a transilluminator using the LED.

Description

[0001] TRANSULUMINATOR USING LED [0002]

The present invention relates to a transilluminator. More particularly, the present invention relates to a transilluminator, and more particularly, to a transilluminator having an LED light source for confirming a fragment of a sample subjected to electrophoresis in a layer structure surrounding a tray on which a sample is placed, A light guide plate is provided in the inner space enclosed by the LED light source so that the light emitted from the LED light source is uniformly diffused along the light guide plate and is placed in the tray insertion groove formed in the housing And a different type of LED is provided in each layer of the LED light source having a layered structure so that the sample band can be clearly observed with one device even after electrophoresis of other kinds of fragments And a transilluminator using the LED.

In general, electrophoresis refers to the phenomenon that charged particles (ions) move toward the anode or cathode in the electric field. Particles moving in the electric field move for the same time due to various factors such as charge amount, size and shape In the biotechnology field, molecules such as proteins or cells or DNAs are electrophoresed to observe the sample bands that are caused by the difference in travel distance.

After the electrophoresis, the electrophoresis gel is transferred to a transilluminator equipped with a light source, and then the electrophoresis gel is irradiated with light to detect DNA or protein And the band that is generated according to the degree of movement of the light source is observed.

However, the conventional transilluminator has been generally used with an ultraviolet lamp as disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-0001431. When the ultraviolet lamp is used as described above, there is a problem that the experimenter needs to repeatedly expose the ultraviolet rays unnecessarily. Therefore, there is a problem that the ultraviolet lamp must be separately provided to prevent the ultraviolet rays from being exposed to the outside of the transilluminator.

Accordingly, recently, a transilluminator has been proposed in which a light emitting diode (LED) is used as a light source as disclosed in US2006 / 0030026 A1, and the risk that the experimenter is exposed to ultraviolet rays is fundamentally eliminated.

However, in the case of the transilluminator disclosed in US2006 / 0030026A1, in order to uniformly irradiate light on the entire surface of the electrophoresis gel, a plurality of LEDs must be installed on the bottom of the housing, There has been a problem in that the kinds of samples that can be observed with one transilluminator are limited to a limited extent depending on the type.

In addition, as disclosed in US2006 / 0030026A1, when a large number of LEDs are installed inside a transformer illuminator so that light is irradiated upward from the bottom direction, the overall brightness may be improved. However, The brightness of the background is too bright to confirm the band indicating the degree of movement of the fragment after the electrophoresis, and thus the sharpness of the DNA fragment to be observed is reduced, resulting in inconvenience in observation.

An object of the present invention is to provide an LED light source for identifying a fragment of a sample on which electrophoresis has been performed by providing a layer structure surrounding a tray on which a sample is placed so that light is irradiated from the side, A light diffusing plate having a V-cut is provided in the enclosed inner space so that the light emitted from the LED light source is uniformly diffused along the light diffusing plate to the bottom surface of the tray to be inserted into the tray insertion groove formed in the housing And the LEDs of different layer types are installed in each layer of the layered LED light source, so that even after electrophoresis of other kinds of fragments, the sample band can be clearly observed with one device. Thereby providing an illuminator.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transilluminator using LED,

A housing in which a light source is housed and a tray inserting groove is formed, the space in which the electrophoresis sample to be observed is placed; A side light source part including a plurality of LEDs housed in the housing and arranged to surround the side surface of the tray insertion groove and irradiating light from the side of the tray insertion groove to the center of the tray insertion groove; A light-guiding diffusion plate provided in an inner space surrounded by the side light source part; And a tray on which the electrophoresis sample is placed and inserted into the tray insertion groove.

At this time, the side light source part has a layer structure of different kinds of LEDs capable of emitting light of different wavelengths, and the side light part part having such a layer structure is installed in the lower layer, and the electrophoresis state of the protein sample can be observed A white light LED, and a blue light LED installed in an upper layer and capable of observing electrophoresis of a nucleic acid (DNA / RNA) sample.

The light guiding diffuser plate may include a light guide plate having a V-cut; A reflector installed at a lower portion of the light guide plate and reflecting the light emitted from the white light LED upward; And a diffusion plate provided on the light guide plate and diffusing the light reflected from the reflection plate to the whole surface.

In addition, the housing may include an LED accommodating portion for forming a layer structure of the LEDs constituting the side light portion and being installed around the tray inserting groove; In order to form a space in which a white light LED can be placed, a lower surface of the LED housing part is formed with a bending part capable of placing a blue light LED thereon, F shape.

