JPH0652247B2 - Electrolyte concentration measuring device - Google Patents

Description

Description: (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring apparatus, and in particular, for analyzing specimens of blood, plasma, serum, urine, other body fluids, secretory fluids and the like. The present invention relates to a flow-through type electrolyte measuring device. The present invention also relates to improvement of the suction part of the flow-through type potentiometric cell of the flow-through type electrolyte analyzer.

(B) Conventional Technology Electrolytes in body fluids such as blood are distributed inside and outside cells and serve as a medium for metabolic activity of cells. For example, water metabolism,
It contributes to regulation of acid-base balance, regulation of osmotic pressure, formation of skeleton, transmission of nerve stimulation and activation of enzymes, etc., and its composition is similar to that of other components due to the action of homeostasis. , Is kept constant within a narrow range. For example, looking at the normal values of these electrolytes in serum, sodium is 135-147 mEq /, potassium is 3.3-4.8 mEq /
, Chlorine 98 to 108 mEq / and its range are extremely small.

However, fluctuations in the concentration of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and chlorine in body fluids from the normal values occur due to various diseases. Although it cannot be used as a clue for diagnosis, fluctuations in the concentration of these electrolytes in body fluids, that is, electrolyte malfunctions, have a significant effect on life phenomena. Is important as a treatment guideline. In particular, during dehydration, shock, postoperative recovery or artificial dialysis treatment, etc.
Since appropriate treatment such as infusion must be performed, the measurement of these electrolyte concentrations has, for example, a coefficient of variation (CV) of 1
The accuracy must be within%, and it must be done quickly.

As such an electrolyte concentration measuring device, there is an electrolyte concentration measuring device equipped with a flow-through type potential difference measuring cell. This analyzer can also directly measure whole blood, is non-destructive, avoids hemolysis phenomenon, and can be used for anaerobic measurement, for example, calcium concentration measurement. Since the response to the electrolyte concentration is instantaneous, it is also suitable for emergency tests.

A potential difference measuring cell of this flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device is provided with a channel through which a sample, for example, a sample passes, and the ion selective membrane portion of the ion electrode is exposed in this channel, respectively. , For example, a sodium ion electrode,
Ion electrodes such as a potassium ion electrode, a chlorine ion electrode, and a calcium ion electrode are provided, and a reference electrode chamber including a reference electrode is provided.

Various types of ion electrodes have been provided and put into practical use, but generally, those mainly used are, for example, a glass membrane electrode for a sodium ion electrode and a valinomycin liquid membrane for a potassium ion electrode. An electrode or a crown ether liquid membrane electrode, a chlorine electrode is a silver-silver chloride solid membrane electrode, and a calcium electrode is a liquid membrane electrode using organic calcium phosphate as an ion exchanger.

With such a flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device, the electrolyte concentration in a sample, for example, a sample is measured by measuring the sample with an ion electrode of a potentiometric cell, for example, a chlorine ion electrode, a potassium ion electrode, a sodium ion electrode, a calcium ion electrode. And the like, and the internal liquid of the reference electrode is sent to the reference electrode chamber, and the potential difference is measured for each electrode.

However, it is difficult to keep the sensitivity of the ion electrode constant over a long period of time because the sensitivity of the ion electrode changes due to changes in ambient temperature and vibration. Further, in a flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device, whole blood, plasma or serum may be used for the measurement without dilution, and in this case, the lipid or protein in the sample adheres to the ion electrode surface. It is easy to cause a decrease in sensitivity.

Therefore, in the flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device, the sample and the standard solution are alternately measured in order to stably measure the electrolyte concentration.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention As described above, in the flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device, the sample, for example, the sample and the standard solution are alternately provided with the flow-through type potential difference provided with the ion electrode and the reference electrode chamber. In order to send the sample to the measurement cell for measurement, it is necessary to alternately suck the sample and the standard solution with a suction nozzle, for example, a sample probe or a sampling nozzle.

