JP6759156B2 - Isolator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an isolator that handles pathogens and the like in an isolated space.

Isolators are used when dealing with cells and microorganisms in research on pathogens and in regenerative medicine. The isolator allows the operator to work from outside the work room through the work gloves. For example, in regenerative medicine, the patient tissue to be handled may be infected with an infectious disease, and the work room before changing the patient tissue to be handled so that the pathogen of the infectious disease does not infect the patient tissue to be handled next. Needs to be cleaned and disinfected to be sterile. In the research, pathogens are dealt with in the isolator work room. The pathogens and the like refer to viruses, bacteria, fungi and the like, but each has unique properties, and the pathogens and the like may affect other pathogens and the like. When changing the types of pathogens handled in the same isolator, it is necessary to clean, disinfect and sterilize the work room and gloves used for work. Sterilization is performed by supplying sterilizing gas to the work room or gloves.

In the isolator, clean air is supplied to the work room from above and exhausted from below to prevent dust from entering. Patent Document 1 states, "In an isolator in which a plurality of gloves that allow an operator to manipulate cells in the work chamber from the outside are provided in a substantially horizontal row in the work chamber, the work chamber is at least a cell operation area. , Distinguished from the auxiliary work area for opening auxiliary equipment, gas is supplied from above to below to the operation area, and the gas flowing downward is directed from the operation area side to the auxiliary work area side near the glove. The airflow control means is provided, and the airflow control means is provided on the work plate of each area to provide an exhaust hole portion for exhausting gas, and the total opening area of the exhaust hole portion on the auxiliary work area side is set to the exhaust hole portion on the operation area side. It was formed larger than the total opening area of (see summary). "

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-177091

The isolator of Patent Document 1 glove the gas flowing from above to below in the operation area of cells in order to prevent dust generated during auxiliary work from being mixed into cells and the like and affecting the culture work. It flows toward the auxiliary work area side in the vicinity of, and exhausts from the lower surface of each area.

However, stagnation of airflow such as the back of the front door is not taken into consideration.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate stagnation of airflow on the back surface of the front door and efficiently remove dust and sterilizing gas.

To give an example of the "isolator" of the present invention for solving the above problems,
An isolator having a work room having a side wall, a back wall, and a bottom surface and a front door provided in front of the work room, and clean air is supplied to the work room. The front door is used for work. A glove port for attaching a glove is provided, and a front slit connected to a negative pressure path is provided only below the glove port on the bottom surface of the work room, behind the front door.

Further, to give another example of the "isolator" of the present invention,
An isolator having a work room having a side wall, a back wall, and a bottom surface and a front door provided in front of the work room, and clean air is supplied to the work room. The front door is used for work. A front slit connected to a negative pressure path, which is provided with a glove port for attaching a glove, is provided on the bottom surface of the work room, behind the front door, and is provided only below the glove port, and on the front side of the side wall. and a rear side of the front door, provided at a position below the glove port, and the side front slit leading to the negative pressure path, provided in the lower portion of the front Symbol sidewall, a side slit leading to the negative pressure path, said It is provided with a back slit provided at the lower part of the back wall of the work room and connected to a negative pressure path.

According to the present invention, stagnation of airflow such as the back surface of the front door can be eliminated, and dust and sterilizing gas can be efficiently removed.

Issues, configurations and effects other than those described above will be clarified from the description of the following embodiments.

It is a front view which shows an example of an isolator device. It is a right side view of the isolator device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the flow of the air flow at the time of work of the isolator device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the flow of the air flow at the time of sterilization of the isolator device of FIG. It is an overall perspective view of an isolator device. It is an enlarged perspective view near the work room of an isolator device. It is a figure which shows the structure near the front slit of the isolator of Example 1. FIG. It is a side view which shows the structure near the front slit of the isolator of Example 2. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure near the front slit of the isolator of Example 2. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure near the side front slit of the isolator of Example 3. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure near the side front slit of the isolator of Example 3. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure near the side slit of the isolator of Example 4. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure near the side slit of the isolator of Example 4. FIG.

Prior to the description of the examples, the isolator device to which the present invention is applied will be described. 1 and 2 are a front view and a side view showing an example of an isolator device, respectively. Further, FIG. 3 is a front view showing the flow of airflow during work, and FIG. 4 is a front view showing the flow of airflow during sterilization.