In addition,

Two support plates supporting the sides; A lower plate connecting the lower portion of the support plate and made of black acrylic; And an upper plate spaced apart from the lower plate by a predetermined distance and connected to the support plates and made of transparent acrylic.

In addition,

Two support plates supporting the sides; And a smog plate made of acryl or polycarbonate (PC), which is interconnected at the middle of the support plate and subjected to the smog process.

The present invention is realized by using a transformer illuminator conventionally made by using a UV lamp as an LED light source, so that the experimental environment using the transformer illuminator, which is an indispensable equipment for all laboratories performing genetic engineering experiments, And the like.

Also, while using an LED light source, it is possible to observe a band with a sharpness that is not lower than that of a conventional UV lamp, so that convenient and stable experiments can be performed while using an LED light source.

In addition, it is possible to observe protein and nucleic acid (DNA / RNA) by a single transilluminator while changing LEDs to be turned on by simple operation by installing LED light sources in a layer structure and installing different kinds of LEDs in each layer There is an effect.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a transilluminator using an LED according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a combined structure of a transilluminator using an LED according to the present invention. FIG.
3 is a perspective view of an LED receiving portion coupled to a housing according to the present invention;
4 is a sectional view of the side light source unit according to the present invention.
5 is a front view of a tray showing a state in which an observation target is placed according to the present invention;
6 is a front view showing another embodiment of a tray showing a state in which an observation target according to the present invention is laid.
7 is a photograph showing a tray according to the present invention.
8 is an exemplary photograph showing a state in which a white light LED of a transformer illuminator using an LED according to the present invention is lighted.
9 is an exemplary photograph showing a state in which a blue light LED of a transformer illuminator using an LED according to the present invention is lit.
10 is an exemplary photograph showing a state in which a blue light LED is lit by mounting a tray in a transilluminator using an LED according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a transilluminator using an LED according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of a transilluminator using an LED according to the present invention.

1 and 2, a transilluminator 10 using an LED according to the present invention includes a housing 100 having a tray insertion groove, which is a space in which a light source is stored and an electrophoresis sample to be observed is placed, A side light source part 200 formed of a plurality of LEDs arranged to surround the side surface of the tray insertion groove, a light guiding diffusion plate 300 installed in an inner space surrounded by the side light source part, And a tray 400 which is seated and inserted into the tray inserting groove.

The housing 100 has an outer shape as a whole of the transilluminator and an LED accommodating portion 130 is installed around the tray inserting groove 140 to provide an LED layer structure.

At this time, a light source selection unit 150, which is a light switch for controlling the lighting of the side light unit 200, is installed on one side of the tray insertion slot 140 and is electrically connected to the side light unit 200, And is configured to receive power from the supply unit (not shown) for lighting the side light sources.

In addition, a top plate 110 for covering an upper portion of the housing and preventing external foreign substances from entering is coupled to the upper portion of the housing, and a plate-shaped base plate 120 for fixing the housing is coupled to the lower portion of the housing . At this time, the top plate 110 is formed with a tray inserting hole for inserting / ejecting the tray 400, and the base plate 120 is formed as a closed plate for supporting the light guiding diffusion plate or the tray .

The LED storage part 130 is installed along the periphery of the tray insertion groove 140 in which the side light source part is installed. The LED storage part 130 has a layer structure of the white light LED, the light diffusion plate and the blue light LED, As shown in FIG. 3, a bent portion on which the blue light LED is seated is formed on the upper portion, a step for supporting the upper portion of the light diffusion plate is formed in the center, It is preferable that the shape of the letter F is formed. At this time, a light-guiding diffusion plate is located inside the LED housing part, and the light-guiding diffusing plate, particularly, the light-guiding plate is surrounded by the white light LED.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the tray receiving grooves 140 are formed in a square shape, and the LED receiving portion 130 is also preferably provided with four holes for covering all four sides of the square. However, it is needless to say that the shape of the tray receiving groove and the shape and the number of the LED accommodating portion are not limited thereto, and may be variously formed according to the type of the tray.

The light source selection unit 150 may include a light switch for controlling the light emission of the blue light LED and the white light LED, respectively, and the light switch for controlling the blue light LED may be configured to control the intensity of the light emitted from the blue light LED. . At this time, it is well known that it is possible to turn on and sequentially control the intensity of light according to depression of the same button repeatedly, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The side light source part 200 includes a plurality of LEDs housed in the LED housing part 130 for irradiating light for observing a band appearing in the sample from the side of the tray insertion groove 140 to the center of the tray insertion groove, So as to completely surround the side surface of the tray insertion groove 140.

