KR20140144600A - Cetrifugal separator for automatic extraction of biological material - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, the present invention provides a centrifugal separator for automatically extracting biological materials. The centrifugal separator includes a rotor which includes a rotor disk, separation walls, which divide an upper space of the rotor disk, and a rotational shaft insertion hole formed on the center of the rotor disk between the separation walls; a plurality of rack blocks which are contained in divided spaces to be able to be removed, are installed on the separation walls to be able to be inclined when the rotor rotates, and include a plurality of tube insertion holes; a plurality of tubes which can be inserted into the tube insertion holes, which are formed individually on each rack block; a motor which rotates the rotor; a stage which is arranged on one side of the rotor and allows the rack blocks to be arranged thereon; and an X-Y robot which transfers the rack blocks or tubes between the stage and the rotor.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a centrifugal separator for automatic extraction of biological materials,

The present invention relates to a centrifuge for automatic extraction of biological material. More particularly, the present invention relates to a centrifuge device capable of automatically extracting a specific substance required from a sample of biological material.

Today, the bio industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the 21st century that will influence national competitiveness. Molecular diagnostics using dual genes are expected to grow at a CAGR of 13% per annum. The process for molecular diagnosis is carried out through gene extraction, gene amplification, and gene analysis. In order to extract genes such as DNA and RNA from double biological materials, an extraction kit and a buffer suitable for the target gene material are commercialized. In general laboratory, a centrifuge And a pipetting operation, the operator manually separates and extracts the sample. On the other hand, in very few public institutions and large health screening centers, skilled workers are extracting biomaterials using expensive automatic extraction systems.

A variety of methods have been developed for separating nucleic acids and proteins from biological samples (samples). For example, sedimentation, liquid extraction, electrophoresis, chromatography, and the like have been traditionally used, and solid phase extraction methods have been developed to simplify such operations. In the precipitation method, a phenol solution is used to dissolve a protein or the like in a phenol solution in such a manner that a gene can be extracted, followed by precipitation and washing only the gene. The method of extracting genes involves breaking down the cells containing the genes, exposing the genes, removing proteins and other impurities, and washing the cells to obtain only the genes. There are various ways to remove proteins and other impurities. The filter method removes impurities using a filter. The bead method uses beads, while the phenol method uses a phenol solution to remove impurities. The solid phase extraction method uses solid particles having selectivity or solid particles prepared by attaching a ligand having a high selectivity to a solid phase. The solid phase extraction method has been used either by filling the column with solid particles or by filling the filter membrane with the column.

In this case, in order to increase the adhering capacity, a filter type membrane is used when fine particles having a large surface area or few samples are used. However, there is a problem that the solution is slowly flowed through fine pores when filled with such fine particles or using a filter type membrane. Therefore, we use a centrifuge to increase the gravity value or apply a vacuum to give a pressure difference to flow the solution quickly. Alternatively, if fine magnetic particles having a large surface area are used, a biochemical substance can be adhered rapidly in a suspended state of a solution, a magnetic field can be applied to aggregate magnetic particles having a target material attached thereto, Technology has been developed since the early 1980s.

In general, the centrifugation process for extracting the biomolecule gene involves two or more washing steps, attaching the gene to a spin column (hereinafter referred to as a filter tube), and sending the rest to the interior of the washing tube to separate the gene and the remainder. In this case, the cleaning process is generally repeated 2-3 times. After the filter tube with the pure gene is moved to the place where the elution tube is located, the reagent buffer such as ethanol is injected into the eluting tube, and the gene is extracted through elution process using centrifugation. That is, a binding process for attaching a biomolecule (blood, cell, tissue, etc.) containing a gene to a filter of a tube, a washing process for attaching only a gene to a filter and filtering the residue, And an elution process for extracting only genes (DNA, RNA).

Most of the laboratories use a tube and a buffer for extracting and extracting biomaterials from the inside of the centrifuge and the filter, but they are proceeding with a simple repetitive operation by hand. There is always a concern about DNA / RNA purity and cross contamination because of the ineffective work structure in which the labor force is excessively consumed and the reproducibility and uniformity are different according to the skill of the operator. In addition, since it is necessary to carry out the work according to the predetermined extraction protocol, a mistake in the extraction process by manual operation occurs in a random manner.

