JPH0666818A - Biochemical analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure various-type operation of a point depositing means to point- deposit sample liquid on a chemical snalysis slide in a simple mechanism. CONSTITUTION:Sample liquid is sucked from a sample cup 26 into a nozzle tip 25 mounted at the end of a point depositing nozzle 91 and then moved to a point depositing section 13 to point-deposit a preset amount of sample liquid on the reagent layer of a chemical analysis slide 11. After point deposition, the optical concentration of the chemical analysis slide is measured to find the concentration of biochemical material in the sample liquid. On the other hand, the nozzle tip after used is removed at a tip removing section 20 and time point depositing nozzle is pressurized at the end while being thrusted by the pad member 24 of a leak checking section 21 for leak check. In such a case, the point depositing nozzle 91 is given swinging drive in a preset circular arc, where the unused nozzle tip 25. the sample cup 26, the point depositing section 13, the tip removing section 20 and the leak checking section 21 are arranged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention deposits the above sample solution on a chemical analysis slide containing a reagent that causes an optical density change by a chemical reaction with a predetermined biochemical substance contained in the sample solution such as blood and urine. Then, the present invention relates to a biochemical analysis device for determining the substance concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance in a sample solution by measuring the optical density of the chemical analysis slide.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a dry type chemical analysis slide capable of quantitatively analyzing a specific chemical component or formed component contained in a sample solution by simply spot-feeding a small drop of the sample solution. Has been put to practical use. In addition, in order to perform a quantitative analysis of chemical components in a sample solution using such a chemical analysis slide, after spotting the sample solution on the chemical analysis slide, place this in an incubator (incubator). Incubation for a predetermined time to cause a color reaction (dye formation reaction), and then for measurement that includes a wavelength selected in advance by combining a predetermined biochemical substance in the sample solution with a reagent contained in the chemical analysis slide This chemical analysis slide is irradiated with irradiation light to measure its optical density, and from this optical density, a calibration curve showing the correspondence between the optical density and the substance concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance obtained in advance is used. A biochemical analyzer configured to determine the substance concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance in a sample liquid is used.

Further, in this biochemical analyzer, for the spotting of the sample liquid, the spotting means first mounts a nozzle tip on the tip of the spotting nozzle, and the nozzle tip is provided with a sample storage portion. After sucking the sample solution from the sample cup, the sample solution is moved to a spotting part, and a predetermined amount of the sample solution is discharged and spotted onto the reagent layer of the chemical analysis slide at the spotting part. In addition, after use, the nozzle tip is removed from the spotting nozzle at the tip extraction part and discarded, while the tip of the spotting nozzle is checked for leaks at the leak check section in order to detect a leak in the suction system. It is considered to make up.

[0004]

However, when performing various operations for spotting the sample liquid by the spotting means, the simple driving mechanism ensures reliable operation, and high reliability and compactness are achieved. It is required to be a device.

Further, a syringe mechanism or the like for sucking and discharging the sample liquid in the chip is installed in the spotting nozzle of the spotting means, but the syringe mechanism and the pressure system of the spotting nozzle leak. Occurs, the suction and discharge operations of a predetermined amount of the sample liquid cannot be performed normally, and the amount of the sample liquid spotted on the chemical analysis slide does not reach the specified amount, which reduces the measurement accuracy. It is necessary to check the leak.

In view of the above situation, the present invention ensures reliability by reliably performing various operations including a leak check for spotting the sample liquid on the chemical analysis slide by the spotting means with a compact and simple drive mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a biochemical analysis device configured to do so.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the biochemical analyzer of the present invention comprises a nozzle tip mounted on the tip of a spotting nozzle in a spotting means, and a sample solution from a sample cup in the nozzle tip. After sucking, the sample solution is moved to a spotting part, a predetermined amount of the sample solution is spotted on the reagent layer of the chemical analysis slide at the spotting part, and the optical density of the spotted chemical analysis slide is measured. While determining the concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance in the sample solution, the nozzle tip after use is removed from the spotting nozzle at the tip extraction part, and the tip of the spotting nozzle is leak checked at the leak check part. The spotting means rotates and drives the spotting nozzle in a predetermined arc, and a nozzle tip, a sample cup, a spotting part, a tip extracting part, and a leak check which are not mounted on the arc. It is constructed by arranged the.

