JP5924967B2 - Spotting device and spotting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a spotting device and a spotting method.

  Conventionally, as a method of spotting a sample (specimen) such as urine or blood on a spotted body, a method of discharging the sample from a spotting nozzle has been widely used. For example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose various pipette devices.

  Patent Document 4 includes a reservoir channel and a plurality of capillary channels branched from the reservoir channel. By pressurizing the reservoir channel, a sample is discharged from the tip side of each capillary channel to a sample receiving portion. A dispensing device is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-189045 JP 2006-326577 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 02-169043 JP 2009-162635 A

  One of the performances required for the spotting device is the simultaneous spotting function of the sample. The multipipette disclosed in Patent Document 3 enables simultaneous spotting to a plurality of locations by providing a plurality of nozzle tips. In this type of multipipette, a container for storing a sample to be sucked into a nozzle It is necessary to divide the number of nozzles by the number of nozzle tips, and the spotting operation becomes complicated. In addition, the dispensing device disclosed in Patent Document 4 needs to be attached with a stopper that closes the downstream side of the reservoir channel in the sample discharge step of discharging the sample in the channel from the nozzle tip by pressurization. There is room for improvement in terms of usability.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a spotting device and a spotting method that can be spotted simultaneously on a plurality of spotted objects and that are easy to use. It is to provide.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems. That is, the spotting device according to the present invention includes a plate main body, a groove-shaped main channel formed on the surface of the plate main body and having an open upper portion, and a plane of the plate main body branched from the main channel. A plurality of branch channels extending in the direction and a spotting nozzle portion communicating with the tip of each branch channel, wherein the plurality of branch channels are configured such that the plate body is substantially horizontal with the main channel. The sample supplied to the main channel in a state in which the sample is supplied is sucked by a capillary force, and the plate body is changed from the sample supply posture to the nozzle downward posture in which the spotting nozzle portion is downward. In this case, the sucked sample is transferred to the tip side by gravity and the sample is held as a droplet in the spotting nozzle portion.

The spotting device according to the present invention is an instrument for spotting a sample on a spotted body by bringing a droplet of the sample held in the spotting nozzle portion into contact with the spotted body. In the spotting device according to the present invention, the sample is supplied to the main channel in a state where the posture of the plate main body is set to the posture at the time of sample supply in which the main channel is substantially horizontal. Then, the sample supplied to the main channel is sucked into the branch channel that branches from the main channel by using capillary force and is held.

  Here, a sample supply recess connected to one end of the main flow path is formed on the surface of the plate body, and a sample supplied from the outside to the sample supply recess is introduced into the main flow path. Also good. The operator of the spotting device can introduce the sample into each branch flow channel simply by pouring the sample into the sample supply recess. That is, the sample supplied to the sample supply recess is introduced into the main channel from one end of the main channel. And the sample which reached | attained the connection part of a main flow path and each branch flow path, ie, the branch part of each branch flow path, is introduce | transduced in a branch flow path using capillary force. As in this configuration, the sample supply recess is formed on the surface of the plate body, and the main flow path is connected to the sample supply recess, so that the sample can be easily introduced into each branch flow path. Improved usability.

  After holding the sample in each branch flow channel with the spotting device in the posture at the time of sample supply, the handler tilts the spotting device so that the spotting nozzle is in the downward posture in the gravitational direction. . Thus, the sample held in each branch flow path is transferred toward the front end of the flow path by the action of gravity. And the sample pushed outside from the spotting nozzle part communicating with the front-end | tip part of a branch flow path is hold | maintained as a droplet at a spotting nozzle part. In this state, the handler can spot the sample on the spotted body by bringing the spotting nozzle portion closer to the spotted body and bringing the droplet of the sample into contact therewith.

  As described above, according to the spotting device according to the present invention, after supplying the sample to the main channel in a state where the plate main body is in a substantially horizontal posture when supplying the sample, the plate main body is changed to the nozzle downward posture, Simultaneously spotting a sample on a plurality of spotted objects can be easily performed simply by bringing a droplet of the sample held in each spotting nozzle portion into contact with the spotted object. Further, the operation content when using the spotting device is simple as described above, and there is no need to attach another member to the plate body or separate any member from the plate body during the operation. Therefore, it is possible to provide a spotting device that is easy to use for the handler. In addition, since the spotting device can have a simple configuration in which a main channel, a capillary channel, or the like is formed in the plate body, the manufacturing cost can be kept low.

  Here, the capillary force of the branch channel can hold the sample in the droplet state on the spotting nozzle when the spotting device is tilted downward with the sample held in the branch channel. It is good to adjust within the range. In other words, in order to obtain such an appropriate capillary force, the cross-sectional dimension of the branch channel is changed to, for example, the physical properties (for example, surface tension) of the sample, the hydrophilicity (wetting property) of the inner surface of the branch channel, and the like. Adjust accordingly.

  In addition, since the main flow path in the spotting device has a groove shape with an upper portion opened to the surface of the plate body, the main flow path is held in the branch flow path when the plate body is inclined to be in a nozzle downward posture. The sample can be easily transferred in the direction of the spotting nozzle portion. Each branching channel of the spotting device may be a tubular channel or a grooved channel as long as the sample supplied to the main channel can be sucked by capillary force.