4, the side light source 200 includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 130a, 130b, 130c, 130d, 130e, 130f, A white light LED 210 for observing the electrophoresis state of the sample, and a blue light LED 220 installed on the upper layer and capable of observing the electrophoresis state of nucleic acid (DNA / RNA) sample.

Even when different kinds of LEDs are installed, only one kind of LED is turned on by the light source selecting unit 150 when observing a sample. Therefore, it is only necessary to operate the light source of the sample that lights in accordance with the type of sample to be observed The protein and nucleic acid (DNA / RNA) can be observed by a single transilluminator.

As shown in FIG. 4, the light guiding diffuser plate 300 is disposed in an inner space surrounded by the white light LED. The light guiding plate 310 is attached to a lower portion of the light guiding plate, And a diffusion plate 330 installed on the light guide plate and diffusing the light reflected by the reflection plate to the whole surface.

The light guiding diffuser plate 300 is surrounded by the white light LED and positioned below the tray 400 so that the light irradiated from the side of the tray insertion groove 140 is guided from the bottom of the tray 400 to the light- The tray 400 can be irradiated to the central portion of the tray insertion groove 140 and then irradiated toward the upper portion of the tray 300 to be irradiated uniformly at the bottom of the tray 400, Of light can be irradiated.

The light emitted from the side by the light diffusing plate 300 coupled with the V-cut light guide plate and the reflection plate and the diffuser plate does not depend only on the direct position of the LED light source irradiated with the gel to be observed, It is possible to enlarge the size of the tray 400, that is, the size of the gel 20 subjected to the electrophoresis.

5 and 7, the tray 400 includes two support plates 410 for supporting the side surfaces, a lower plate 420 connected to the lower surface of the support plate and made of black acrylic, And an upper plate 430 spaced a predetermined distance from the lower plate and connected to the support plates and made of transparent acrylic.

At this time, the upper plate 430 is installed at a lower position spaced apart from the upper end of the support plate 410 so that both sides are blocked by the upper end of the support plate 410, It is preferable to be constructed so as to be able to safely prevent it.

As such, the lower plate 420 is formed of a plate with a black background, thereby maximizing the sharpness of the analysis sample by overcoming the phenomenon that the background of the light source is bright and the sample of the gel to be observed is blurred. When the lower plate 420 is made of black acrylic, it is suitable to observe the electrophoresis gel of nucleic acid (DNA / RNA).

As shown in FIG. 6, the tray for observing the electrophoresis gel of the protein according to another embodiment of the tray 400 includes two support plates 410 for supporting the side surfaces, And a smog plate 440 made of acrylic or polycarbonate (PC), which are interconnected and subjected to smog processing. Accordingly, in another embodiment of the tray, the protein electrophoresis gel placed on the tray excluding the lower plate is irradiated with uniformly diffused light from the white light LED, and then the band can be observed.

Hereinafter, the operation of the transilluminator using the LED according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a state in which the white light LED of the transformer illuminator using the LED according to the present invention is lit, FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a state in which the blue light LED of the transformer illuminator using the LED according to the present invention is lit, 10 is an exemplary photograph showing a state in which a blue light LED is lit by mounting a tray on a transilluminator using an LED according to the present invention.

First, FIG. 8 shows that the white light for observing the protein is turned on, and the white light LED 210 installed in the lower layer among the side light sources installed in the layer structure is turned on by pressing the switch of the light source selection unit 150 provided in the housing.

8A and 8B, the white light LED 210 is installed so as to surround four sides of the tray insertion groove 140, Light is irradiated from four sides.

However, since the white light LED 210 is positioned below the tray 400, the light emitted from the white light LED 210 is irradiated to the bottom of the tray 400 without being directly irradiated onto the tray or gel. The light irradiated toward the bottom surface of the tray or gel is uniformly spread on the bottom surface of the tray 400 along the entire surface of the light guide plate 300 and then irradiated with light on the gel thereon.

Since the light generated from the white light LED 210 is uniformly spread on the entire surface of the light guide plate 300 at the bottom of the tray 400 and irradiated to the upper portion of the object to be observed, the light adjacent to the light source is bright, The central portion can be prevented from becoming dark, and the light can be uniformly irradiated over the entire surface of the gel to be observed.