Therefore, in the conventional flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device, as a suction switching mechanism for alternately sucking the sample and the standard solution, for example, a septum whose internal hollow portion communicates with the standard solution supply source, It is arranged above the sampling position. In this case, the sampling nozzle is inserted into the hollow part of the septum, and by the vertical movement operation of the sampling nozzle, the hollow part and the sample container are reciprocally moved in the vertical direction to separate the sample and the standard solution. Aspirate alternately.

However, such a suction switching mechanism has poor durability in terms of material and mechanism and is not suitable for long-term use.For example, in the case of a septum made of silicone rubber,
Approximately 1,000 samples have been aspirated and replaced with a new septum. Such replacement of the suction switching mechanism causes a problem in that the sample processing is delayed because the operation of the electrolyte concentration measuring device is interrupted.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems due to the durability of the conventional suction switching mechanism.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a suction switching mechanism capable of performing accurate and stable alternate suction of a sample and a plurality of types of standard solutions by a sampling nozzle for a long time. It is provided.

That is, the present invention relates to a flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device having a flow-through type potential difference measuring cell provided with a fluid flow path, an ion electrode in contact with the fluid flow path, and a reference electrode chamber communicating with the fluid flow path. The suction nozzle communicating with the system potential difference measuring cell is movably supported between a chemical liquid suction position and a sample suction position at mutually different positions in the horizontal direction, and has a chemical liquid discharge port on the upper part and a lower part, Flow-through type electrolyte concentration measurement characterized in that a chemical solution container having a chemical solution supply port connected to a plurality of types of standard solution supply source and a cleaning solution supply source via a flow path switching valve is provided at a chemical solution suction position. On the device.

In the present invention, the suction nozzle performs horizontal movement and vertical movement to suck each liquid at each liquid suction position. To move the suction nozzle in this manner, , Air cylinders and other mechanical motion mechanisms can be used. Therefore, in the present invention, the chemical liquid suction position and the sample suction position of the suction nozzle are provided at mutually different positions in the horizontal direction. In order that the liquid medicine can be uniformly sucked by the vertical movement of the suction nozzle, the liquid medicine is constantly overflowed in the liquid medicine container so that the liquid level becomes constant.
A drug solution outlet such as a pipe line and an overflow weir is provided, and a drug solution supply port is provided below. The chemical solution supply port is connected to a plurality of types of standard solution supply source and a cleaning solution supply source, and can continuously supply a plurality of types of standard solution or cleaning solution, that is, a chemical solution, while the electrolyte concentration measuring device is operating. In this case, the drug solution container may be tubular, bottomed tubular, or any other suitable shape, and may be of any suitable size, but in order to keep the liquid level of the drug solution constant, Since the amount of chemical liquid supplied from the suction nozzle is larger than the suction amount of the suction nozzle, it is necessary to reduce the loss of the chemical liquid due to overflow as much as possible. For example, the chemical liquid supply amount is more than twice the suction amount of the suction nozzle. This is preferable from the viewpoint of facilitating the operation of the suction nozzle.

The chemical solution supply port is connected to a plurality of types of standard solution supply source and a cleaning solution supply source via a flow path switching valve, and by switching the flow paths of the flow path switching valve, a plurality of types of standard solution and cleaning solution From the inside, the desired standard solution or cleaning solution can be introduced into the chemical solution container. In this way, by introducing a new drug solution, the drug solution previously contained in the drug solution container is expelled,
The drug solution in the drug solution container can be updated with a new drug solution. In this way, through the flow path switching valve, when the chemical solution supply port of the chemical solution container is connected to a plurality of chemical solution supply sources, a standard solution supply source and a cleaning solution supply source used for the measurement operation of the electrolyte concentration measuring device are provided. Since the connection can be made, the standard solution or the cleaning solution can be easily selected and sent to the potentiometric cell by the flow path switching of the flow path switching valve. The standard solution is not limited to a plurality of kinds of standard solutions having a constant concentration, and a plurality of standard solutions having different concentrations can be used.
In this way, one can be used as the low concentration calibration liquid and the other as the high concentration calibration liquid, and the slope of the calibration can be set. In any case, the operation of the flow path switching valve controls the supply of the chemical liquid so that the chemical liquid can be supplied to the chemical liquid container at a predetermined time interval in order to avoid waste of the chemical liquid due to overflow. preferable. Such control is performed by, for example, controlling the opening / closing of a chemical solution supply on-off valve from the chemical solution supply source by a sequence program, a time switch, or the like, or introducing air for chemical solution delivery in the chemical solution supply source. This can be done by controlling the opening and closing of the valve.