Here, the branch channel may be formed such that a general part excluding the tip part is formed in a tubular shape, and the tip part is formed in a groove shape. In this way, by making the tip of the branch channel into a groove shape and opening the upper part of the channel, the plate body is held in the sample supply posture and the sample is held in the branch channel. A gap (air layer) can be formed at the tip of the branch flow path when the nozzle is tilted and changed to the nozzle downward posture. This gap portion is formed so as to be interposed between the droplet held in the spotting nozzle portion and the sample in the general portion of the branch channel. As a result, when the sample is spotted on the spotted object, only the sample held in the spotting nozzle portion as droplets can be attached to the spotted object, so that the sample is attached to the spotted object. Quantitative performance when spotted can be improved.

  Furthermore, the branch channel may have a larger channel cross-sectional area of the sample at the tip than at the general part excluding the tip. Thus, by setting the flow path cross-sectional area of the tip portion in the branch flow path to be larger than that of the general portion, the capillary force at the tip portion can be made relatively smaller than that of the general portion. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the quantitativeness when the sample is spotted using the spotting device.

Further, the main flow path is provided in a meandering manner along the surface of the plate body,
The branch flow path may be branched from a portion that becomes the top or valley bottom of the main flow path in a state in which the plate body is in the nozzle downward posture. Examples of the shape of the main channel formed in a meandering shape include a so-called zigzag shape and a wave shape. That is, in such a meandering main flow path, a portion that becomes a vertex along the longitudinal direction is repeatedly formed. The apex formed in the meandering main flow path in this way, that is, the branch flow path from any part that becomes the peak or valley bottom of the main flow path on the basis of the state in which the plate body is in the nozzle downward posture By branching, each has a unique effect.

  For example, by configuring the branch channel to branch from the peak of the main channel, the sample is held in the branch channel, and then when the handler tilts the plate body to the nozzle downward posture, The sample in the channel is suppressed from flowing into the branch channel, and the sample is collected at the valley bottom of the main channel and in the vicinity thereof. According to this configuration, since the holding amount of the sample held in the branch channel hardly changes before and after the plate body is changed to the nozzle downward posture, it is possible to improve the quantitativeness of the spotting amount by the spotting device. it can.

  On the other hand, when the branch channel is configured to branch from the valley bottom of the main channel, after the sample is held in the branch channel, the handler of the spotting device tilts the plate body to make the nozzle face downward In addition, the sample in the main channel flows into the branch channel. Therefore, since the amount of the sample that can be introduced into the branch channel can be increased, it is possible to easily ensure the amount of sample deposited by the spotting device.

  A downward slope may be formed on the bottom surface of the main channel from the one end side connected to the sample supply recess in the main channel toward the other end side. According to this configuration, one end side of the main channel connected to the sample supply recess is the upstream side, and the other end side is the downstream side. Therefore, since the sample introduced from the sample supply recess to the main channel can be smoothly flowed along the main channel, the sample can be smoothly supplied from the main channel to each branch channel.

  Various methods can be adopted as a method of forming a gradient on the bottom surface of the main flow path as follows. For example, regarding the thickness of the plate body, the bottom bottom thickness on one end side may be increased compared to the other end side of the main flow path. In the case of this configuration, for example, when the thickness of the plate body along the main flow path is uniform, the height of the side wall on one end side of the main flow path is lower than that on the other end side. Further, when the height of the side wall of the main flow path is made uniform, the thickness of the plate main body at the portion corresponding to one end side is made thicker than the portion corresponding to the other end of the main flow path. The bottom bottom thickness on one end side may be made thicker than the other end side. In addition, as an example of a specific mode for increasing the bottom bottom thickness on one end side compared to the other end side of the main flow path, on the back side of the portion corresponding to the one end side of the main flow path in the plate body The bottom bottom thickness in the portion corresponding to the one end side may be made thicker than the other portions by providing a protrusion or the like.

Further, in the branch channel, the inner surface of the general part excluding the tip part may be a hydrophilic surface, and the inner surface of the tip part may be a water repellent surface. By making the inner surface of the general part in the branch channel a hydrophilic surface, the capillary force for sucking up the sample from the main channel is increased, and the amount of the sample retained can be easily secured. Also, by making the inner surface of the tip of the branch channel a water repellent surface, when the plate body is tilted to the nozzle downward posture after the sample is introduced into each branch channel, a gap is formed at the tip of the branch channel. It becomes easy to form. According to this, when the sample is spotted on the spotted body, only the sample held as a droplet on the spotting nozzle portion can be spotted, and when the sample is spotted Quantification is improved.

  In addition, a small face for holding the sample as droplets in the spotting nozzle portion may be a hydrophilic face or water repellent. For example, the droplet holding force exerted by the small-mouthed surface can be increased by configuring the small-sized surface of the spotting nozzle portion as a hydrophilic surface. In addition, by making the small-mouthed surface of the spotting nozzle portion a hydrophilic surface, liquid droplets are evenly distributed over the small-mouthed surface, and a contact area between the small-mouthed surface and the liquid droplet is sufficiently ensured. Therefore, when the droplet on the small-mouthed surface of the spotting nozzle part is brought into contact with the spotted body, the sample can be spotted quickly on the entire surface of the spotted body. As a result, for example, when the spotted object is impregnated or coated with a reagent, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of spot coloration or uneven coloring on the spotted object.

