JPH0151768B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention makes it easy to clean even in the case of short optical path length cells or small volume cells that are difficult to clean, prevents influence and contamination by other samples, and enables accurate optical measurement with the minimum amount of sample necessary. The present invention relates to a cell attachment for optical measurement, which makes it possible to significantly reduce the time and effort required for conventional measurements by efficiently and continuously measuring a large number of samples.

For optical measurements such as absorbance values, the standard cell with an optical path length of 10 mm, which is commonly used, has a large cell volume and requires an extra amount of sample, and if the sample is highly concentrated, it must be diluted before measurement. Therefore, a cell with a smaller cell volume or a shorter optical path length is used, such as a cell with the same external dimensions as a standard cell but with a narrower cell volume space so that the optical path length is 2 to 0.5 mm. has been done. However, when using these cells,
It is difficult to discharge the sample placed in the narrow space and to clean the cell, and therefore, it is difficult to obtain accurate measured values due to contamination from the previous sample.

Furthermore, each time a measurement is performed, the cell must be attached to and removed from the measurement path of the measuring device, making it difficult to efficiently measure a large number of specimens one after another.

The present invention overcomes these deficiencies or difficulties. In other words, by easily discharging and cleaning the sample even in a small-volume cell, it is possible to measure one cell after another using the minimum amount of sample necessary without being influenced by each other. Furthermore, it has extremely high measurement accuracy, can perform continuous and efficient measurements, can be applied to cells of any shape, and can achieve its purpose simply by adding it to existing equipment. It is removably fitted into the open opening of the optical measurement cell, and is equipped with an injection tube for injecting a cleaning liquid, a suction tube extending to the bottom of the cell, and an opening for introducing a sample liquid. The present invention relates to an attachment for an optical measurement cell, characterized in that:

The present invention will be explained based on drawings of embodiments. The attachment A of the optical measurement cell of the present invention is attached to the bottom B of the optical measurement cell B as shown in FIG.
A pipe-shaped suction tube 1 that extends to reach 1.
and an injection tube 2 whose lower end is above the cell B are attached to a holder plate 3, and an opening 4 for introducing a sample is bored in the holder plate 3.

The holder plate 3 is fitted into the open opening B-2 of the cell B, and a fixed guide that fits into the cell B is provided around its edge to prevent it from slipping off. The opening 4 is a cut-out opening into which a sample liquid is injected using a pipette, a dispensing nozzle, etc., and is sufficient as long as it has a size that allows the sample solution to be easily dropped from the tip of a pipette, etc. In addition, the fixed guide 5 is such that the holder plate 3 is stably placed on the cell B, and the suction tube 1 and the injection tube 2 are placed on the cell B.
This fixes the insertion position inside the cell, but it is of course not limited to the shape shown in the figure. For example, it can be made into a triangular or circular frame to match the shape of a special cell, or the outer periphery of the cell can be changed. The design is flexible, such as having a protruding locking piece that partially locks the frame instead of a frame that completely surrounds it. Generally, if it is formed to match the outer periphery of the standard cell C, it can be applied to most cells.

The cell B shown in FIG. 3 has the same external shape as the standard cell C shown in FIG.
This is the cell set to 3.

The suction tube 1 and the injection tube 2 are pipes having a diameter that can be inserted into the gap B-3 of the cell so that cleaning liquid can be injected or suctioned and discharged into the gap B-3 even in such a cell. Moreover, it is arranged so as to be inserted at a position where it can be easily inserted and at an end of the cell that does not affect the light flux passing position D-2.

One end of the suction tube 1 extends to near the bottom B-1 of the cell, and preferably its lower end is cut diagonally, and if the sharp tip reaches the bottom, the sample or cleaning solution can be transferred into the cell. It can be completely absorbed without leaving anything behind.