To overcome this problem, some government laboratories and large health check-up centers, which have to process samples in large quantities, are using automatic extraction equipment for productivity and accuracy, but their equipment prices are high and some parts must be manually re- There is a growing need for localization of gene extraction equipment by importing more than 90% of high-priced automatic equipment.

On the other hand, the method of extracting the present gene most widely can be roughly divided into two types. It can be distinguished by the magnetic bead method which attaches DNA and RNA to magnetic beads and separates and extracts by magnet using the principle of magnetism and the filter method which binds DNA and RNA to membrane filter. The phenolic method mentioned above is not used at present.

The magnetic bead type automatic extraction equipment is relatively easy to configure. Products of this type are also available in many different sizes and prices. The magnetic bead method has a drawback in that it is possible to mass-extract and conveniently use, but the cost of extracting beads and reagents is high due to the high cost of consumables, and it is difficult to completely dry the reagents from the beads at the final stage of the extraction process .

The membrane filter method is divided into a centrifugal separation method and an extraction method of applying air to the column using a vacuum pressure. The double centrifugation method is superior to the vacuum pressure method. The centrifugal separation method is superior to the bead method in terms of extraction purity and performance. Since it uses the most used filter tube when handing the extraction operation in a general laboratory, it is a method familiar to general experimenters. It is advantageous. However, this method requires high-speed rotation, and in order to perform automatic extraction, it is necessary to move the filter tube and a mechanism for automatic dispensing of the extraction reagent.

The phenol method, which is a method of extracting genes using tubes and centrifuges without using a filter-attached filter tube, extracts genes through a centrifugation process similar to the method using a filter tube. Hereinafter, the phenol type gene extraction process will be described. First, in the pretreatment step, proteinase K and lysis reagent are added to the sample to dissolve the cells. When the cells are lysed, the contents including the genes in the cells are eluted into the solution phase. The sample transfer step is the process of transferring the pretreated sample to the tube. In this procedure, the reagent dispensing system is used to transfer the sample from the pretreatment section to a tube on the tube stage. The reagent dispensing step is a step of adding a phenol reagent to the pretreated sample. The reagent dispensing system is used to dispense the phenol reagent, which is used to remove impurities such as proteins in the sample.

The step of rotating the centrifuge is a process of rotating a sample of phenol with a centrifuge. Spinning the sample with phenol is divided into two layers by spinning with a centrifuge. The gene is dissolved in the upper layer and the impurities are dissolved in the lower layer. The supernatant transfer step is the process of transferring only the supernatant to a new tube in a sample divided into two layers by centrifugation as mentioned above. Since the gene to be extracted by the experimenter is dissolved in the supernatant and impurities are dissolved in the lower layer, the supernatant is discarded and only the supernatant is transferred to a new tube and the experiment is continued. The precipitating reagent dispensing step is a step of dispensing the precipitating reagent to the transferred supernatant. When the precipitation reagent is added, the genes on the solution become entangled with each other. After adding the precipitation reagent and centrifuging, the genes to be extracted are collected at the bottom of the tube. The step of removing the supernatant is a process for removing solutions except the precipitated gene. After centrifugation, the solution should be removed except for the settled genes. As described above, the upper layer transfer step is the most distinct process from the filter method.

The washing step is a step of washing the remaining gene using a washing reagent. The remaining gene is washed by adding a cleaning reagent. After washing, centrifugation is performed to immerse the gene and discard the solution. The above procedure is repeated twice to perform the cleaning process. The dissolution step is the step of dissolving the gene into a dissolving reagent. The gene is dissolved by adding a dissolution reagent to the gene that sits under the tube. The solution in which the gene is dissolved is used for the next experiment to analyze the extracted gene, such as electrophoresis.

On the other hand, the rotors applied to the centrifugal separator for biological material extraction include a fixed angle type rotor and a swing out type rotor. Fixed angle Type rotor does not change the angle of the tube with respect to the rotation center axis when the rotor is at rest or during rotation, and the rotor of the swing-out type has a shape in which the angle of the tube with respect to the rotation center axis is inclined as the centrifugal force increases.