  On the other hand, the spotted body may have water repellency. In such a case, the small end surface of the spotting nozzle portion may be a water repellent surface. That is, it is preferable to determine whether the small-mouthed surface of the spotting nozzle portion is a hydrophilic surface or a water-repellent surface according to the specification or application of the spotting device. For example, when the spotted body has water repellency, it is difficult to efficiently spot the droplets retained on the spotted surface when the spotted nozzle portion has a hydrophilic surface. There is a case. In such a case, the small-mouthed surface of the spotting nozzle portion may be a water repellent surface. In addition, when the area of the spotted body is relatively small, the droplet surface of the spotting nozzle portion is made a water repellent surface, so that the contact area between the nozzle surface and the droplet is reduced, so that It can be held in a large raised state. In this way, when it is desired to hold the droplet of the sample in a state where the spotted nozzle portion is raised more greatly, the spotted nozzle portion may have a water repellent surface.

  Here, the present invention can be understood as a spotting method in which a sample is spotted on a plurality of spotted objects using a spotting device. That is, the present invention includes a groove-shaped main channel formed on the surface of the plate body and having an open upper portion, and a plurality of branch channels that branch from the main channel and extend along the planar direction of the plate body. A spotting method for spotting a sample on a plurality of spotted objects using a spotting device having a spotting nozzle part communicating with the tip part of each branch channel, wherein the plate body is connected to the main stream. A sample suction step of supplying a sample to the main flow path in a state in which the path is substantially horizontal, and sucking the sample supplied to the main flow path into each branch flow path by capillary force; The plate body is changed from the posture at the time of sample supply to a nozzle downward posture in which the spotting nozzle portion faces downward, and the sample sucked into the branch channel in the sample suction step is moved to the tip portion side by gravity. Transported Characterized in that it comprises a droplet holding step for holding the Rutotomoni sample as droplets to the spot application nozzle unit.

  The means for solving the problems in the present invention can be combined as much as possible.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a spotting device and a spotting method that are capable of spotting samples on a plurality of spotted objects at the same time and that are easy to use.

1 is a perspective view of a spotting device according to Example 1. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spotting device according to Example 1. FIG. 1 is a top view of a spotting device according to Example 1. FIG. 1 is a side view of a spotting device according to Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the sample spotting method using the spotting device which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the sample spotting method using the spotting device which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the sample spotting method using the spotting device which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the sample spotting method using the spotting device which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the sample spotting method using the spotting device which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a perspective view of the spotting device which concerns on Example 2. FIG. 6 is a top view of a spotting device according to Example 2. FIG. It is the figure which expanded the part enclosed with the circle | round | yen in FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a spotting device according to Example 3. FIG. 6 is a top view of a spotting device according to Example 3. FIG. It is the figure which expanded the part enclosed by the circle in FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the projection part of a spotting device.

  Hereinafter, the spotting device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the following example is an exemplification, and the spotting device according to the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration of the example. For example, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the constituent elements in the embodiments are not intended to limit the technical scope of the invention to those unless otherwise specified.

<Example 1>
[Composition of spotted device]
1 and 2 are perspective views of a spotting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the spotting device 1 as viewed from above, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the spotting device 1 as viewed from below. FIG. 3 is a top view of the spotting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view of the spotting device 1 according to the first embodiment. The spotting device 1 in the present embodiment is a tool for spotting (dispensing) a sample on a plurality of spotted objects at the same time.

  The spotting device 1 is configured by forming a main channel 11, a capillary channel 12 (branch channel), a sample supply recess 13, and an excess sample collection recess 14 in a plate body 10. The plate body 10 is a flat plate member having a substantially square planar shape. Although the thickness of the plate body 10 in the present embodiment is uniform, it is not limited to this. The plate body 10 can be formed of, for example, resin or glass, but is not limited thereto. The sample supply recess 13 is a recess formed on the surface of one end side in the long side (longitudinal direction) of the plate body 10 and is provided for pouring a sample (specimen) from the outside. The main flow path 11 is a groove-shaped flow path formed on the surface of the plate body 10 and having an upper portion opened to the atmosphere. The main channel 11 is a linear channel extending along the long side direction of the plate body 10.

  The capillary channel 12 is a tubular branch channel that branches from the main channel 11 and extends along the planar direction of the plate body. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of capillary channels 12 are connected to the main channel 11 in a comb shape or a comb shape at regular intervals. The tip 12a of each capillary channel 12 communicates with the outside. An extra sample collection recess 14 is connected to the other end side of the main channel 11. As will be described later, the excess sample collection recess 14 is a recess in which an excess sample that has not been introduced from the main channel 11 into each capillary channel 12 is collected.