Regarding the isolator main room 10, a working room 12 for handling a sample of a pathogen or the like is provided in the case (housing). An airtight damper 14 for air supply is provided on the upper part of the case, and air is taken in from the outside of the isolator. A fan 16 is provided in the upper part of the work chamber 12, and a HEPA filter 18 and a punching plate 20 are provided on the downstream side thereof, and clean rectified air is supplied to the work chamber 12. A slit is provided in the lower part of the work chamber 12, and the air discharged from the slit returns to the upstream side of the fan 16 through ducts provided on the side surface and the back surface of the work chamber, and the air circulates. A part of the air is discharged to the outside from the exhaust airtight damper 22 provided on the upper surface of the case. A front door 23 made of glass or resin is attached to the front side of the work room 12, and an opening is opened in the front door 23 to attach a plurality of work gloves (left side, center, right side in the figure). Globe port 24 is provided. Then, a glove 25 for the operator to handle the sample is attached to the glove port 24 in the work room (FIG. 2).

A pass box 40 is attached to the side surface of the work room 12 via a connecting portion 48. The pass box 40 is provided with a circulation fan 42 and a HEPA filter 44 at the upper part and a punching plate 46 at the lower part so that air circulates during the operation of the pass box. A pass box side opening / closing door 26 is provided on the pass box side of the work room 12, and samples and the like are carried in and out through the pass box 40.

The isolator device includes a sterilization gas generator 50 used at the time of sterilization, and supplies sterilization gas such as hydrogen peroxide gas to the isolator main room 10 from the condition (going) path 54. The sterilizing gas returns from the pass box 40 to the sterilizing gas generator 50 through the condition (return) path 52. The isolator main room 10 is provided with an aeration path 56 on the back side for removing the sterilizing gas after the sterilization process is completed (FIG. 2). Although not shown in FIG. 2, a catalyst unit for adsorbing a sterilizing gas is provided in the aeration path 56.

With reference to FIG. 3, the flow of air during normal work in which a sample is processed in a work room will be described. Air is taken in from the outside of the isolator by the airtight damper 14 for air supply. Air is sent to the pressurizing chamber by the fan 16, and clean and aligned air is sent into the work room 12 by the HEPA filter 18 and the punching plate 20 on the downstream side. The air in the work chamber is discharged from the slit provided in the lower part of the work chamber, returns to the upstream side of the fan 16 through the ducts provided on the side surface and the back surface of the work chamber, and circulates. A part of the air is discharged to the outside from the exhaust airtight damper 22. By supplying clean and aligned air to the work room 12 in this way, it is possible to prevent contamination of the sample during work.

When changing the patient tissue to be handled, or when changing the type of pathogen to be handled, it is necessary to sterilize the gloves used in the work room or work. The flow of the sterilizing gas during sterilization will be described with reference to FIG. At the time of sterilization, the airtight damper 14 for air supply and the airtight damper 22 for exhaust air are closed to block the air flow from the outside of the isolator. For example, hydrogen peroxide gas generated by the sterilization gas generator 50 is supplied to the flow path of the isolator main room. The sterilizing gas is sent into the pressurizing chamber by the fan 16 and is sent into the working room 12 through the HEPA filter 18 and the punching plate 20. At the time of sterilization, the opening / closing door 26 on the pass box side is opened, and the sterilizing gas in the work room is sent to the pass box 40. The sterilizing gas returns to the sterilizing gas generator 50 through the pass box 40. By circulating the sterilizing gas to the isolator including the working room in this way, the isolator including the working room and the working glove can be sterilized.

The sterilization step is performed as follows.
(1) Dehumidification process Humidity is reduced by dry air. By lowering the humidity, the required concentration of sterile gas (eg, hydrogen peroxide solution gas) is kept below the saturation level during subsequent conditioning and decontamination steps. The return air is dried and heated through a drying cartridge.
(2) Condition process While the sterilizing agent is injected into the air flow, the dry air continues to circulate until just before the sterilizing gas leaves the equipment. The condition step is a step for quickly reaching the target sterilization concentration.
(3) Decontamination process Maintain the concentration of sterilized gas in the isolator with a sterilizer for a specific time, and sterilize the work room and work gloves.
(4) Aeration step Stop the injection of the sterilizing agent and connect the aeration path including the catalyst unit that adsorbs the sterilizing gas. Then, dry air is circulated for a certain period of time to reduce the concentration of sterilized gas in the isolator and the connecting hose.

