ES2394277B1 - DEVICE FOR COLLECTION, STORAGE AND TRANSPORTATION OF BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples. # The device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples comprises a plurality of supports (8) for the placement of biological samples, and is characterized in that each of said supports (8 ) for the placement of the biological samples is previously trimmed and because said supports (8) for the placement of the biological samples are placed between an upper plate (5) provided with a plurality of holes (7) and a lower plate (4) , each of the holes (7) of the top plate (5) coinciding with the position of each one of said supports (8) for the placement of the biological samples. # It is not necessary to cut the supports for the biological samples , since these supports are individual, one for each sample, and being previously trimmed, can be removed comfortably.

Description

Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples

The present invention relates to a device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples, which allows to obtain the samples in a comfortable and simple way without having to perform any trimming action.

or similar.

Background of the invention

The use of absorbent matrix paper filter devices for the collection and transport of blood samples (referred to in English as "dried blood spots") is well known.

The usual collection process is to perform a puncture on one of the patient's fingers and with the drops of blood flowing from the puncture impregnate specifically absorbent areas of the device itself. The blood that has impregnated these areas is allowed to dry and then the device is sent to the analysis laboratory. In the laboratory the drops of dried blood are trimmed and the cuttings are placed in a test tube for elution and subsequent analysis.

The application of molecular microbiology techniques for the detection of microorganisms from dried blood samples and other biological fluids collected on filter paper has experienced a notable increase in recent years. However, a critical point of this application is to avoid false positive results caused by cross contamination in the process of trimming dry drops.

The processing of the dried drops in the molecular microbiology laboratory is very laborious in order to avoid such contamination. Dry drops should be trimmed or stamped using scissors or drills. After trimming or drilling each impregnated portion, a decontamination process of the trimmer used must be performed. Said decontamination includes flaming, washing with alcohol or bleach, rinsing and drying. These manual operations considerably increase the sample preparation time for analysis by molecular techniques.

Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples that avoids this laborious task of cutting or drilling performed in the laboratory, with the consequent cost savings.

Description of the invention

With the device for collecting, storing and transporting the invention, the aforementioned drawbacks are resolved, presenting other advantages that will be described below.

The device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples of the present invention comprises a plurality of supports for the placement of biological samples, and is characterized in that each of said supports for the placement of biological samples is previously trimmed and because said supports for placing the biological samples are placed between an upper plate provided with a plurality of holes and a lower plate, each of the holes in the upper plate coinciding with the position of each of said supports for placing the samples Biological

Thanks to this feature, it is not necessary to trim the supports for the biological samples, since these supports are individual, one for each sample, and being previously trimmed, can be comfortably removed from the rest of the device of the present invention.

Advantageously, said bottom plate also comprises a plurality of holes that also coincide with the position of each of said supports for the placement of the biological samples.

Also advantageously, said upper and lower plates are detachably joined together, for example, by means of an adhesive. In this way, the supports of the biological samples will be correctly subject during the collection, storage and transport of said samples, and when they wish to withdraw for analysis, they can be removed comfortably.

In addition, said adhesive advantageously completely surrounds an area provided for a single biological sample collection support, so that the biological sample on a support cannot pass into an adjacent support.

The device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples of the present invention also preferably comprises a front cover, which in its closed position is placed on said upper plate and in its drying position is placed folded outwards with respect to said lower plate, leaving a space between the front cover and the bottom plate.

In addition, the device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples also preferably comprises a back cover as a base.

In its deployed position, said rear cover is advantageously separated from said lower plate and said front cover by a first sector and a second sector, respectively.

With the device of the present invention, a correct drying of the biological samples collected in the supports is also achieved, which are kept in a horizontal position and, in addition, during transport the front and rear covers prevent contamination of said supports.

According to a preferred embodiment, said holes of the lower plate and / or of the upper plate are circular, and said biological sample collection supports have a drop-like shape, that is, an elongated shape rounded at a substantially coincident end with said holes and the other end is used as a handle to remove the biological sample collection supports from the rest of said device.

Brief description of the drawings

For a better understanding of how much has been exposed, some drawings are attached in which, schematically and only by way of non-limiting example, a practical case of realization is represented.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples of the present invention in its deployed position;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples of the present invention in their open position with the plates separated;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples of the present invention in their open position with the plates attached;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples of the present invention in their closed or transport position;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples of the present invention in their drying position; Y

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the biological sample collection, storage and transport device of the present invention in its closed or transport position.

Description of a preferred embodiment

The present invention relates to a device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples formed from a card or folding sheet for collecting biological samples, generally designated by reference numeral 1.