Next, the detailed configuration of the capillary channel 12 and the spotting nozzle portion 15 will be described. The capillary channel 12 includes a tip portion 12a and a general portion 12b. The general portion 12b is formed as a tubular flow channel (shown by a broken line in FIG. 3), and the tip portion 12a is formed as a groove-shaped flow channel (shown by a solid line in FIG. 3). A spotting nozzle portion 15 is formed so as to protrude from one side surface (the front side surface in the present configuration example) of the plate body in accordance with the position and direction in which the capillary channel 12 extends. The spotting nozzle portion 15 is a protruding piece that protrudes to the side of the plate body 10 as compared to the portion where the spotting nozzle portion 15 is not formed. The spotting nozzle portion 15 penetrates the spotting nozzle portion 15 and has a V-groove shape. A tip portion 12a is formed. The spotting nozzle portion 15 has a droplet holding surface 15 a as a fore edge surface orthogonal to the extending direction of the tip end portion 12. As will be described later, the droplet holding surface 15a functions to hold the sample delivered from the tip 12a of the capillary channel 12 in a droplet state.

  The general portion 12b of the capillary channel 12 is a linear channel having a circular cross section, and has a cross-sectional dimension adjusted so that the sample supplied to the main channel 11 can be sucked by capillary force. ing.

[Drop method]
A spotting method for spotting a sample on a plurality of spotted objects using the spotting device 1 configured as described above will be described. The sample to be spotted on the spotted body by the spotting device 1 is not limited to a specific type. For example, urine, saliva, oral rinse, nasal wipe, nasal aspirate, plasma, serum, etc. It can be illustrated. Here, an example will be described in which urine is spotted on the reagent pad using the spotting device 1 with the reagent pad of the test paper as the spotted body.

  5 to 9 are explanatory diagrams of a sample spotting method using the spotting device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sample supply process. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a sample suction step. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing the droplet holding step. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a spotting process. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the sample supply step and the sample suction step, the spotting device 1 is in a state in which the posture of the plate body 10 is maintained in the posture at the time of sample supply where the main channel 11 is substantially horizontal. used.

  In the sample supply step, the sample is supplied to the sample supply recess 13 using, for example, a pipette in a state where the posture of the spotting device 1 (plate body 10) is set to the posture at the time of sample supply. The sample supply recess 13 has a triangular shape, and a portion corresponding to the apex thereof is connected to the upstream end 11 a of the main channel 11. The sample supplied to the sample supply recess 13 is introduced by flowing into the main channel 11, and then flows through the main channel 11 from the upstream end 11a toward the downstream end 11b. Here, a downward slope is formed on the bottom surface of the main flow path 11 from the upstream end 11a, which is a connection end with the sample supply recess 13, toward the downstream end 11b. Thereby, the sample introduced into the upstream end 11a of the main flow path 11 from the sample supply recessed part 13 can be smoothly flowed toward the downstream end 11b. Specifically, with respect to the thickness of the plate body 10, the bottom bottom thickness at the upstream end 11a (one end side) is larger than the downstream end 11b (the other end side) of the main flow path 11. . Here, since the thickness of the plate body 10 is uniform, the height of the side wall at the upstream end 11 a is lower than the downstream end 11 b of the main flow path 11. In the present embodiment, the bottom bottom thickness is gradually changed from the upstream end 11a to the downstream end 11b of the main flow path 11, but the bottom bottom thickness may be changed stepwise.

The sample introduced into the main channel 11 sequentially passes through the branch portions 11 c of the main channel 11 and the plurality of capillary channels 12. The sample flowing in the main channel 11 is sucked into the capillary channel 12 by the capillary force when passing through each branch part 11 c and is held in the capillary channel 12. In FIG. 6, the upper surface side of the plate body 10 is seen through so that the internal state of the capillary channel 12 located at the end is clear. In the illustrated example, the state in which the sample is filled up to about half of the length of the capillary channel 12 by the capillary force of the capillary channel 12 is shown. In addition, since the surplus sample collection recess 14 is connected to the downstream end 11b of the main channel 11, the surplus sample that has not been sucked into any capillary channel 12 is collected in the surplus sample collection recess 14. The

  The inner surface of the general portion 12b in the capillary channel 12 is formed as a hydrophilic surface. Thereby, the sample in the branch part 11c of the main channel 11 and the capillary channel 12 flows into the general part 12b along the inner surface of the general part 12b which is a hydrophilic surface. That is, by making the inner surface of the general portion 12b in the capillary channel 12 a hydrophilic surface, it is possible to promote the suction of the sample into the capillary channel 12 by the capillary force.

  In addition, when making the inner surface of the general part 12b in the capillary flow path 12 into a hydrophilic surface, it is good also as a hydrophilic surface by apply | coating a hydrophilic processing agent to the inner surface of the general part 12b. Examples of hydrophilic treatment agents include, but are not limited to, polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, polyoxythylene sorbitan fatty acid ester, and the like. Further, instead of applying a hydrophilic treatment agent to the inner surface of the general part 12b in the capillary channel 12, a general part is used by using a hydrophilic material such as PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate resin), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or glass. The inner surface of 12b may be formed.