It is preferable to automatically and sequentially feed the sample container to the sample suction position because all steps can be automated. As such a sample container feeding mechanism, for example, a sample container feeding mechanism in an automatic analyzer such as an intermittent feeding mechanism can be applied. Of course, the suction nozzle may be moved in the order of arrangement of the containers.

As the moving device between the sample suction position and the chemical liquid suction position of the suction nozzle, the suction moving mechanism found in the suction nozzle in the automatic analyzer, for example, the sampling nozzle can be applied. As such a mechanism, for example, a vertically movable suction nozzle support portion is movably provided along a guide installed in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, or a support shaft capable of rotating the suction nozzle support portion. Can be done by mounting on.

(E) Action The present invention provides a chemical liquid container having a chemical liquid discharge port in the upper portion and a chemical liquid supply port in the lower portion that is connected to a plurality of types of standard liquid supply sources and cleaning liquid supply sources via a flow path switching valve. Since it is provided at the chemical liquid suction position of the suction nozzle, the chemical liquid introduced into the chemical liquid container, that is, the liquid levels of a plurality of types of standard liquids and cleaning liquids can always be kept constant. During suction, the communicating suction nozzle is moved from the sample suction position to the chemical solution suction position, and when the suction position is reached, the sample suction and the chemical solution suction can be performed by a predetermined suction operation. In particular, when aspirating a chemical such as a standard solution, the level of the medicinal solution is always kept constant at least at the time of aspiration, so that a constant amount of the medicinal solution is not affected by the fluctuation of the liquid level of the medicinal solution. Suction can be performed.

Further, when cleaning the potentiometric measuring cell, since the cleaning liquid can be maintained at a constant liquid level in the chemical liquid container by switching the flow path switching valve that communicates with the chemical liquid supply port, the cleaning of the potentiometric measuring cell, It can be performed by a constant suction operation of the suction nozzle.

Therefore, for example, when selecting a standard solution according to the sample such as a standard solution for blood, a standard solution for urine, etc. This can be easily performed by the switching operation of the flow path switching valve that communicates with the supply port.

Moreover, in the present invention, since the movement of the suction nozzle and the suction operation are completed by mechanical operation, the nozzle supporting member and the moving member communicating with the potential difference measuring cell should be made of a wear-resistant and rigid material. Therefore, the sampling portion of the flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device is abrasion resistant and can withstand long-term use.

(F) Example One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the description and the examples.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the outline of the main part of an embodiment of the flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device of the present invention.

Flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device 1 in this example
In the potentiometric measuring cell 2, the chloride ion electrode 3,
A potassium ion electrode 4 and a sodium ion electrode 5 are provided in contact with the flow path, and a reference electrode chamber 6 is located on the discharge side. A suction nozzle 7 communicates with the suction side of the potential difference measuring cell 2, and the suction nozzle is movable between a sample suction position 8 and a chemical liquid suction position 9 and is connected to a nozzle support device (not shown). It is supported. Sample containers 10 are intermittently transferred to the sample suction position 8 and stopped for a certain period of time. At the chemical solution suction position 9,
A chemical solution container 11 is provided. The chemical liquid container 11 has an overflow channel 12 connected to an upper part thereof and a chemical liquid supply channel 13 connected to a lower part thereof. When the upper overflow channel 12 is formed by providing an overflow weir, an overflow liquid channel (not shown) is formed outside the weir. The chemical liquid supply path 13 is connected to the three-way flow path switching valve 14. The three-way flow passage switching valve 14 has stator-side flow passages 15, 16, and 17.
Is connected to the chemical liquid supply passage 13, and the flow passage 16 is connected to two standard liquid containers 18 (the other one is not shown) via an appropriate flow passage switching valve (not shown). ,
The flow path 17 is connected to the cleaning liquid container 16. To switch the flow paths, the rotor 20 is rotated to move the rotor-side flow paths 21, 2
2 and 23 are appropriately connected to any two flow paths of the stator side flow paths 15, 16 and 17. In this example, a three-way flow path switching valve is used as the flow path switching valve, but a four-way flow path switching valve should be used to connect the cleaning solution container, the low-concentration standard solution container, and the high-concentration standard solution container. You can The container 18 for the standard liquid 24 and the container 19 for the cleaning liquid 25 are connected to the standard liquid supply air introduction flow passage 26 and the cleaning liquid supply air introduction flow passage 27, respectively.