In case of extracting genes by hand using a fixed square rotor, to dispense the extraction reagent into the extraction tube, put the filter tube taken from the fixed angle rotor into a tube plate or a rack placed on the table and dispense the reagent And then reinsert it into the fixed square rotor again. This is a cumbersome task. In addition, the hole for accommodating the tube is not vertical, but it is a rotor type that is difficult to automate because it is inclined at a certain angle. On the other hand, when the centrifugal force acts on the swing-out rotor during the rotation of the rotor, the tube is inclined at an angle with respect to the rotation center axis, and when the rotor is stopped, the tube is restored to the vertical position. However, in the case of using a swing-out type rotor, vibration and noise are greatly increased due to increase of centrifugal force at high speed rotation. Therefore, it has been difficult to increase the number of simultaneously extracted samples.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a rotor assembly of a centrifugal separator provided in an automatic biological material extracting apparatus of Patent Application No. 2011-94282 filed by the present applicant.

Referring to the drawings, the rotor assembly 1 includes a rotating rotor 10, a rack block 21 accommodated in the rotor 10, and a reagent tube (not shown) fitted in the rack block 21 . The rotor 10 shown in Fig. 1 is a swing-out type rotor having a circular wall 11 having a circular shape, a partition 14 partitioning a circular space surrounded by the circular wall 11, And a rotary shaft insertion hole 13 into which a rotary shaft for rotating the rotary shaft 10 is inserted. A rotary shaft (not shown) can be inserted through the rotary shaft insertion hole 13, and a rotary shaft (not shown) can be rotated by a driving motor (not shown). Therefore, the rotor 10 can be rotated.

And divided into a plurality of compartments 12 by barrier ribs 14. The rack block 21 can be accommodated in the partitioning portion 12. [ The rack block 21 is rotatably held by a swing axis (not shown) protruding from the partition wall 14 forming the partitioning portion 12. That is, the swing shaft projected from the partition wall 14 is inserted into the swing shaft insertion groove formed in the rack block 21, and the rack block 21 can be rotated around the swing shaft (not shown). Therefore, when the rotor 10 rotates at high speed, the rack block 21 is inclined with respect to the vertical axis by the centrifugal force. 1, the bottom of the rack block 21 is directed radially outward of the rotor 10, and the upper portion of the rack block 21 is tilted toward the radially inner side of the rotor 10 .

Figs. 2A and 2B schematically show a tube holder which is inserted into the rack block 21 shown in Fig. As shown in FIG. 2A, the tube holder 22 is formed with a tube insertion port 23, and the tube holder 22 can be inserted into the rack block 21 as shown in FIG. 2B. The tube holder 22 is received in the rack block 21 and rotates together with the rack block. Since a plurality of tubes accommodated in one tube holder are tubes necessary for extracting one sample gene, when the conventional tube holder is used, the number of samples that can be extracted at the same time as the number of tube holders is determined, It is difficult to extract a sample of the sample.

On the other hand, in the case of using the rotor assembly of the centrifugal separator shown in Fig. 1, a reagent dispensing process is performed on the rotor assembly. That is, the reagent is dispensed directly into the tube of the tube holder 22 inserted into the rotor assembly. This reagent dispensing process has a problem of lowering the overall working efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a centrifugal separator for automatic extraction of biological materials, which can solve the problems of the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a centrifugal separator capable of increasing the number of samples simultaneously extractable at the time of automatic extraction of a biological material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a centrifugal separation apparatus capable of improving the automatic extraction efficiency of a biological material.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention,

A rotor having a rotor disk and a partition wall dividing a space above the rotor disk and having a rotation axis insertion hole formed between the partition walls at the center of the rotor disk;

A plurality of rack blocks mounted on the partition walls so as to be removably received in the divided spaces of the rotors so as to be tilted upon rotation of the rotors and having a plurality of tube insertion holes;

A plurality of tubes that can be inserted into a plurality of tube insertion holes formed in each of the rack blocks;

A motor for rotating the rotor;

A stage disposed at one side of the rotor and capable of arranging a plurality of rack blocks;