  In the vicinity of the connection portion with the main channel 11 in the sample supply recess 13, a throttle portion 13 a is provided in which the inner wall surface of the sample supply recess 13 gradually narrows toward the upstream end 11 a of the main channel 11. By forming such a narrowed portion 13 a at the connection portion with the main channel 11, the sample can be smoothly guided from the sample supply recess 13 to the main channel 11. Note that the sample may be guided to the narrowed portion 13 a by providing a gradient to the bottom surface of the sample supply recess 13. In addition, the shape of the sample supply recessed part 13 can be changed suitably. However, as described above, the sample can be more smoothly guided to the main channel 11 when the throttle unit 13a is provided than when the throttle unit 13a is not provided in the vicinity of the connection with the main channel 11. preferable.

  After the sample supply step and the sample suction step are completed, the handler of the spotting device 1 tilts the plate body 10 to tilt the spotting nozzle portion 15 downward in the gravity direction as shown in FIG. The posture of the plate body 10 is changed. When the plate main body 10 is changed from the sample supply posture to the nozzle downward posture, gravity acts in a direction in which the sample in the capillary channel 12 is dropped toward the spotting nozzle portion 15. As a result, the sample in the capillary channel 12 is transferred toward the tip 12a side that communicates with the outside by gravity.

  FIG. 8 shows a state where the posture of the plate body 10 is the nozzle downward posture. In FIG. 8, the capillary channel 12 at the left end is drawn so that the state of the internal sample can be seen through the surface of the plate body 10. As shown in FIG. 8, in a state where the plate body 10 is tilted downward, the sample in the capillary channel 12 is transferred to the position on the tip 12a side, and a part of the sample is pushed out from the tip 12a. At the same time, the droplet is held on the droplet holding surface 15a of the spotting nozzle portion 15 in a droplet state.

  Here, the droplet holding surface 15a of the spotting nozzle portion 15 has a substantially rectangular shape and is a hydrophilic surface. As in the case of the general part 12b of the capillary channel 12, the droplet holding surface 15a may be made hydrophilic by applying a hydrophilic treatment agent, or the droplet holding surface 15a is made hydrophilic by using a hydrophilic material. Also good. By making the droplet holding surface 15a a hydrophilic surface, the sample from the capillary channel 12 can be suitably held as a droplet. In FIG. 7, illustration of droplets on the droplet holding surface 15 a of the spotting nozzle unit 15 is omitted.

Here, even if the spotting device 1 is changed to the nozzle downward posture after the sample is introduced into the capillary channel 12, the sample flowing out from the tip end portion 12 a of the capillary channel 12 is not spotted nozzle unit 1.
It is preferable that the capillary force of the capillary channel 12 is adjusted within an appropriate range so that it can be held in a droplet state. That is, the cross-sectional dimensions of the capillary channel 12 are set so that the physical properties of the sample (for example, surface tension) and the hydrophilicity (wetting property) of the inner surface of the capillary channel 12 are obtained so that a capillary force having an appropriate size can be obtained. It is good to adjust according to the above.

  Here, in the capillary channel 12 of the spotting device 1, the tip end portion 12a is not a tube but a groove-like channel. By opening the top of the tip 12a without closing it, as shown in FIG. 8, when the plate body 10 is changed to the nozzle downward posture, a gap (air layer) 3 is formed in the tip 12a. The That is, the gap portion 3 is formed between the sample in the general portion 12 b of the capillary channel 12 and the droplet held on the droplet holding surface 15 a of the spotting nozzle portion 15. Furthermore, the capillary channel 12 of this example has a larger channel cross-sectional area of the sample at the distal end portion 12a than the general portion 12b. Therefore, the capillary force is relatively small at the distal end portion 12a of the capillary channel 12 as compared with the general portion 12b. Thus, by reducing the capillary force at the distal end portion 12a, the above-described gap 3 is more easily formed at the distal end portion 12a of the capillary channel 12. In addition, this gap | interval part 3 contributes to improving the quantitative property at the time of spotting a sample to a spotted body so that it may mention later.

  In this embodiment, the inner surface of the tip 12a of the capillary channel 12 is a water repellent surface. By doing so, since the gap 3 is more easily formed at the tip 12a in the capillary channel 12, the quantitativeness of the spotting device 1 can be further enhanced. In addition, when making the inner surface of the front-end | tip part 12a in the capillary flow path 12 into a water-repellent surface, it is good also as a water-repellent surface by apply | coating a water-repellent processing agent to the inner surface of the front-end | tip part 12a. Examples of the water repellent treatment agent include, but are not limited to, silicone and fluorine. Moreover, you may use water-repellent materials, such as PS (polystyrene), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) instead of apply | coating a water-repellent processing agent to the inner surface of the front-end | tip part 12a.

  The test paper 2 shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 is provided with a plurality of reagent pads 22 arranged on the surface of a thin plate-like and strip-like base material 21. The reagent pad 22 is impregnated or coated with a reagent that reacts with a urine component such as glucose, protein, occult blood, bilirubin, and the like to develop a color. The number of reagent pads 22 placed on the surface of the substrate 21 may be increased or decreased as appropriate. The spotting nozzle portion 15 in the spotting device 1 is provided so that the number and position thereof correspond to, for example, the reagent pad 22 of the test paper 2.