As can be seen in Figure 1, said sheet or card 1 comprises a back cover 2, a front cover 3, a lower plate 4 and an upper plate 5.

Said lower plates 4 and upper 5 are provided with bands of slightly adhesive material 6 to be able to stick together and comprise a plurality of holes 7 coinciding in position on both plates 4, 5.

Said bands of adhesive 6 completely surround an area provided for a single support for collecting biological samples.

Between said lower plates 4 and upper 5 are placed sample holders 8, which in the art are

known as "dried spots", coinciding with these holes 7.

Said supports 8 are trimmed prior to their placement between said plates 4, 5 and are individual, so that the biological sample they contain cannot contaminate the adjacent supports 8.

Said sheet or card 1 also comprises a first sector 9 that connects the bottom plate 4 with the back cover 2 and a second sector 10 that connects the front cover 3 with the back cover 2.

The sample holders 8 are preferably in the form of a drop, and are especially indicated to be able to adequately absorb the fluid to be collected in a round area, having an additional approximately triangular area free of sample that allows it to be removed from the rest of the device using tweezers and place them directly in the tube for elution.

The holes in the lower plates 4 and upper 5 are circular, and are also especially suitable for impregnating and drying the supports 8.

In an open configuration, shown in Figures 3 and 5, the first 9 and second sectors 10 are deployed and separate the lower plate 4 and the upper plate 5 with respect to the rear cover 2, facilitating horizontal drying of the supports 8 impregnated

Likewise, in order to be able to remove the impregnated supports 8 from the rest of the device, the lower plate 4 and the upper plate 5 are separated from each other with a slight pressure to overcome the slight adhesion given by the adhesive bonding material between the two, as can be appreciate in figure 2.

In a closed configuration, shown in Figures 4 and 6, the front cover 3 covers the lower plate 4, the upper plate 5 and the supports 8, and closes on the rear cover 2. The closure can be made by forming a tab in the front cover 3 and an opening in the first sector 9 so that said flange is inserted therein or by adhesive bands provided in both covers 2, 3.

The transport of the device of the present invention can be carried out with the card or sheet 1 in its folded position, as seen in Figures 4 and 6, so that it occupies a reduced space.

The biological samples can be deposited through the holes of the upper plate 5 in the supports 8, which, being individual, prevent said samples from passing from one support to the adjacent support, so that contamination is avoided.

Once the biological samples are deposited in the supports 8, it is necessary to achieve the complete drying of said supports 8 before their transport. For this, the device of the present invention is placed in the position shown in Figure 5 and which has been previously described.

In this drying position, the supports 8 are vented upper and lower thanks to the presence of the holes 7 in the upper plate 5 and in the lower plate 4. Furthermore, said lower plate 4 is separated from said rear cover 2 by way of base, so that proper ventilation is achieved to achieve drying as quickly as possible.

Once the supports 8 are dry, the device of the present invention is placed in the closed position, represented in Figures 4 and 6, in which the front cover 3 is placed on said upper plate 5, preventing contamination of said brackets 8.

Once the device of the present invention is received in a laboratory, laboratory personnel should simply remove the front cover 3 and then separate the upper plate 5 from the lower plate 4, which will be very simple due to the Low adhesion characteristics of adhesive bands 6.

Next, the laboratory personnel should only pick up the supports 8, for example with tweezers, to proceed with their analysis.

In conclusion, the present invention offers the advantage of providing a biological sample collection device that contains supports ready to be analyzed and that does not require laboratory trimming of these elements before processing the samples, therefore being especially indicated. to take, store and transport biological specimens for analysis by applying molecular microbiological techniques.

Although reference has been made to a specific embodiment of the invention, it is apparent to one skilled in the art that the described device is susceptible to numerous variations and modifications, and that all the mentioned details can be replaced by other technically equivalent ones, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples, comprising a plurality of supports (8) for the placement of biological samples, characterized in that each of said supports (8) for the placement of biological samples is previously trimmed and because said supports (8) for placing the biological samples are placed between an upper plate (5) provided with a plurality of holes (7) and a lower plate (4), each of the holes (7) coinciding with the upper plate (5) with the position of each one of said supports (8) for placing the biological samples, and because said upper plates (5) and lower (4) are linked together in a separable way.

2.

 Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples according to claim 1, wherein said lower plate (4) also comprises a plurality of holes (7) that also coincide with the position of each of said supports (8) for placement of biological samples.

3.

 Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples according to claim 1, wherein said upper (5) and lower (4) plates are detachably connected to each other by means of an adhesive (6).