And an X-Y robot for moving the plurality of rack blocks or the plurality of tubes between the stage and the rotor.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a guide member detachably installed on each of the plurality of rack blocks and having a plurality of tube holes.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the barrier rib is provided with a hole across the barrier rib so that the light incident from the photosensor can pass therethrough, or marking that can be imaged by the camera on the barrier rib.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a swing shaft including a swing shaft inserted and fixed through a swing shaft insertion groove formed in the partition, wherein a head of the swing shaft has a tapered shape whose diameter increases with distance from the partition, The head insertion groove formed in the side surface of the rack block is formed of an inclined surface corresponding to the tapered shape of the head of the swing shaft so that the head can be inserted.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic control unit comprising: an electromagnetic clutch provided on a rotary shaft of the motor so as to adjust a stop rotation angle of the rotor in a stopped state of the rotor; And a step motor capable of rotating the pulley at a predetermined angle.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided a sensor dog provided on a rotating shaft of the motor and an origin sensor for detecting a rotational position of the sensor dock.

The centrifugal separator for the automatic extraction of the biological material according to the present invention makes it possible to easily and accurately extract the biological material. It also overcomes various problems that have been a problem in the prior art. For example, by providing a rack block stage and providing a gripper and transport mechanism that can grip and transport the rack block, it is possible to simultaneously provide significantly more samples than the number of samples that can be extracted once in the existing invention , You can proceed with the extraction of the next sample automatically by adding the rack block stage. In addition, the rack block is located at a predetermined position on the rack block stage, and the same extraction reagent is dispensed for each rack block at a predetermined position, which is known. Therefore, the reagent dispensing method is easy and there is no fear that other extraction reagents are mixed, Cross contamination that can be avoided can be prevented.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a rotor assembly of a centrifugal separator according to the prior art.
2A and 2B are schematic perspective views of a tube holder inserted into the rack block shown in FIG.
FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a rotor included in the centrifugal separator according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3B and 3B are plan views of the rotor shown in FIG. 3A.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of part of Fig. 3b.
5A and 5B are schematic perspective views of a rack block.
6A to 6C are a front perspective view, a front view, and a perspective view showing a state in which tubes are inserted into the rack block through the guide members.
FIG. 7 shows a rotor rotation motor for rotating the rotor shown in FIG. 3A and a mechanism for adjusting the rotation angle of rotation of the rotation shaft of the rotation motor when the rotation of the rotor is stopped.
8 is a schematic plan view of a centrifugal separator according to the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the rotor of the centrifugal separator according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3B and 3B are plan views of the rotor shown in FIG. 3A.

Referring to the drawings, the rotor 31 includes a rotor disk 31a forming a bottom surface of a circular shape, a rotor partition wall 31b formed on the rotor disk 31a, And a rotary shaft insertion hole 33 formed between the rotor partition walls 31b. A swing shaft insertion hole 31c is formed in the rotor partition wall 31b. A rotary shaft (not shown) for rotating the rotor 31 is inserted and fixed to the rotary shaft insertion hole 33. The rotary shaft (not shown) for rotating the rotor 31 may be a rotary shaft of the motor 70 (FIG. 7) or a rotary shaft directly or indirectly coupled to the rotary shaft of the motor 70. A rack block 32 is disposed between the rotor partition walls 31b.

3B shows a swing shaft 35 inserted into the rotor partition wall 31b. The head 35a of the swing shaft 35 is inserted into the head insertion groove formed in the rack block 32 to be described later so as to rotatably hold the rack block 32. [ A rack block 32 is disposed between the partition walls 31b and the rack block 32 is rotatably held by the swing shaft 33 shown in FIG. 3B. Therefore, the centrifugal force generated while the rotor disk 31a rotates at high speed causes the rack block 32 to tilt around the swing shaft 35 at an angle. The rack block 32 has a plurality of tube insertion holes 32a through which tubes (not shown) can be inserted. In the embodiment shown in the figure, eight tube insertion holes are formed for one rack block 32. [