  The operator of the spotting device 1 adjusts the position of each spotting nozzle unit 15 and each reagent pad 22 of the test paper 2 from the state shown in FIG. 8 when spotting a sample on the reagent pad 22 of the test paper 2. While approaching, gradually bring them closer together. When the sample held as a droplet on the droplet holding surface 15 a of the spotting nozzle portion 15 comes into contact with the surface of the reagent pad 22, the sample is spread on the surface of the reagent pad 22. Thereby, a sample can be spotted on each reagent pad 22 which is a plurality of spotted objects.

  Here, a gap 3 is formed at the tip 12 a of the capillary channel 12. That is, the droplet held on the droplet holding surface 15a is separated from the sample in the general portion 12b. As a result, only the sample held in the spotting nozzle unit 15 as a droplet can be spotted on the reagent pad 22. Therefore, it is possible to improve the quantitativeness when the sample is spotted on the reagent pad 22. Further, in the capillary channel 12, by increasing the channel cross-sectional area of the sample at the tip portion 12a as compared with the general portion 12b, the capillary force at the tip portion 12a of the capillary channel 12 is made relatively smaller than that of the general portion 12b. Can be made smaller. Thereby, since the gap | interval part 3 becomes easier to form in the front-end | tip part 12a of the capillary flow path 12, the further improvement of the quantitative property which concerns on the spotting device 1 can be anticipated.

  In addition, the inner surface of the distal end portion 12a in the capillary channel 12 is preferably a water repellent surface. By doing so, it becomes easy to form the gap 3 between the sample droplet held on the droplet holding surface 15 a of the spotting nozzle portion 15 and the sample in the capillary channel 12. Therefore, the quantitative property of the spotting device 1 can also be improved by making the inner surface of the tip 12a in the capillary channel 12 a water repellent surface. In addition, when making the inner surface of the front-end | tip part 12a in the capillary flow path 12 into a water-repellent surface, it is good also as a water-repellent surface by apply | coating a water-repellent processing agent to the inner surface of the front-end | tip part 12a. Examples of the water repellent treatment agent include, but are not limited to, silicone and fluorine. Further, instead of applying a water-repellent treatment agent to the inner surface of the tip portion 12a, the tip portion 12a is made of a water-repellent material such as PS (polystyrene), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The inner surface may be a water repellent surface.

  As described above, according to the spotting device 1, after the sample is supplied to the sample supply recess 13 in the state where the plate main body 10 is in the substantially horizontal posture when supplying the sample, the plate main body 10 is changed to the nozzle downward posture. The sample can be easily spotted on a plurality of spotted objects by a simple operation simply by bringing the droplets of the sample held in the spotting nozzle portions 15 into contact with the spotted spots. Is possible. Further, in the spotting operation of the sample using the spotting device 1, there is no need to attach another member to the plate main body 10 or separate any member from the plate main body 10 during the operation. good.

  The spotting device 1 has a simple configuration in which a sample supply recess 13 and an excess sample collection recess 14 are appropriately formed in the plate body 10 in addition to channels such as the main channel 11 and the capillary channel 12. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be kept low. In addition, the spotting device 1 requires a smaller absolute amount of sample compared to the case where the test paper 2 is immersed (dipped) in the reagent in the container. That is, according to the spotting device 1, it is possible to spot a plurality of spotted objects simultaneously even if the amount of the sample is small.

  Further, as shown in the enlarged views shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the droplet holding surface 15a of the spotting nozzle portion 15 in the present embodiment is cut out from the rectangular portion at the tip end portion 12a in the capillary channel 12. However, other shapes such as a circular shape or an elliptical shape may be employed. The shape and size of the droplet holding surface 15a in the spotting nozzle unit 15 may be determined according to the reagent pad 22 that is a spotted body. In the spotting device 1, the size of the sample droplet formed on the droplet holding surface 15a is excessively small or excessively large with respect to the spotting target surface of the reagent pad 22 (spotted object). In other words, the droplet holding surface 15a is configured so that the droplet size has an appropriate size commensurate with the spotting target surface. In this embodiment, by making the droplet holding surface 15a a hydrophilic surface, it becomes easy to secure a contact area between the droplet holding surface 15a and the droplet, and the droplet formed on the droplet holding surface 15a has a desired size. It will be easier to adjust.

  As described above, the droplet formed on the droplet holding surface 15a is brought close to the size of the reagent pad 22, so that the droplet on the droplet holding surface 15a is brought into contact with the reagent pad 22. In this case, the sample can be quickly spotted on the entire surface of the reagent pad 22. As a result, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of spot coloration or uneven color development regardless of the sample development speed on the reagent pad 22. Further, it is possible to prevent the reagent impregnated or applied to the reagent pad 22 from flowing when the sample spreads on the surface of the reagent pad 22.

As a modification of the spotting device 1 in this embodiment, the droplet holding surface 15a may be a water repellent surface. This aspect is useful when the spotted body has water repellency. If the reagent pad 22 as the spotted body has water repellency, if the droplet holding surface 15a is a hydrophilic surface, the droplets of the sample held on the droplet holding surface 15a are efficiently transferred to the spotted body. In such a case, it is possible to easily spot the sample on the spotted body by making the droplet holding surface 15a a water repellent surface. When the droplet holding surface 15a is a water repellent surface, the contact area between the droplet holding surface 15a and the droplet is reduced. According to this, the droplet of the sample can be held in a state of being greatly raised by the droplet holding surface 15a. Therefore, for example, when the area of the reagent pad 22 is relatively small, the droplet holding surface 15a may be a water repellent surface. As described above, it is preferable to determine whether the droplet holding surface 15a in the spotting nozzle portion 15 is a hydrophilic surface or a water-repellent surface according to the specification and application of the spotting device 1.

