EP0917863B1 - Tube with a stop composed of two parts - Google Patents

Abstract

The pipette (1), to store small volumes of substances, has a two-part plug (2) as the closure. The pipette has a micro-pore and hydrophobic membrane (3) and a perforated insert (4) with a coaxial opening (5).

Description

The present invention relates to a straw for the preservation of small quantities of biological substances, in particular of biological fluids.

This type of glitter, known as "French glitter", was disclosed for the first time in French Patent N ° 995,878.

The flakes used so far included a tripartite cap consisting of two pads of a fibrous substance enclosing a powder capable transform on contact with a liquid into an impermeable paste or gel adhering to the wall of the tube by creating a tight stopper.

The tripartite cap flakes developed and marketed by the Plaintiff give all satisfaction. However, some absorption of liquid contained in the glitter could be noted, although very weak.

There are also small tripartite caps, but this solution also does not solve the problem of absorption.

One solution that has been proposed to overcome the above problem has been to replace the tripartite plug with a ball of rigid plastic or metal. This solution has not proved satisfactory because, if the absorption of liquid contained in the straw has been reduced to zero, new unacceptable difficulties are appeared, the plug no longer being liquid tight.

An object of the invention is to provide a straw comprising a means shutter which, while being liquid tight and gas permeable, does not absorb no amount of liquid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a glitter allowing absorption of liquid through the closure means in a reduced time.

The present invention meets these objects and provides a glitter for the storage of small quantities of substances biological, consisting of a segment of tube fitted inside one of its ends of a sealing means, characterized in that said sealing means is a bipartite stopper consisting of a microporous and hydrophobic membrane and a insert pierced with a substantially coaxial orifice.

The insert is usually made of a material chosen from the materials elastomers, thermoplastic materials and elastomeric materials thermoplastics.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the insert has a shape substantially cylindrical exterior.

According to a provision of the present invention, the insert is tubular, its orifice substantially coaxial which may for example be substantially cylindrical, conical or biconical.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the membrane surrounds the insert over part or all of its length.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the membrane is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the insert.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the insert is bipartite.

The insert can also be overmolded, glued or welded to the membrane.

To facilitate its introduction into the glitter, the insert can be rounded at its ends.

The insert will advantageously include a sealing segment on its wall external.

The microporous membrane used in the present invention will have preferably a pore diameter of between approximately 0.001 and 10 μm, better still, the pore diameter of the membrane will be less than or equal to 0.2 µm.

The membrane is for example made of polymer material, for example, a material chosen from high density polyethylene (PE-HD), polyamides, nitrocellulose, polyesters, phenol-formaldehyde resins (PF resins), perfluoroalkoxy resins (PFA) and fluorocarbon resins.

The polymeric material of the membrane will advantageously have a bubble point P greater than 6.10 ⁵ Pa (6 bars) for 0.2 μm.

The plug of the straw of the present invention is non-absorbent vis-à-vis liquids. It allows only gases, especially air, to pass through and is liquids up to its intrusion pressure.

The other end of the glitter, that is to say the one without the cap according to the invention, remains normally open for the introduction of the product to store, which is usually a liquid.

To protect the loaded product from contamination, the open end is closed, for example by welding, in particular ultrasonic or thermal, or any other suitable technique known to those skilled in the art.

Besides the fact that it does not cause any absorption of the liquid contained in the glitter, the cap of the invention has many advantages: it is non-toxic, sterilizable, it can be frozen or reheated without damage.

The cap of the invention is liquid tight. It neither absorbs the diluent nor sperm.

An advantage of the glitter cap according to the present invention is that it can quickly fill the straw.

The plug of the invention is also particularly advantageous because it allows only part of the liquid contained in the straw to be withdrawn while keeping the latter for later use. This was not possible with the tripartite plug of the prior art.

Another advantage of the invention is that this non-absorbent plug allows good adhesion to the parts of the glitter, thus preventing backwash well known when using the tripartite plug.

Another advantage of the invention is that the plug, by its porosity, ensures of course a filtration which makes it possible to work in a more or less sterile mode.

Another advantage of the invention is that it is also possible, with the same flake, reabsorb product.

Another advantage of the bipartite plug of the present invention is still ability to mark the glitter by coloring the insert. We thus obtain a "code color "without having to resort to colored glitter.