Further, it is preferable that the chip extracting portion and the leak checking portion are integrally formed. Furthermore, it is preferable that the leak check unit is configured by installing a pad member.

[0009]

[Operation and effect] In the biochemical analyzer as described above,
By driving the spotting means so that the spotting nozzle swivels in a predetermined arc, by disposing the nozzle tip, sample cup, spotting section, tip extracting section, and leak check section that are not mounted on the arc, The above-mentioned spotting nozzle is first moved to the storage part of the nozzle tip and mounted on the nozzle cup, then moved onto the sample cup, and after sucking the sample liquid from the sample cup into the nozzle tip, moved to the spotting part, A predetermined amount of the sample solution is spotted on the reagent layer of the chemical analysis slide at the spotting section, and the optical density of the spotted chemical analysis slide is measured to determine the predetermined biochemical substance in the sample solution. The density is obtained, while the nozzle tip after use moves to the tip extraction part and is removed from the spotting nozzle, and
Before measurement, the tip of the spotting nozzle is checked for leaks with a leak check unit, and various operations including leak check by moving the spotting means can be reliably performed by a compact and simple drive mechanism, High reliability can be obtained.

Further, if the tip extracting portion and the leak checking portion are integrally formed, the position of the spotting nozzle with respect to the turning locus can be easily adjusted, the number of parts can be reduced, and the size can be reduced. Further, if a pad member is installed in the leak check portion, the leak check can be easily performed by pressing the tip of the spotting nozzle against the pad member.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic plan configuration of a biochemical analyzer according to an embodiment.

The biochemical analysis apparatus 10 comprises a slide waiting section 12 for accommodating an unused chemical analysis slide 11 and a spotting section 13 for sequentially depositing a sample solution such as serum or urine on the chemical analysis slide 11.
And an incubator 14 for accommodating the chemical analysis slide 11 and keeping it at a constant temperature for a predetermined time, and transporting means 15 sequentially deposits the chemical analysis slide 11 from the slide waiting section 12 in sequence.
Transport to 13. For the chemical analysis slide 11 located in this spotting part 13, the spotting nozzle 91 of the spotting means 16 (sampler)
The point wearing nozzle 91
The nozzle tip 25 (see FIG. 4) is attached to the tip of the
The sample solution is sucked from 26 and spotted on the slide 11 by a predetermined amount. The chemical analysis slide 11 thus spotted is inserted into the storage portion 55 of the incubator 14 by the transporting means 15,
Chemical analysis slides kept in this incubator 14
The coloration degree (reflection optical density) of 11 is measured by the photometric head 27 of the measuring means 18, and the chemical analysis slide 11 after the measurement is dropped by the carrying means 15 into the waste hole 56 on the center side of the incubator 14 and discharged. To do.

Syringe means 19 for sucking and discharging the sample liquid by the nozzle tip 25 is attached to the spotting means 16,
While the pressure system is connected to the spotting nozzle 91, the used nozzle tip 25 is detached from the spotting nozzle 91 by a tip extracting section 20 arranged near the incubator 14 and dropped and discarded. In addition, before the measurement, the tip of the spotting nozzle 91 is pressed against the pad member 24 of the leak check portion 21 in a state where the nozzle tip 25 is not attached, and in this state, the syringe means 19 is operated to pressurize and pressurize. The system is checked for leaks. The chemical analysis slide 11 has a reagent layer arranged in a rectangular mount, and has a spotting hole and a photometric hole in the upper and lower parts of the mount, respectively.

Then, the nozzle tip 25 and the sample cup 26, which are prepared in the sample container 17, and the spotting part are provided on the swirl locus A of the tip of the spotting nozzle 91 accompanying the swiveling of the spotting arm 88 in the spotting means 16. 13, the chip extracting unit 20 and the leak checking unit 21 are set to be located.