<Example 2>
Next, the spotting device 1A according to the second embodiment will be described. In addition, description is abbreviate | omitted about the part which is common in Example 1, and it demonstrates centering on a different part. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the spotting device 1A according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a top view of the spotting device 1A according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a circle in FIG. In FIG. 12, a part of the surface of the plate body 10 is cut away. In the spotting device 1A in the present embodiment, only the connection mode between the main channel 11A formed in the plate body 10 and the capillary channel 12 is different. About another structure, it is the same as that of the spotting device 1 of Example 1. FIG.

  The main flow path 11 </ b> A is provided in a meandering manner along the surface of the plate body 10. Examples of the main flow path 11A formed in a meandering shape include a so-called zigzag shape and a wave shape. In the example shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, a zigzag main channel 11 </ b> A is provided in the plate body 10. Thus, in the main flow path 11A formed in a meandering shape, the apex portion is repeatedly provided along the longitudinal direction.

  Here, when the plate main body 10 is in the nozzle downward posture, that is, the state in which the spotting nozzle portion 15 is in the downward posture, the peak on the mountain side is referred to as the peak 11d and the peak on the valley is referred to as the valley bottom 11e. Called. In the spotting device 1A according to the second embodiment, each capillary channel 12 is branched from the peak portion 11d in the main channel 11A. That is, the branch part 11c where each capillary flow path 12 branches from the main flow path 11A coincides with the peak part 11d of the main flow path 11A.

  According to the spotting device 1A configured as described above, after the sample is introduced into the capillary channel 12 in the state of the sample supply posture, the handler of the spotting device 1A tilts the plate body 10 to face the nozzle downwardly. In this case, the sample in the main channel 11A can be prevented from flowing into the capillary channel 12. That is, the sample not sucked into the capillary channel 12 when the plate body 10 is changed from the sample supply posture to the nozzle downward posture is a portion where the height of the channel is lowered after the change to the nozzle downward posture. That is, it is collected at the valley bottom portion 11e of the main channel 11A and its vicinity (see the arrow in FIG. 12).

  Therefore, according to the spotting device 1A, the amount of the sample held in the capillary channel 12 can be kept constant before and after the plate body 10 is changed from the sample supply posture to the nozzle downward posture. This makes it easy to control the size (volume) of the droplet formed on the droplet holding surface 15a of the spotting nozzle portion 15 when the plate body 10 is tilted to the nozzle downward posture. It is possible to improve the quantitativeness of the amount of spotting.

<Example 3>
Next, the spotting device 1B of Example 3 will be described. Here, description of the parts common to the second embodiment will be omitted, and different parts will be mainly described. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the spotting device 1B according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a top view of the spotting device 1B according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a circle in FIG. In FIG. 15, a part of the surface of the plate body 10 is cut away. The spotting device 1 </ b> B in the present embodiment has a main flow path 11 </ b> A formed in a meandering manner along the surface of the plate body 10, as in the second embodiment. In the spotting device 1B according to the third embodiment, only the connection mode between the main flow channel 11A and the capillary flow channel 12 is different from the second embodiment, and the other structures are the same as the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, in the spotting device 1 </ b> B, each capillary channel 12 is branched from the valley bottom part 11 e in the main channel 11 </ b> A. That is, the branch part 11c where each capillary channel 12 branches from the main channel 11A is aligned with the valley bottom part 11e of the main channel 11A. In this way, by adopting a structure in which each capillary channel 12 is branched from the valley bottom part 11e of the main channel 11A, when the handler of the spotting device 1B tilts the plate body 10 to the nozzle downward posture, The sample present in the main channel 11A is forced into the capillary channel 12. Note that the arrows shown in FIG. 15 schematically show the flow of the sample.

  According to the spotting device 1B according to the present embodiment, the sample can be additionally introduced into the capillary channel 12 when the plate main body 10 is changed from the sample supply posture to the nozzle downward posture. This makes it easy to secure the amount of sample supplied to the capillary channel 12, so that the amount of sample droplet formed in the spotting nozzle portion 15 when the plate body 10 is in the sample supply posture is sufficiently large. Can be secured. Therefore, for example, even when it is difficult to obtain a sufficiently large capillary force for the capillary channel 12 due to some factor, the connection structure of the main channel 11A and the capillary channel 12 according to the present embodiment is adopted. The amount of spotting on the spotted body can be sufficiently secured.

  The embodiments described above can be combined as appropriate. Various modifications may be made to the embodiments within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the capillary channel 12 is formed as a tubular channel, but may be a groove-shaped channel, for example. Even in the case of a groove-like channel, the sample flowing through the main channel 12 can be sucked by capillary force by adjusting the cross-sectional dimension thereof.