• la Figure 1 est une vue en coupe longitudinale d'une paillette selon l'invention;
• les Figures 2 à 6 sont des vues en coupe longitudinale illustrant des variantes de paillettes selon l'invention;
• les Figures 7 à 9 illustrent, dans des vues en coupe longitudinale, les trois étapes d'une fabrication d'une paillette munie d'un bouchon bipartite selon l'invention.

The present invention will be illustrated in more detail with reference to the appended Figures 1 to 9 in which:

• Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a straw according to the invention;
• Figures 2 to 6 are views in longitudinal section illustrating variants of flakes according to the invention;
• Figures 7 to 9 illustrate, in longitudinal sectional views, the three stages of manufacturing a straw with a bipartite plug according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a straw 1 according to an embodiment of the invention fitted with the bipartite plug 2 consisting of the microporous and hydrophobic membrane 3 and an insert 4 pierced with a cylindrical orifice 5.

Figure 2 shows the glitter of Figure 1 in which the insert 4 has on its outer wall a sealing segment 6.

Figure 3 illustrates the embodiment of the invention according to which the orifice coaxial 5 is conical.

Figure 4 illustrates the embodiment of the invention according to which the orifice coaxial 5 is biconical.

FIG. 5 illustrates the embodiment of the invention according to which the insert 4 is bipartite.

Figure 6 illustrates the embodiment of the invention according to which the insert 4 is molded onto the membrane 3.

Figure 6bis illustrates the embodiment of the invention according to which the insert 4 is welded or glued to the membrane 3.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the membrane surrounds insert 4 over its entire length.

In the embodiments illustrated in Figures 2 to 4, the membrane 3 surrounds the insert 4 over part of its length.

In the embodiments illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the membrane 3 is positioned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the insert 4.

Figure 7 shows the straw 1 '"naked", the membrane 3 and the insert 4 according to the invention, separate.

Figure 8 shows the insert 4 on which the membrane 3 was threaded and the straw 1 ', before the introduction, in the direction of arrow F, of the insert 4 with the membrane 3 in the straw 1 '.

Figure 9 shows the straw 1 comprising the bipartite plug according to the present invention.

Those skilled in the art will understand that although the invention has been described and illustrated for particular embodiments, many variants can be envisaged while remaining within the framework of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (22)

1. A straw (1) for the conservation of small quantities of biological substances, comprising a segment of tube fitted internally at one end with closure means characterised in that said closure means is a two-part plug (2) comprising a microporous and hydrophobic membrane (3) and an insert (4) through which there is a substantially coaxial orifice (5).
2. The straw claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the insert is made from a material selected from elastomer materials, thermoplastics materials and thermoplastics elastomer materials.
3. The straw claimed in one of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the insert has a substantially cylindrical external shape.
4. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the insert is tubular.
5. The straw claimed in claim 4 characterised in that the substantially coaxial orifice of said insert is substantially cylindrical.
6. The straw claimed in claim 4 characterised in that the substantially coaxial orifice of said insert is substantially conical.
7. The straw claimed in claim 4 characterised in that the substantially coaxial orifice of said insert is substantially biconical.
8. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 characterised in that the membrane surrounds the insert.
9. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 characterised in that the membrane is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the insert.
10. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 characterised in that the insert is a two-part insert.
11. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 characterised in that the insert is molded onto the membrane.
12. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 characterised in that the insert is welded or glued to the membrane.
13. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the insert comprises rounded ends.
14. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterised in that the insert comprises a sealing segment on its external wall.
15. The straw claimed in claim 8, characterised in that the membrane surrounds the insert over part of its length.
16. The straw claimed in claim 8, characterised in that the membrane surrounds the insert over all of its length.
17. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16 characterised in that the microporous membrane has a pore diameter in the range approximately 0.001 µm to approximately 10 µm.
18. The straw claimed in claim 17, characterised in that the pore diameter of the membrane is less than or equal to 0.2 µm.
19. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, characterised in that the membrane is made of a polymer material.
20. The straw claimed in claim 19, characterised in that the polymer material is selected from high-density polyethylene (PE-HD), polyamides, nitrocellulose, polyesters, phenol-formol resins (PF resins), perfluoroalkoxy resins (PFA resins) and fluorocarbon resins.
21. The straw claimed in claim 20, characterised in that the polymer material has a bubble point P greater than 6.10⁵ Pa (6 bars) for 0.2 µm.
22. The straw claimed in any one of claims 1 to 21, characterised in that the material of the insert is colored.

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