MXPA97010274A - Apparatus (cuvette) for receiving and storing liquids and for performing optical measurements - Google Patents

Abstract

Se describe un dispositivo que permite la utilización simultánea como reactor para la absorción de uno o varios líquidos reactivos, para la incubación y almacenamiento de estos líquidos y para la realización de medicionesópticas. El dispositivo contiene funciones que se ajustan al reactor, y funciones que lo hacen al dispositivo para la absorción del líquido. Asíes posible una analítica completa sin arrastre para un empleo mínimo simultáneo de materiales de consumo o de soluciones de enjuague.

Description

DEVICE (CUBE) FOR THE ABSORPTION AND STORAGE OF LIQUIDS AND FOR THE EXECUTION OF OPTICAL MEASUREMENTS The in vitro diagnosis is increasingly indicated by the automation of the tests and measurement procedures to be performed. The reason for this requirement is based on the one hand on the desire for the exclusion of individual factors in the handling and realization by any type of operator and on the other hand in the use of personnel, together with high rising costs. For the development and realization of methods of measurement of protein chemistry in automatic laboratory operation, they are therefore very important. demands on knowledge of technological realization and quality assurance. In case of growing demands in the specificity and sensitivity of the tests and in the simultaneous requirement of higher performances of an analysis device, it is therefore necessary to extend the current concepts of manipulation. fluid management. To carry out a protein chemical assay, two types of liquid starting components are usually required: The sample extracted from the patient to be investigated and the components necessary for the diagnostic report. While the sample only has one component after the rea¬ lization of the possibly necessary preparatory phases (centrifugation, separation of cellular components, or others), the reagent is composed fre¬ '* Lly of several components. In the technological realization of a diagnostic test, the sample and the test components must often be absorbed in a de¬ finished sequence. In the majority of the analysis apparatuses this is carried out by means of a pipette device that performs those phases successively, or also appropriately summarized. Between the individual tests S wash with the appropriate washing solution the parts of the pipette device that have come into contact with the liquid, such as the inside and outside of the needle, to arrange it well without contaminated components for the absorption of the next sample or test liquids. Similar procedures are carried out for the cleaning of reusable reactors. This procedure described above is suitable for a function¬ Continuous and automatic treatment, insofar as the requirements in the cleaning conditions and the quality of the cleaning procedure coincide to the point that for a subsequent test no influences can be measured by the components possibly linked by adsorption in the surface, or that may be excluded by other measures to ensure the quality of the test. Unfortunately, many of the most recent diagnostic tests, such as the set of tumor markers or microbiology assays, do not have any well-defined range of relevant diagnostic measurements. In the case of tumor markers, it is necessary to record all values that exceed a certain threshold value, and in the field of microbiology there is a requirement to be able to measure up to the range of few molecules. These requirements no longer allow for frequently cleaning by repeated washing the components that have come into contact with the liquids without additional measures. In addition, the traces of the components of the cleaning solution that have been left on the surface could lead to an irreversible distortion of the result. On the other hand, with increasing demands, the consumption and thus the costs of the cleaning solution increase greatly. Measures to improve cleaning with simultaneous reduced consumption, require additional operational measures (heating of the cleaning solution, ultrasound source or others). To overcome these difficulties, many suppliers of diagnostic analysis systems already offered disposable items for the tips of the pipettes and for the reactors. Another way is practiced using finished test modules. Here the necessary components of the reagent are prepared to the extent that only the addition of a sample and the mixture of the reagent components need to be carried out.

One drawback of the last mentioned procedure is the preparation of the test components for the individual test, their storage and storage inside and outside the analysis apparatus. These measures are in general notably more expensive to carry out than the extraction of the test liquid from larger reserve bottles. In the technological realization of tests in an analytical apparatus, the transfer of liquids and the preparation of reactors are usually carried out separately. Here the liquids are transferred by means of dosing systems coupled to mobile units (transfer arms X - Y - Z) to the place of the reactor, where after possible further phases of incubation, the measurement of the reactive liquid is carried out. container. In the current state of the art there are thus analysis apparatuses in which both disposable articles for dosing in the form of interchangeable tips are used, as well as reactors which as necessary are fed continuously to a process unit. This way of proceeding allows a complete realization without measurements, having to use for each analysis result at least one interchangeable tip and one reactor. This causes high consumption costs that for ideal disposable automatic items, can represent an order of magnitude of 0.05 - 0.30 DM per article of consumption. In addition, individual consumer items have to be processed within the automatic analysis device. For the collection of the inter¬ changeable, liquid transfer and removal of the tips used by a part, as well as the supply of disposable reactors, a large number of electromechanical adjustment units are needed. The complete technological realization is thus linked with a high consumption of time. This has direct effects on the speed and capacity of a automatic analysis device. In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks with the aforementioned drawbacks and to allow a simpler technical preparation of the process by summarizing several phases of the process and to obtain a cheaper use of the material, the mission of the invention was based on developing a new reactor that allows at the same time the absorption of liquids, the storage of the test components and the performance of optical measurements. According to the invention, the mission was solved by constructing a f k-reactor with an additional device for the absorption of liquids and at the same time that the device could be processed in the same way as an inter¬ changeable within the analysis apparatus. The reactor has to be composed, to make it accessible for optical measurements, of a transparent material, such as, for example, polymethyl methacrylate, polypropylene or others. For the absorption of the liquid components a channel of admi¬ placed on the lower face of the reactor, in the form of an elongated tube, which according to the requirements in the accuracy of the extracted volumes of liquid, has a corresponding diameter and profile of the tip. To ensure during the absorption of the liquid the permanence of the liquid inside the reactor, the upper opening of the intake device is located above the bottom of the reactor part conditioned as a tank. In this way, by applying a depression, it is easy to simply absorb volumes of reserve bottles and deposit them completely in the tank. At the same time "1, residual particles eventually retained in the liquid can be expelled by applying a gas pressure." The accuracy of liquid absorption that can be achieved is comparable to the accuracies that can be achieved with the interchangeable tips available in the market and amounts to some In addition, the outer face of the tip can be rinsed by means of conventional washing stations.All the parts that affect the reactor and which are necessary for the realization of optical measurements must also be composed of a transparent material for guarantee optical transparency.