  In the present embodiment, the tip end portion 12a of the capillary channel 12 is a groove-like channel and the channel cross-sectional area is larger than that of the tip end portion 12a. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the capillary channel 12, the distal end portion 12a may be a tubular channel as in the general portion 12b, and the cross-sectional areas of both may be the same. In this case, when the sample is spotted on the spotted body, in addition to the droplets held on the droplet holding surface 15a of the spotting nozzle unit 15, the sample held in the capillary channel 12 It is possible to spot a spotted body. Thus, the specification of the capillary channel 12 can be variously changed according to various design conditions.

  In the embodiments described above, a test pad reagent pad is used as the spotted body, but the present invention is not limited to this. Moreover, the shape of the main body plate according to the spotting device can be changed as appropriate. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the bottom bottom thickness of the plate body 10 at the upstream end 11a is increased compared to the downstream end 11b of the main flow path 11, so that the bottom end of the main flow path 11 extends from the upstream end 11a to the downstream end 11b. However, instead of or in combination, the plate body 10 may be configured as follows. For example, in the plate body 10, the protrusion 4 may be provided on the back surface side of the portion corresponding to the upstream end 11a of the main flow path 11 (see FIG. 16).

  In FIG. 16, the sample supply recess 13 provided on the upper surface of the plate body 10 is not shown, but the sample is placed in the portion near the right end of the plate body 10 as in the first embodiment (for example, see FIG. 1). A supply recess 13 is formed. A downward slope from the upstream end 11a to the downstream end 11b is also formed on the bottom surface of the main flow path 11 by forming the protrusion 4 as shown in FIG. The sample introduced into the main flow channel 11 from the sample supply recess 13 can be smoothly flowed downstream along the main flow channel 11.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A, 1B ... Spotting device 2 ... Test paper 10 ... Plate main body 11, 11A ... Main flow path 11a ... Upstream end 11b ... Downstream end 11c ... Branch part 11d ... Peak portion 11e ... Valley bottom portion 12 ... Capillary channel 12a ... Tip portion 12b ... General portion 13 ... Sample supply recess 14 ... Excess sample collection recess 15 ... Spotting nozzle portion 15a ... droplet holding surface 21 ... base material 22 ... reagent pad

Claims (9)

The plate body,
A groove-shaped main channel formed on the surface of the plate body and having an open top;
A plurality of branch flow paths branched from the main flow path and extending along the planar direction of the plate body;
A spotting nozzle portion that communicates with the tip of each branch flow path and that is formed to protrude from the side surface of the plate body from which the branch flow path extends ;
The plurality of branch channels suck the sample supplied to the main channel with a capillary force in a state in which the plate main body is in a posture at the time of sample supply in which the main channel is substantially horizontal, and the plate body is When changing from a posture at the time of sample supply to a nozzle downward posture in which the spotting nozzle portion faces downward, the sucked sample is transferred to the tip side by gravity and the sample is pointed by the capillary force of the branch channel. It is configured so that the sample is spread on the surface of the spotted object when it is held as a droplet on the spotting nozzle part and the spotting nozzle part comes into contact with the surface of the spotted object on which the sample is spotted . A spotting device characterized by that. A sample supply recess connected to one end of the main channel is formed on the surface of the plate body,
The spotting device according to claim 1, wherein a sample supplied from the outside to the sample supply recess is introduced into the main channel.   The spotting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the branch channel has a general part excluding the tip part formed in a tubular shape, and the tip part is formed in a groove shape. .   4. The branching channel according to claim 1, wherein the tip has a larger channel cross-sectional area than the general part excluding the tip. 5. Spotting device. The main flow path is provided in a meandering manner along the surface of the plate body,
5. The branching channel according to claim 1, wherein the branch channel is branched from a portion that becomes a peak or valley of the main channel in a state in which the plate body is in a downward posture of the nozzle. The spotting device according to item 1.   3. The spotting device according to claim 2, wherein a descending slope is formed on the bottom surface of the main channel from one end side to the other end side connected to the sample supply recess in the main channel. .   7. The branching channel according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of a general portion excluding the tip portion is a hydrophilic surface, and an inner surface of the tip portion is a water repellent surface. The spotting device described in 1.   The spotting device according to claim 7, wherein a facet for holding the sample as droplets in the spotting nozzle part is a hydrophilic surface or a water repellent surface. A groove-shaped main passage formed on the surface of the plate body and having an open upper portion, a plurality of branch passages branched from the main passage and extending along the planar direction of the plate body, and A spotting method in which a sample is spotted on a plurality of spotted objects using a spotting device having a spotting nozzle part that communicates with the tip part and projects from the side surface of the plate body in which the branch channel extends. There,
A sample is supplied to the main flow channel in a state where the main flow channel is in a horizontal position where the main flow channel is substantially horizontal, and the sample supplied to the main flow channel is supplied to each branch flow channel by capillary force. And a sample suction process for sucking
The plate body is changed from the posture at the time of sample supply to a nozzle downward posture in which the spotting nozzle portion faces downward, and the sample sucked into the branch channel in the sample suction step is transferred to the tip portion side by gravity. look including the droplet holding step for holding the sample by capillary force of the branch flow path as a droplet on the spot application nozzle unit causes the,
A spotting method characterized in that when the spotting nozzle portion comes into contact with the surface of the spotted body, a sample is spread on the surface of the spotted body .

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