On the other hand, the top view of the rotor shown in Fig. 3C shows the relationship between the rotor 31 and the optical sensor 39a and the reflecting portion 39b. As shown in the figure, an optical sensor 39b and a reflecting portion 29b are disposed on opposite sides of the rotor 31, respectively. The light incident from the photosensor 39a is incident on the reflecting portion 39b through the hole formed across the rotor partition wall 31b in accordance with the stationary rotation angle of the rotor 31 when the rotor 31 is in the stopped state Can be reached and reflected, and thus can sense the light reflected by the optical sensor 39a. If the rotor 31 is stopped with the light incident from the optical sensor 39a not passing through a hole (not shown) formed in the rotor partition wall 31b, the rotor 31 ) Should be adjusted. This is intended to ensure correct operation when a robot (not shown) carries the rack block 32 and is disposed between the partitions 31b as will be described later.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, a line extending between one optical sensor 39a and its corresponding reflecting portion 39b (i.e., the line is formed in the hole formed in the rotor partition wall 31b to allow the incident light to pass therethrough) Corresponds to a line perpendicular to the line extending between the other optical sensor 39a and its corresponding reflecting portion 39b. The rotor 31 can determine the stop rotation angle more accurately by sensing the stop rotation angle of the rotor 31 using the two sensors 39b and the two reflectors 39b as shown in the figure .

In an alternative embodiment not shown in the drawing, marking may be provided on the surface of the rotor partition wall 31b, instead of forming holes through which light can pass across the rotor partition wall 31b, A camera (not shown) capable of capturing the marking may be provided. That is, a marking is arranged at a specific position of the rotor partition wall 31b, and a camera capable of picking up the marking is provided, thereby photographing the marking when the rotation of the rotor 31 is stopped. If the imaging of the marking is not possible when the rotation of the rotor 31 is stopped, or if the stop rotation angle differs from the predetermined stop rotation angle in the captured image, the stop rotation angle of the rotor 31 should be adjusted. On the other hand, if the captured marking agrees with the predetermined stop rotation angle, further stop rotation angle adjustment is unnecessary.

4 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of FIG. 3B, showing the engagement state of the rotor bulkhead, the swing shaft, and the rack block.

Referring to the drawings, when the rack block 32 is disposed between the rotor partition walls 31b, the head 35a of the swing shaft 35 is inserted into the head insertion groove 53 (FIG. 5A) formed in the rack block 32 . The head 35a is tapered when viewed in plan view as shown in Fig. That is, the diameter of the head 35a is reduced toward the rotor partition wall 31b, and the diameter of the head 35a is increased toward the rotor partition wall 31b. Corresponding to the shape of the head 35a as described above, the head insertion groove formed in the rack block 32 is also formed as a tapered inclined surface 32c. Therefore, after the head 35a is inserted into the head insertion groove 53 of the rack block 32, the mutual coupling can be firmly established.

5A and 5B is a schematic perspective view of the rack block, which shows the rack block 32 shown in Fig. 3A more clearly and separately.

Referring to the drawings, a plurality of tube insertion holes 51a are formed in the rack block 51. As shown in FIG. On both sides of the rack block 51 opposite to each other, a head insertion groove 53 into which the head 35a of the swing shaft 35 described with reference to FIG. 4 can be inserted is formed. The head insertion groove 53 has a lower portion having a width larger than the diameter of the head 35a as shown in the figure and an upper portion having a width corresponding to the diameter of the head 35a. This is because when the rack block is engaged with the head 35a of the swing shaft 35, the rack block 51 is lowered from the top to the bottom while the head insertion groove 53 is engaged with the head 35a, This is because the lower portion of the insertion groove 53 is advantageous for engagement. 4, a tapered inclined surface 32c (FIG. 4) is formed in the head insertion groove 53. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, a tube insertion hole 56a is formed in the rack block 56 shown in FIG. 5B, and a coupling portion 56b is formed on a side where the head insertion groove is not formed. The engaging portion 56b may be used to couple the plurality of rack blocks 56 to each other.

6A to 6C are a front perspective view, a front view, and a perspective view showing a state where the tubes are inserted into the rack block through the guide members.