Explaining the structure of each part, first, the conveying means.
As shown in FIG. 2 which is a front view of the cross-section, 15 is a carrier 30 that extends linearly toward the center of the incubator 14, and legs 30a at the front and rear ends thereof are installed on a plate-shaped base 31 below. , The slide stand-by portion 12 is provided at the substantially central portion of the carrier table 30.
However, the spotting portion 13 is disposed on the incubator 14 side of the spotting portion 13.

A slide guide 32 for holding the chemical analysis slide 11 is formed in the slide standby portion 12,
A plurality of unused chemical analysis slides 11 are usually stacked and held on the slide guide 32. Above slide guide
32 is mounted in the concave portion of the carrying table 30 so that the chemical analysis slide 11 at the lowermost part is located at the same height as the carrying surface of the carrying table 30, and one sheet is provided on the front surface side of the lowermost part. An opening 32a is formed through which only the chemical analysis slide 11 can pass. Further, an opening through which an insertion member described later can be inserted is formed on the rear surface side, and a groove 32b communicating with a slit 30b described later formed on the carrier table 30 is formed on the bottom surface. It should be noted that the slide guide 32 may be set with a cartridge in which a plurality of chemical analysis slides 11 are stacked and housed.

A slide retainer 33 having a circular opening 33a is installed in the spotting portion 13 in front of the slide standby portion 12, and the slide retainer 33 is provided inside a cover 34 fixed above the carrier table 30. The cover 34 is housed so that it can be moved up and down slightly.
An opening 35a for spotting is also formed in the glass plate 35 fixed above the glass plate.

The transport of the chemical analysis slide 11 is performed by the forward movement of the plate-shaped insertion member 36 placed on the transport table 30. That is, a slit 30b extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the center of the carrier table 30, and the insertion member 36 is slidably placed on the slit 30b.
A block 37 is fixed to the bottom of the rear end of the insertion member 36 from below through a slit 30b, and the block 37 is provided slidably in the front-rear direction along the slit 30b.
Further, the insertion member is provided on the carrier table 30 at a position rearward of the slide standby portion 12 by the slide guide 32.
An auxiliary plate 38 for pressing the 36 is provided, and the auxiliary plate 38 is a cover.
It is held in 39 so that it can move up and down slightly.

A slider is provided below the block 37.
A slider 40 is attached, and the slider 40 is slidably supported in the front-rear direction by a guide rod 41 arranged along the carrier table 30. Further, a part of a belt 44 wound around pulleys 42, 43 arranged in front of and behind the carrier 30 is fixed to the slider 40. Then, the rear pulley 43 is rotationally driven by the transport motor 45, the insertion member 36 is moved in the front-rear direction by the block 37 that moves integrally with the slider 40, and the tip end of the insertion member 36 chemically moves the lower end of the slide guide 32. By pushing the rear end of the analysis slide 11, the chemical analysis slide 11 is linearly conveyed from the spotting part 13 to the incubator 14.

The chemical analysis slide 11 at the lower end of the slide guide 32 is transported to the spotting section 13 by driving the transport motor 45, and the chemical analysis slide 11 on which the sample solution is spotted is further inserted into the storage section 55 of the incubator 14. Then, attach the chemical analysis slide 11 after measurement to the waste hole in the center of the incubator 14.
The drive control of the carry motor 45 is performed so that the carry motor is carried to 56.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the sectional front structure of the incubator 14 is such that the disk-shaped rotating member 50 is rotatable with respect to the bearing portion 53 via the bearing 52 by the rotating cylinder 51 having the lower center. An upper member 54 is supported and disposed on the rotating member 50. The upper member 54 has a flat bottom surface, and the upper surface of the rotating member 50 has a plurality of recesses (six in the illustrated case) formed on the circumference at predetermined intervals to form a slit-shaped space between the members 50, 54. An accommodating portion 55 is formed, the height of the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 55 is provided to be the same as the height of the conveying surface of the conveying table 30 of the conveying means 15, and the rotating member 50 approaches the tip of the conveying table 30. The outer peripheral part of is located.