Four.

 Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples according to any of the preceding claims, which also comprises a front cover (3), which in its closed position is placed on said upper plate (5) and in its drying position is folded towards exterior with respect to said lower plate (4).

5.

 Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples according to any of the preceding claims, which also comprises a back cover (2) as a base.

6.

 Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples according to claims 1 and 5, wherein, in its deployed position, said rear cover (2) is separated from said lower plate (4) and said front cover (3) by a first sector (9) and a second sector (10), respectively.

7.

 Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said holes (7) of the lower plate (4) and / or of the upper plate (5) are circular.

8.

 Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples according to claim 1, wherein said supports for collecting biological samples have an elongated shape rounded at one end substantially coinciding with said holes (7) and the other end being used as a handle to remove the supports (8) for collecting biological samples from the rest of said device.

9.

 Device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples according to claim 3, wherein said adhesive (6) completely surrounds an area provided for a single support (8) for collecting biological samples.

SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201231707 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 08.11.2012 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: G01N1 / 02 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 Documents cited Claims Affected

Y

US 6152493 A (DRAPER BRAD E) 11/28/2000, description; Figures 1 -3. 1-10

Y

WO 9802249 A1 (CUNNINGHAM ROBERT WILLIAM) 01/22/1998, description; Figures 1-8. 1-10

TO

US 6474694 B1 (EMMERT DAVID R ET AL.) 11/05/2002, description; Figures 1-9. 1-10

TO

WO 9719754 A1 (BOEHRINGER MANNHEIM GMBH ET AL.) 06/05/1997, description; 1-10

Figures 1 -2B.

TO

JP 2010124806 A (OJI PAPER CO ET AL.) 06/10/2010, Summary of the WPI database. 1-10

Recovered from EPOQUE; Figures 1-3; AN 2010-G45622

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 19.12.2012

Examiner J. C. Moreno Rodriguez Page 1/4

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 201231707 Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) G01N Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC, WPI State of the Art Report Page 2/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201231707 Date of Written Opinion: 19.12.2012 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 1-10 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-10 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201231707  1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

US 6152493 A (DRAPER BRAD E) 28.11.2000

D02

WO 9802249 A1 (CUNNINGHAM ROBERT WILLIAM) 01/22/1998

D03

US 6474694 B1 (EMMERT DAVID R et al.) 05.11.2002

D04

WO 9719754 A1 (BOEHRINGER MANNHEIM GMBH et al.) 05.06.1997

D05

JP 2010124806 A (OJI PAPER CO et al.) 06.10.2010

 2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement The object of the invention is a device for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples comprising a plurality of supports for placing the previously cut biological samples that are placed between an upper plate provided with a plurality of holes and a lower plate. , each of the holes in the upper plate coinciding with the position of each of said supports for the placement of the biological samples. Document D01 discloses a device (20) for collecting, storing and transporting biological samples comprising a support (58) for placing the biological samples, which is placed between an upper plate (22) provided with a plurality of holes ( 56) and a bottom plate (60), each of the holes (56) of the top plate coinciding with the position of each of the samples deposited on said support (58) for the placement of the biological samples. The bottom plate (60) also comprises a plurality of holes (64) that also coincide with the position of each of the samples deposited in the support (58). The upper plate (22) and lower plate (60) are detachably connected to each other by means of an adhesive applied to the periphery (62) of the lower plate (60). The holes in both the lower plate (64) and the holes in the upper plate (56) are circular (description and figures 1-3). The difference between the object of the invention set forth in claim 1 and the device disclosed in document D01 is that in the first one the supports for the collection of samples are individual, while in the case of D01 in a holder different deposits are deposited. samples. The technical effect associated with this difference is that in the case of individual supports, the risk of contamination of the biological sample is minimized due to the proximity of other different biological samples. However, this difference, as well as the technical effect associated with it, are found in document D02. This document discloses a device for the analysis of samples in massive scans and this device uses individual supports for sampling (3). These supports have a circular portion (15) and an elongated channel (16) associated therewith (description and figures 1-8). Claims 5-7 refer to the conformation of an outer envelope for the protection of the sample. Said conformation is one of many disseminated in the state of the art that have the same technical purpose, such as that used in document D01 itself or in document D04. That is why these claims are devoid of inventive activity. For a person skilled in the art, the combination of said documents D01 and D02 would be evident, resulting in view of said combination, as well as the previous comment, that claims 1-10 lack inventive activity. Documents D03, D04 and D05 are examples of the relevant prior art. State of the Art Report Page 4/4