On the other hand, in the comparison electrode chamber 6, the comparison electrode internal liquid supply passage 28 is provided with a three-way passage, for example, a T-shaped passage 29.
Solenoid valves 30 and 31 are connected to the two paths, and a cylinder pump 32 is connected to the other path. Solenoid valve 31
A reference electromagnetic internal liquid container 33 is connected to the reference electrode internal liquid 3 and a fixed amount of the reference electrode internal liquid 3 is generated by the operation of the cylinder pump 32.
4 is sent into the reference electrode chamber 26 from the reference electrode internal liquid supply passage 28. A drainage path 35 is connected to the discharge side of the reference electrode chamber. The drainage passage 35 is provided with a three-way passage, for example, a T-shaped passage 36, two passages of which are connected to the solenoid valves 37 and 38, and the other passage is connected to the cylinder pump 39.
The cylinder pump 39 has a capacity capable of sucking and discharging the total amount of the discharge amount of the cylinder pump 32 and the sample suction amount. Therefore, the drain pump cylinder pump 39 and the reference electrode internal liquid cylinder pump 32 are The two racks that sandwich the pinion are connected to a timing belt or the like so that when the suction operation is performed, the other operation is performed so that the other operation is performed.
No. 3).

Since the present example is configured in this way, the sample container 10
Are intermittently fed in the direction of arrow 41 by a suitable intermittent feeding device (not shown) through the transfer path 40 and sequentially stop at the sample suction position 8, but when stopped, suction is performed by the suction nozzle 7. To be done. This suction operation is performed by the solenoid valve 3
8, the solenoid valve 37 is opened, and the piston 42 of the pump 39 is closed.
Is moved to the suction side. At this time, in the reference electrode internal liquid supply passage 28, the solenoid valve 31 is closed, the solenoid valve 30 is opened, and the piston 43 of the cylinder pump 32 is opened.
Is moved to the discharge side, and the reference electrode internal liquid 34 sucked into the cylinder 32 is fed into the reference electrode chamber 6. The respective potentials of the sodium ion electrode, the potassium ion electrode and the chlorine ion electrode are compared with the potential of the reference electrode to quantify the sample, for example, sodium, potassium and chlorine as electrolyte components in the sample.

When performing calibration with the standard solution, the suction nozzle 7 is moved to the chemical solution suction position 9. During this movement, the drain side cylinder pump 39 closes the solenoid valve 37 and opens the solenoid valve 38 for discharge operation, and the cylinder electrode 32 on the inside liquid side of the comparison electrode closes the solenoid valve 30 and closes the solenoid valve 31. Is opened, the piston 43 is moved to the suction side, and the reference electrode internal liquid 34 is sucked into the cylinder 32. Suction nozzle 7 is 7 '
When you reach the position of, stop the movement of the suction nozzle,
The piston 42 of the drain side cylinder pump 39 is moved to the suction side to suck the standard liquid 24 from the suction nozzle 7. During this suction, the cylinder pump 32 on the internal liquid side of the reference electrode moves the internal liquid 34 on the reference electrode into the reference electrode chamber 6 by moving the piston 43 to the discharge side.

During the suction of the standard solution 24 by the suction nozzle 7, the liquid level of the standard solution is always kept at the overflow level, so that the standard solution can be sucked without any trouble.

In this way, for the standard solution, the potentials of the sodium ion electrode, the potassium ion electrode, and the chloride ion electrode are compared with the potential of the reference electrode, and the potential difference is calculated for each, and the standard solution is measured for sodium, potassium, and chlorine. . The measured value of the standard solution is compared with the known value of the standard solution to calibrate the measured value of the sample. When the measurement of the standard solution is completed, the suction nozzle 7 is moved to the sample suction position 8 to suction the sample from the next sample container 10 for measurement.