Further, the inner hole of the rotary cylinder 51 is formed in the waste hole 56 of the chemical analysis slide 11 after the measurement, and the diameter of the waste hole 56 is set to a dimension through which the chemical analysis slide 11 can pass. Also, in the central portion of the rotating member 50, the waste hole 56
Is formed with an opening 50a. The central portion of the storage portion 55 communicates with the central opening 50a at the same height as the storage portion 55, and when the chemical analysis slide 11 located in the storage portion 55 moves to the center side as it is, the waste is removed. It is configured to drop into the reject hole 56.

The upper member 54 is provided with a heating means (not shown), and the temperature of the chemical analysis slide 11 in the storage portion 55 is kept constant by adjusting the temperature thereof, while the upper member 54 is provided with a corresponding storage portion 55. A holding member 57 is provided which holds the mount of the chemical analysis slide 11 from above to prevent evaporation of the sample liquid. A cover 58 is provided on the upper surface of the upper member 54, while the incubator 14 is covered by an upper cover 59 at the upper and side portions and a lower cover 60 at the bottom to shield light.

Further, an opening for photometry is provided at the center of the bottom surface of each storage portion 55 for storing the chemical analysis slide 11 of the rotating member 50.
55a is formed, and the reflection optical density of the chemical analysis slide 11 is measured by the photometric head 27 disposed below through the opening 55a. Further, the rotating member 50 is formed with an accommodating portion 61 (see FIG. 1) for the density reference plate on the same circumference as the accommodating portion 55, and white and black for calibrating the photometric head 27 are formed in this portion. Two density reference plates 62 are installed.

Here, in the rotational driving of the incubator 14, a timing belt 64 is wound around an outer peripheral portion of a rotary cylinder 51 which supports the rotary member 50.
Is also wound around the drive pulley 66 of the drive motor 65, and the reciprocating rotational drive of the rotating member 50 is performed by the forward and reverse rotational drive of the drive motor 65. The rotating operation of the incubator 14 is performed by the photometric head 27 disposed below the predetermined rotating position of the incubator 14.
On the other hand, first, after detecting the concentration of the white reference plate, and then performing the calibration by detecting the concentration of the black reference plate, of the color reaction of the chemical analysis slide 11 sequentially inserted in the storage unit 55. The optical density is measured, and after this series of measurements, it is rotated in the reverse direction to return to the reference position, and it is controlled to perform reciprocal rotation drive within the specified angle range so that the next unit can be measured. is there.

Further, below the incubator 14, a recovery box 70 for recovering the chemical analysis slide 11 after measurement is arranged. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the recovery box 70 has a storage chamber 71 formed below the waste hole 56 at the center of the rotary cylinder 51. Due to the relationship with the arrangement, the accommodation chamber 71 is formed wide on one side with respect to the center point C of the incubator 14. In addition, an inclined portion 72 is formed at a corner portion of the storage chamber 71 to drop the nozzle tip 25 to be replaced for each sample liquid in the spotting means 16 described later. The inclined portion 72 is located below the tip extracting portion 20 from which the nozzle tip 25 is dropped, and the bottom surface of the inclined portion 72 tilts the falling nozzle tip 25 to guide it toward the center of the accommodation chamber 71. The slope that makes the 71 side lower (20 ~
45 °).

Further, the waste hole is provided at the bottom of the accommodation chamber 71.
A protrusion 73 is erected at a position displaced from the center of the storage chamber 71 to the side opposite to the widened portion of the storage chamber 71. This protrusion 73
Has a spherical or needle-like tip, and has a function of contacting the chemical analysis slide 11 falling from the disposal hole 56 and changing the falling direction to disperse the slide. In addition, collection box
A decorative member 74 that is continuous with the outer case portion of the biochemical analysis device 10 is connected to the side wall of the storage chamber 71 of the container 70.