9 shows that the blue light for observing the nucleic acid (DNA / RNA) is turned on. The blue light LED 220 (220) provided on the upper layer among the side light sources installed in the layer structure by pressing the switch of the light source selection unit 150 ).

9 (a) and 9 (b), the blue light LED 220 is also installed so as to surround the four side surfaces of the tray insertion groove 140, Light is irradiated from four sides.

However, since the gel subjected to the nucleic acid (DNA / RNA) electrophoresis to be observed is placed on the upper plate 430 of the tray, the light emitted from the blue light LED 220 is irradiated to the bottom surface thereof without being directly irradiated onto the gel. 10 (a) and 10 (b), the light irradiated to the lower portion of the gel to be observed spreads uniformly on the bottom surface of the gel along the entire surface of the light diffusing diffusion plate 300, The light irradiated to the tray 400 and the gel placed thereon is bright so that the vicinity of the light source is bright but the central part distant from the light source is prevented from being darkened so that the light is uniformly irradiated over the entire surface of the gel to be observed .

In this way, even though the LED is used as a light source for irradiating the light from the side, the gel to be observed is not directly irradiated with light but is uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the tray through the light diffusion plate, Thus, it is possible to prevent the specific region adjacent to the light source from being too bright and the remaining region from becoming dark, thereby improving the convenience of sample observation.

In addition, the light source to be irradiated differs according to the object to be observed. However, by pressing each of the light-emitting switches constituting the light source selection unit, only the blue light LED and the white light LED provided in the layer structure are lighted selectively, Since the light source can be uniformly irradiated, it becomes possible to observe both proteins and nucleic acids (DNA / RNA) using a single device.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

10-trans-illuminator 20-gel
100 - Housing 110 - Top plate
120 - Base plate 130 - LED compartment
200 - side light source part 210 - white light LED
220 - Blue light LED 300 - Light diffusion plate
310 - LGP 320 - Reflector
330 - Diffusion plate 400 - Tray
410 - Support plate 420 - Lower plate
430 - Top plate 440 - Smog plate

Claims (12)

A transilluminator for irradiating light to conduct analysis of an electrophoretic sample,
A housing having a hollow tray insertion groove opened up and down to analyze the sample,
A plurality of white light LEDs and a plurality of blue light LEDs are arranged at a plurality of positions spaced apart at predetermined intervals so as to surround the outer circumferences of the tray insertion grooves, A plurality of side light source units provided to selectively emit the LED light,
A light diffusing plate disposed in the inner space surrounded by the plurality of side light sources to diffuse the LED light emitted from the plurality of side light sources,
A tray provided so as to allow the sample to be seated,
An LED storage unit disposed inside the housing and having the plurality of white light LEDs and the plurality of blue light LEDs accommodated so as to be irradiated with LED light to the tray,
And a light source selection unit disposed on one side of the housing for individually controlling the plurality of white light LEDs and the plurality of blue light LEDs.
delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of white light LEDs and the plurality of blue light LEDs are disposed on different layers in the LED accommodating portion.
5. The method of claim 4,
And the plurality of white light LEDs are positioned below the plurality of blue light LEDs.
The method according to claim 1,
A top plate disposed at an upper portion of the housing and installed to cover an upper portion of the housing,
Further comprising a plate-shaped base plate disposed at a lower portion of the housing and coupled to a lower portion of the housing to fix the housing.
The method according to claim 1,
The light diffusing diffuser plate
And a light guide plate for diffracting the light emitted from the plurality of side light sources in a direction of a sample placed on the tray, the light guide plate being disposed inside the housing, the light guide plate being positioned below the inner space surrounded by the plurality of side light sources, ,
A reflector disposed at a lower portion of the light guide plate to reflect light generated from the plurality of side light sources incident on the light guide plate,
And a diffusion plate disposed on the light guide plate and diffusing the light diffracted by the light guide plate by being reflected by the reflection plate.
The method according to claim 1,
The tray may include:
A support plate for supporting the side facing each other,
A lower plate connecting the lower portion of the support plate,
And an upper plate disposed at a position spaced apart from the upper end of the support plate by a predetermined distance to seat the sample.
9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the upper plate transmits light, and the lower plate interrupts light.
The method according to claim 1,
The tray may include:
A support plate facing each other and supporting the side surface, and
And a first plate disposed between the support plates at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the upper end of the support plate for seating the sample.
11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the first plate is a translucent type smog-processed type in which light is partially transmitted and partially blocked.
11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the first plate is made of acrylic or polycarbonate.

Images