Referring to the drawings, a guide member 61 is fitted to the upper portion of the rack block 32 and tubes 65 are inserted into the rack block 32 through a tube passage hole 61a formed in the guide member 61 And is accommodated in the formed tube insertion hole 32a (FIG. 3B). The upper end of the tubes 65 can not completely pass through the tube passage hole 61a of the guide member 61 so that the tube 65 is caught in the guide member 61 and is held in a suspended state . As shown in FIG. 6C, eight guide holes 61 may be formed in the guide member 61, so that eight tubes 65 can be held by one guide member 61. It is preferable that the number and position of the tube passage holes of the guide member correspond to the number and position of the tube insertion holes of the rack block.

7 shows a rotor rotation motor for rotating the rotor shown in FIG. 3A and a mechanism for adjusting the rotation angle of rotation of the rotation shaft of the rotation motor when the rotation of the rotor is stopped.

The rotating shaft 70a of the rotor rotating motor 70 for upwardly rotating the rotor is extended downwardly through the electromagnetic clutch 75 and the pulley 71, And a sensor dog 70b is installed at a lower end of the sensor 70a. An origin sensor 74 is provided to sense the position of the sensor poison 70b.

The electromagnetic clutch 75 is provided with a rotor and a stator as known in the art, and the force of the electromagnet is used to couple the rotor and the stator together to rotate together, or to release the force of the electromagnet The rotation of the electrons and the stator can be separated. For example, the rotor of the electromagnetic clutch 75 is fixed to the motor rotation shaft 70a, and the stator of the electromagnetic clutch 75 is coupled to the pulley 71 disposed at the lower portion of the electromagnetic clutch 75 Lt; / RTI > The belt 72 provided on the pulley 71 is connected to the step motor 73 so that the rotation of the step motor 73 is transmitted to the pulley 72 through the belt 72 connected to the shaft 73a of the step motor 73, .

The electric power is supplied to the electromagnet (not shown) provided in the electromagnetic clutch 75 in a state where the high-speed rotation of the rotor 31 by the motor 70 is stopped, that is, The rotor and the stator can be rotated together, so that the motor rotation shaft 70a fixed to the rotor of the electromagnetic clutch 70 and the pulley 71 fixed to the stator of the electromagnetic clutch can rotate together. Therefore, when the step motor 73 is rotated to rotate the pulley 71 through the belt 72, the rotation shaft 70a of the rotor rotation motor 70 can be controlled to rotate. Conversely, when the supply of electric power to the electromagnetic clutch is interrupted, the rotor and the stator are separated, and as a result, the motor rotation shaft 70a can rotate at a high speed independently of the step motor 73 and the pulley 71.

The rotation of the rotary shaft 70a of the rotor rotation motor 70 using the stepping motor 73 in the stopped state of the rotor rotation motor 70 as described above is performed by rotating the rotor 31 at a predetermined rotation rotation angle It is necessary to adjust. That is, when the rotor 31 is not accurately positioned at the predetermined stop rotation angle, the rack block 32 is lowered (moved) by using the XY robot 82 (Fig. 8) in the space between the rotor partition walls 31b shown in Fig. The rack block 32 can not be adjusted to the correct position. Especially when the XY robot 82 which can not rotate the rack block 32 is used, it is not possible to put the rack block 32 at the correct position unless the rotor 31 is at the position of the correct stop rotation angle Do.

In order to solve such disadvantages, the configuration of the optical sensor and the reflection part described with reference to Fig. 3C, the configuration of the origin sensor 74 and the sensor poison 70b shown in Fig. 7, the configuration of the step motor 73 and the pulley (71) cooperate with each other. That is, the step motor 73 is rotated by the rotation axis 70a of the rotor rotation motor 70 so as to stop the rotor 31 at the predetermined stop rotation angle, as detected through the origin sensor 74 and the sensor poison 70b , And whether or not the rotary shaft 70a has been rotated to the correct position can be judged according to the sensed by the photosensors 39a and 39b (or by using the image of the marking taken by the camera).

Figure 8 shows a schematic top view of a centrifugal separator comprising a rotor according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the centrifugal separator includes a rotor 31, a stage 81 disposed on one side of the rotor 31, a plurality of rack blocks 83 provided on the stage 81, And an XY robot 82 for moving the rack block 83 from the stage 81 to a position between the partition walls provided in the rotor 31. A plurality of rack blocks 83 may be disposed on the stage 81 and sixteen rack blocks 83 are disposed on the stage 81 in the embodiment shown in the figure. Although not shown in the drawings, the guide member 61 described with reference to Figs. 6A to 6B may be disposed on the centrifugal device and fitted on the rack blocks by the X-Y robot 82. Fig.