Next, the spotting means 16 has a bearing member 80 mounted on the base 31, as shown in FIG.
A rotary base 82 is rotatably supported by a bearing 81, and a flange member 83 is attached to the upper part of the rotary base 82 so as to rotate integrally therewith. Guide rods 84, 84 are provided on both outer peripheral sides of the flange member 83, respectively.
The guide rods 84, 84 are provided upright. The upper end portions of the guide rods 84, 84 on both sides are fixed to the connecting member 85, and the guide rods 84, 84 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. In addition, the connecting member 85
The feed screw 86 is arranged in the vertical direction at the center of rotation of
An upper end of the feed screw 86 is rotatably supported by the connecting member 85, a lower end thereof is rotatably supported by a central portion of the flange member 83, and a tip portion of the feed screw 86 is protruded from the flange member 83 and a pulley 87 is fixed thereto. ing. Further, the guide rods 84, 84 on both sides allow the spotting arm to be freely moved up and down.
A base end portion of 88 is supported, and a sleeve 89 into which the guide rods 84, 84 are fitted is inserted in the spotting arm 88 of the supporting portion. Further, the feed screw 86 penetrates the spotting arm 88, and a nut member 90 screwed to the feed screw 86 is provided in the penetrating portion, and the spotting arm 88 is moved up and down according to the rotation of the feed screw 86. Is configured to.

At the tip of the spotting arm 88, there is provided a spotting nozzle 91 penetrating in the vertical direction for sucking and discharging the sample liquid. A shaft portion of the spotting nozzle 91 is slidably inserted into the spotting arm 88, and is urged downward by a spring 92.

In the turning operation of the spotting arm 88, the timing belt 94 is engaged with the outer peripheral portion of the rotary base 82 (see FIG. 1), and the timing belt 94 is wound around the drive pulley 96 of the turning motor 95. It is hung up (see FIG. 1), and is rotated and moved to a predetermined position by the drive control of the forward / reverse rotation of the turning motor 95. When the spotting arm 88 is moved up and down, that is, when the feed screw 86 is rotated, a toothed belt 99 is hung between the pulley 87 at the lower end and the drive pulley 98 of the lifting motor 97 (see FIG. 1). It is moved to a predetermined height by controlling the forward / reverse rotation of the lifting motor 97.

An O-ring is provided at the tip of the spotting nozzle 91, and a pipette-shaped nozzle tip is provided at this portion.
25 is detachably attached. The unused nozzle tip 25 is set in the sample accommodating portion 17, and the tip of the spotting nozzle 91 is fitted and held by the descending movement of the spotting arm 88, and the tip extracting portion 20 is engaged after use. When the upper end of the nozzle tip 25 is engaged with the groove 22a, the spotting arm 88 is disengaged by upward movement, and the above-mentioned recovery from the tip disposal port 23 opened in the base 31 of the tip extraction section 20 is performed. It is dropped in the box 70 and discarded.

The chip extracting section 20 and the leak checking section
Reference numeral 21 is formed integrally with the guide member 22, and the detailed structure of the guide member 22 is shown in FIGS. 7 to 9. This guide member 22 is integrally formed with a cylindrical standing portion 22c extending upward from a base portion 22b fixed to a base 31, and a notch-shaped engaging groove forming the chip extracting portion 20 at the upper end of the standing portion 22c. 22a is provided, and a circular recess 22d is formed on the upper surface of the upright portion 22c. A pad member 24 (rubber pad) is provided in the recess 22d to press the tip opening of the spotting nozzle 91. A check portion 21 is formed. Further, a protrusion-shaped swing center portion 22e is provided on the bottom surface of the guide member 22, and the swing center portion 22e is inserted into a hole (not shown) of the base 31 and the guide member 22 is It is rotatable around the point wearing nozzle 91
The structure is adjustable so that the engaging groove 22a and the pad member 23 are located on the turning locus A of.