The reactor itself can be made round, rectangular or polygonal, and is determined by the technical and production technological requirements. To allow optimal thermal transmission in possible incubation phases, ^ the walls should be as smooth as possible. To adapt the device for the use of optical procedures, the walls of the reactor can be flat or suitably curved to achieve a corresponding optical radiation profile. In addition to the requirements in the reactor, the device must meet other requirements for liquid absorption: In addition to the geometrical requirements in the shape and diameter of the pipette tip, the material must be suitable for the simultaneous recognition of the surface of a liquid. This can be achieved by using a plastic material containing graphite «That has conductive characteristics. Alternatively, it would also be possible to use steel needles as are used in many disposable medical articles. The upper face of the reactor has an opening for housing the device. This has the advantage that the device can be accommodated and removed as an interchangeable tip and that no additional mechanical adjustment units are needed. Through a dilution system connected to the unit with interchangeable tip, the addition of other liquids is possible, co¬ m or for example, a buffer reagent. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below in the hand of the accompanying drawings. They are shown as preferred packaging of a cuvette described according to the invention: Figure 1 An elevation of a cuvette according to the invention with central device integrated for the absorption of the liquid. Figure 2 An elevation of a cuvette according to the invention with lateral device installed for the absorption of the liquid.

The cuvettes depicted in the accompanying drawings are composed of a transparent plastic 2, for example, of an injection molding of polymethyl methacrylate. The shape of the body 2 can be shaped according to the invention described differently. It is also possible that the body 2 is made of different materials. In these bodies, a device 4 for the absorption of the liquid in the form of the tip of a pipette or in the form of a thin tube is installed centrally or laterally. The material of this piece can be made of another material, for example, of a conductive plastic with graphite or metal. Alternatively it can be coated in parts with materials appropriate drivers. While in figure 1 the tip of the pipette continues in the transparent body in the form of an overflow 6, in figure 2 in another embodiment, it is placed laterally. In the respective upper end of the loading device 4, there is an opening 7 for the discharge of the absorbed liquid 3. The shape, the thickness of the edge and the dia¬ meters from the tip (5), are adapted to the requirements of the precision of the dosage. Both embodiments contain a support 1 that allows the accommodation, transport and delivery of the cuvettes in the same way as the interchangeable tips. For the addition of liquids through a system of dilution connected, the channels can be separated for the admission and evacuation of liquids through the adequate conditioning of the overflow 8.

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS fr 1. Device (cuvette) for the absorption, transport and storage of liquids and for the performance of optical measurements in an analysis device, characterized in that a) it is composed of a transparent plastic for the irradiation and measurement of the light, b) has a shape that guarantees the storage of liquid during the reaction, c) it has on its lower face a device for the absorption of the 10 required volumes of liquid, d) has a splicing cone on its upper face for its accommodation in an interchangeable tip device. - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the reactor allows the absorption of a total volume of 50-500 μl. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that the reactor can be structured round, polygonal or conical, to meet the different requirements of volume absorption or technological preparation. Device according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that the face The outside of the tank is composed of a smooth surface to guarantee the best possible heat transfer. «5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is possible to supply the liquid through a spliced tube and an overflow located inside. 6. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the feeding is done by means of a laterally placed tube in which the cuvette provided for the measurement is inserted. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is possible to feed liquid into the reactor by means of a dilution system which 30 you can connect to the bucket. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that for the absorption of volumes, it has a shaped tip of suitable length, edge thickness and diameter in the reactor. 9. Device according to claim 1, 5 and 6, characterized in that the The material of the liquid absorption device can be made of plastic or metal. Device according to claim 1 5, 6 and 9, characterized in that the plastic material used for the absorption of the liquid can be manufactured The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the reactor is conditioned so that it can be connected to an appropriate dilution system for the use of interchangeable tips. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device can be processed as an interchangeable tip. 13. Device according to claim 1, 9 and 10, characterized in that the cuvette with the supply of liquid connection can be structured 10 of different conductive or non-conductive plastic materials, or combinations of plastic and metal. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device can be coated totally or partially with conductive materials.