The X-Y robot 82 is provided with a gripper and a pipette as known in the art, and they are installed to be movable in the Z-axis direction. The gripper can lift the rack block 83 from the stage 81 and move it onto the rotor 31 and also perform the reverse operation. The gripper can also lift and lower the guide member 61 (Fig. 6B) and lift the tube (65 in Fig. 6A) up to a predetermined position. For example, the gripper can lift up the tubes and pass them to the tube passage holes 61a of the guide member 61, so that the upper end of the tube can be caught by the guide member 61. [ The guide member 61 may not be used, and in such a case, the gripper may insert the tubes directly into the tube insertion hole of the rack block 83.

The provision of the stage 81 can remarkably increase reagent dispensing efficiency. In the prior art, since the reagent is supplied directly to the tube on the rotor 31 without a separate stage, it is difficult for the pipette for dispensing the reagent to reach the correct position and it is difficult to efficiently dispense the reagent. In the present invention, since the stage 81 does not need to move the gripper or pipette to the rotor 31 and many rack blocks 83 can be arranged in a narrow space, the moving time of the gripper and pipette is shortened and accurate And rapid pipette operation becomes possible, and as a result, efficient and rapid reagent dispensing can be achieved.

The pipette sucks the required reagent from the reagent vessel, moves to a predetermined position, and functions, for example, to dispense into the tube. The configuration and operation of the gripper and pipette are well known in the art and will not be described in further detail.

As shown in FIG. 8, the centrifugal separator according to the present invention includes a rack block stage 81 on which various kinds of rack blocks can be placed to increase the number of samples to be simultaneously extracted. The dispensing process of all reagents proceeds on the stage 81. That is, the reagent can be dispensed into the tube inserted into the rack block 83 from the reagent vessel using the pipette provided on the X-Y robot. Therefore, in the present invention, stability and efficiency of the dispensation and centrifugation process can be enhanced and the number of samples to be simultaneously extracted can be increased, and the reagent dispensing process and the centrifugation process can be performed separately.

31. Rotor 32. Rack block
33. Rotating shaft insertion hole 35. Swinging shaft

Claims (6)

A rotor having a rotor disk and a partition wall dividing a space above the rotor disk and having a rotation axis insertion hole formed between the partition walls at the center of the rotor disk;
A plurality of rack blocks mounted on the partition walls so as to be removably received in the divided spaces of the rotors so as to be tilted upon rotation of the rotors and having a plurality of tube insertion holes;
A plurality of tubes that can be inserted into a plurality of tube insertion holes formed in each of the rack blocks;
A motor for rotating the rotor;
A stage disposed at one side of the rotor and capable of arranging a plurality of rack blocks;
And an XY robot for moving the plurality of rack blocks or the plurality of tubes between the stage and the rotor. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a guide member detachably installed on each of the plurality of rack blocks and having a plurality of tube passage holes. The method according to claim 1,
Characterized in that a hole is formed across the partition so that the light incident from the optical sensor can pass through the partition or a marking can be imaged onto the partition by a camera. Centrifuge for extraction. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the swing shaft has a tapered shape in which the diameter of the swing shaft increases as the swing shaft moves away from the partition wall, and the head of the swing shaft is inserted into the rack, Characterized in that the head insertion groove formed on the side of the block comprises an inclined surface corresponding to the tapered shape of the head of the swinging shaft. The method according to claim 1,
An electromagnetic clutch provided on a rotary shaft of the motor so as to adjust a stop rotation angle of the rotor in a stopped state of the rotor; a pulley releasably engageable with the rotation shaft of the motor through the electromagnetic clutch; A centrifugal separator for automatic extraction of biological material, further comprising a step motor capable of rotating at a determined angle. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a sensor dog installed on a rotary shaft of the motor and an origin sensor for sensing a rotational position of the sensor dock.

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