Next, in the mechanism for sucking and discharging the sample liquid into the nozzle tip 25, an air passage 101 opening to the tip is formed at the center of the spotting nozzle 91, and this air passage 101 is formed. An air pipe (not shown) is connected to the upper end of the. The other end of the air pipe is connected to the upper end portion of the syringe 102 of the syringe means 19, and the syringe 102 is a syringe-like air pump and a columnar support member.
The tubular portion 102a is fixedly supported by the stopper 104 by the stopper 104, and the operating portion 102b at the tip of the rod connected to the piston fitted inside the tubular portion 102a is engaged and fixed to the elevating member 105. This elevating member 105 is a guide shaft arranged in the vertical direction.
It is supported so as to move up and down along 106, and a belt 109 hung on upper and lower pulleys 107 and 108 is fixed to the end thereof. The lower pulley 108 has a syringe motor 110
Is driven, the pulley 108 is rotated by the driving, and the elevating member 105 is operated via the belt 109, and the syringe 10
It is configured to perform suction and discharge by the operation of 2.

Then, by the above-mentioned spotting means 16, the piston of the syringe 102 is moved downward while the tip of the nozzle tip 25 is immersed in the sample liquid in the sample cup 26, and suction is carried out. Then, a predetermined amount of the chemical analysis slide 11 is spotted. In addition, the tip of the spotting nozzle 91 is provided with a leak check portion when the nozzle tip 25 is not attached
The pad member 24 of 21 is pressed to be closed, and in this state, the syringe means 19 is operated to pressurize, and the leak of the pressure system is checked from the subsequent measurement of the pressure drop.

In the biochemical analyzer 10 of the above embodiment, the spotting nozzle 91 of the spotting means 16 is swung by the drive mechanism along the arc-shaped swirl locus A and is also moved up and down. By disposing the nozzle tip 25, the sample cup 26, the spotting portion 13, the tip extracting portion 20, and the leak check portion 21 which are not mounted along the turning trajectory A, the disc-shaped incubator 14 and the linear conveyance are provided. In combination with the arrangement of the means 15, each mechanism is efficiently laid out to obtain a compact biochemical analyzer.

A plurality of sample cups 26 and nozzle tips 25 are arranged on the locus of the spotting nozzle 91 of the spotting means 16.
May be installed in parallel to increase the processing efficiency,
The sample tray holding a plurality of sample cups 26 and nozzle tips 25 may be moved to sequentially move to the take-out position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a main part mechanism of a biochemical analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional front view of a portion of a conveying unit.

FIG. 3 is a sectional front view of an incubator portion.

FIG. 4 is a sectional front view of a portion of a spotting means and a syringe means.

[Fig. 5] Plan view of the collection box

[Fig. 6] Side view of the collection box

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a guide member to be installed in the chip extracting section and the leak checking section.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the guide member.

FIG. 9 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the guide member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Biochemical analyzer 11 Chemical analysis slide 13 Pointing part 14 Incubator 16 Pointing means 17 Sample storage part 19 Syringe means 20 Tip extraction part 21 Leak check part 22 Guide member 22a Engaging groove 24 Pad member 25 Nozzle tip 26 Sample cup 70 Collection box 88-point wearing arm 91-point wearing nozzle

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A nozzle tip is attached to the tip of a spotting nozzle in a spotting means, and a sample solution is sucked from the sample cup into the nozzle tip and then moved to a spotting portion, where a predetermined amount of The sample solution is spotted on the reagent layer of the chemical analysis slide, and the concentration of a predetermined biochemical substance in the sample solution is determined by measuring the optical density of the spotted chemical analysis slide. Nozzle tip is removed from the spotting nozzle at the tip extracting portion, and in the biochemical analysis device configured to perform a leak check at the leak check portion at the tip of the spotting nozzle, the spotting means is a predetermined spotting nozzle. A biochemical analysis characterized in that the nozzle tip, sample cup, spotting section, tip withdrawing section, and leak checking section, which are not mounted, are arranged on the above-mentioned arc while being driven to rotate by an arc. Location. 2. The biochemical analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the chip extracting portion and the leak checking portion are integrally formed. 3. The biochemical analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the leak check unit has a pad member.