Furthermore, if a small hole 6 for ventilation is bored in the surface of the suction tube that protrudes outside the cell, after the cleaning liquid is suctioned and discharged,
Even if the solenoid valve 7 is closed when the next sample solution is injected, the next sample solution will gradually drop due to surface tension, decompression loss in the suction pipe connecting the suction pump, etc. This can serve as an escape route for minute pressure and prevent it from being sucked out.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the cell attachment of the present invention is used to automatically drain and clean the liquid. The sample, washing liquid, and other waste liquids sucked from the cell B by the suction pump 9 connected to the drain bottle 8 are discharged into the drain bottle 8. On the other hand, the injection pipe 2 is connected to a metering pump 10, and the metering pump 10 is connected to a cleaning liquid bottle 1 containing cleaning liquid.
1.

The electromagnetic valve 7 and the metering pump 10 are each electrically connected to a timer 12, and suction and injection operations are automatically performed under timer control.

In the illustrated embodiment, timers 12 ₁ , 12 ₂ , and 12 ₃ are arranged to operate in sequence to perform operations in the order of discharging the sample liquid in the cell, injecting the cleaning liquid, and then discharging the cleaning _liquid . 12 ₃ is connected to the solenoid valve 7, and 12 ₂ is connected to the metering pump 10.

First, a sample is introduced into cell B through opening 4 of the cell attachment using a pipette, etc.
After optical measurement is performed, input to the start switch 13 connected to timer 12 ₁ starts timer 1.
2 If the time set to ₁ is 1 second, then 1
The solenoid valve opens for a second, the suction pump operates, and the sample in the cell is discharged into the drainage bottle 8.

When the set time of the timer 12 ₁ expires, the next timer 12 ₂ operates and operates the metering pump 10 during the set time of 12 ₂ (for example, 1 second) to inject a fixed amount of cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid bottle 11 into the injection pipe 2. and fill cell B with cleaning solution.

Next, the timer ₁₂₃ is activated and the solenoid valve 7 is opened again during this set time (for example, 2 seconds), and the cleaning liquid in the cell is completely suctioned out through the suction tube 1.

In this way, the inside of the narrow cell is completely purified by first completely suctioning and discharging the sample, then injecting a cleaning solution to wash away the dirt in the cell, and completely draining the cleaning solution. .

Then, by introducing the next sample, the next measurement becomes possible. Therefore, complete drainage and cleaning have the effect of increasing measurement accuracy, and there is no need to attach or detach the cell to the measurement path cell fixing seat of the optical measuring instrument, and the same cell can be used while it is fixed. Since it is possible to perform multiple measurement processes, it is possible to remove the cell from the measurement equipment and clean it after each measurement.
In addition, compared to the conventional work in which separate cells were set, the efficiency and speed of work operations can be increased with minimal additional equipment to existing equipment.

Normally, one cleaning is sufficient because it is possible to remove even a single drop from the bottom of the cell by suction, but it can be done by arranging a counter (not shown) between the timers 12 ₂ and 12 ₃ , etc. It is possible to design the cleaning operation to be repeated a desired set number of times.

As described above, the cell attachment of the present invention can be designed with a simple structure so that it can be placed and fitted into any cell, and furthermore, the cell attachment of the present invention can be designed with a simple structure, and can be used for cleaning operations such as adding and discharging reagents, and injecting and discharging cleaning liquid. This is an attachment that allows you to do this perfectly and efficiently.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an attachment for an optical measurement cell according to the present invention, and is a perspective view showing a state in which it is fitted into a cell, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X' in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a cell with a short optical path length, and FIG. 4 is a schematic wiring diagram for operating a cleaning device using the attachment of the present invention. 1... Suction pipe, 2... Injection pipe, 3... Holder plate, 4... Opening, 5... Fixed guide, 6... Small hole, 7... Solenoid valve, 8... Drain bottle, 9 ... Suction pump, 10 ... Metering pump, 11 ... Cleaning liquid bottle, 12 ... Timer, 13 ... Start switch, A ... Attachment for optical measurement cell,
B, C... Cells for optical measurement.