In cleaning the potential difference measuring cell 2, the suction nozzle 7 is moved to the position 7 ′ and the three-way flow path is rotated by 180 ° to send the cleaning liquid 25 to the chemical liquid container 11 and the chemical liquid container 1
1 is filled with the cleaning liquid 25. The cleaning liquid 25 is the solenoid valve 3
8 is closed and the electromagnetic valve 37 is opened, the piston 42 of the drainage side cylinder pump 39 sucks it, and it is sucked and circulated to the potential difference measuring cell to wash the inside of the cell. At this time, the operation of the cylinder pump on the liquid side of the reference electrode is stopped. Even in this case, since the cleaning liquid 25 is constantly filled up to the overflow level in the chemical liquid container 11, the potentiometric cell 2 can be cleaned without any trouble.

(G) Effect of the Invention The present invention has a chemical solution discharge port in the upper part and a chemical solution supply reduction in the lower part via a flow path switching valve, that is, a chemical solution connected to a plurality of types of standard solution supply sources and cleaning solution supply sources. By providing a chemical solution container having a supply port at the chemical solution suction position of the suction nozzle,
The liquid medicine can be sucked by a constant suction operation. Moreover, by doing so, it becomes possible to fill the chemical solution container with the chemical solution in a short time, and it is possible to suction the chemical solution without any inconvenience even if it is downsized.
This makes it possible to perform a sampling method by moving the suction nozzle in the horizontal direction, which requires a complicated process and is difficult. Moreover, by doing so, the suction portion, that is, the sampling portion of the electrolyte concentration measuring device can be formed of a material having wear resistance and rigidity, and the flow can be changed by replacing the septum as in the conventional device. This enables continuous long-term measurement without stopping the through-type electrolyte concentration measuring device.

Further, in the present invention, by providing a flow path switching valve at the chemical liquid supply port of the chemical liquid container, it becomes possible to perform switching of a plurality of types of standard liquids and cleaning liquids by the switching operation of the flow path switching valve. By comparison, automation is simplified and
The work process becomes simple. Furthermore, for example, high-concentration calibration solution,
Use of two kinds of standard solutions such as low-concentration calibration solution will be performed by a simple operation of switching the flow path switching valve,
Highly accurate electrolyte concentration measurement becomes easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the outline of the main part of an embodiment of the flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device, 2 is a potentiometric measuring cell, 3 is a chlorine ion electrode, 4 is a potassium ion electrode, 5 is a sodium ion electrode, 6 is a reference electrode chamber, and 7 is suction. Nozzle, 8 is a sample suction position, 9 is a chemical solution suction position, 10 is a sample container, 11 is a chemical solution container, 12 is an overflow channel, 13 is a chemical solution supply channel, 14 is a three-way channel switching valve, and 18 is a standard solution. Container, 19 is a cleaning liquid container, 2
Reference numeral 0 is a rotor, 32 and 39 are cylinder pumps, 33 is a reference electrode internal liquid, and 30, 31, 37 and 38 are solenoid valves.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Norihiro Sato 1 Nishinokyo Kuwabara-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture Sanjo Factory Sanjo Factory (56) References JP 59-2338 (JP, B1) JP Showa 56-29769 (JP, B1) Showa 56-16526 (JP, Y1)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring apparatus having a flow-through type potential difference measuring cell comprising a fluid flow path, an ion electrode in contact with the fluid flow path, and a reference electrode chamber communicating with the fluid flow path. A suction nozzle that communicates with the potentiometric cell is movably supported between a chemical suction position and a sample suction position that are horizontally different from each other, and has a chemical discharge port at the top and a flow at the bottom. A flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device characterized in that a chemical solution container having a chemical solution supply port connected to a plurality of types of standard solution supply source and a cleaning solution supply source via a path switching valve is provided at a chemical solution suction position. . 2. The flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the plural kinds of standard liquid supply sources are plural standard liquid supply sources having different concentrations. 3. The flow-through type electrolyte concentration measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the sample suction position is provided on the intermittently driven transfer path.