Airflow may stagnate under the work gloves on the back of the front door, causing dust to accumulate and insufficient removal of sterilizing gas during the aeration process.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention for solving this problem will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure for demonstrating an embodiment, the same constituent elements are given the same name and reference numeral as much as possible, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of the isolator, and FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the working room. Further, FIG. 7 shows a partially enlarged perspective view of the isolator of the first embodiment near the front surface of the work room.

In FIG. 6, the work room 12 includes a bottom surface 27, a side wall 28, a back wall 29, and a front door 23 that seals the front surface of the work room. A glove port 24 is attached to the front door 23, and a work glove (not shown) is attached to the front door 23.

A front slit 32 connected to a negative pressure path is provided near the back surface of the front door 23 on the bottom surface side of the work room. A side slit 36 is provided in the lower part of the side wall 28, a side front slit 34 is provided below the front part of the side wall 28, and a back slit 38 is provided in the lower part of the back wall 29. It is configured to suck in the airflow sent as a laminar flow. The side slit 36 and the side front slit 34 will be described in detail in later examples. The back slit 38 of the back wall 29 is conventionally provided and is connected to a negative pressure path on the back side of the back wall 29 to exhaust air from the work room.

As shown in the enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the front surface of the work chamber 12 of FIG. 7, a front slit 32 connected to a negative pressure path is provided near the back surface of the front door 23 on the bottom surface side of the work chamber. In the figure, the front slit 32 is provided only below the glove port 24. Although the front slit 32 is shown by a plurality of holes arranged in a row in the figure, it may be a plurality of rows of holes, or a vertically long slit, as long as it sucks air in the work room. ..

According to this embodiment, as shown by the arrow in the figure, the airflow on the back side of the front door 23 goes around the side surface of the glove port 24 and the work glove, and enters the front slit 32 provided below the glove port 24. Since it is sucked in, the air flow spreads to the lower part of the glove, and it is possible to efficiently remove dust and sterilized gas during the aeration process.

FIG. 8A shows the structure of the isolator of Example 2 near the work glove. Further, FIG. 8B shows the flow of the air flow near the front slit of the isolator of the second embodiment.

The work glove 25 attached to the glove port 24 is made of thin rubber, for example, chloroprene rubber having a thickness of 0.4 mm. When the worker pulls out his / her hand from the glove, the work glove 25 hangs down and the work room 12 There is a risk of blocking the front slit 32 formed in front of the bottom surface.

In this embodiment, the metal fitting 31 forming the front slit 32, which is the bottom surface of the work room and is arranged near the back surface of the front door 23, is arranged with an inclination so that the front door side is lowered. As shown by the arrow in FIG. 8B, the airflow in the work room is sucked in from the front slit 32 formed in the metal fitting 31 and exhausted from the negative pressure path.

According to this embodiment, by providing the metal fitting 31 forming the front slit 32 with an inclination so that the front door side is lowered, the work glove 25 does not block the front slit 32 and circulates in the work room. It is possible to secure the air flow.

FIG. 9A shows an enlarged view of the isolator of Example 3 near the front surface of the side wall, and FIG. 9B shows an enlarged view of the isolator of Example 3 near the front surface of the side wall as viewed from above.

A side front slit 34 connected to a negative pressure path is provided in the lower part of the front surface of the side wall 28. The side front slit 34 is arranged below the position of the glove port 24 that holds the glove. The air in the work chamber 12 flows toward the side front slit 34 in the front corner of the work chamber, as indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 9A and 9B.

According to this embodiment, by arranging the side front slit 34 on the front surface of the side wall 28 and below the position of the glove port 24, the corner portion of the work room is maintained while maintaining the laminar flow of the work room. It is possible to eliminate the stagnation of the air flow and efficiently remove dust and sterilizing gas during the aeration process.

FIG. 10A shows a perspective view of the side wall of the isolator of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 10B shows an enlarged perspective view of the side wall as seen from above.

In the isolator work room 12, the airflow sent from above is attracted to the wall surface of the side wall 28 by the Coanda effect, and is sent downward with the flow velocity increased. As shown in FIG. 10A, a slit 36 connected to a negative pressure path along the side wall is provided in the lower part of the side wall 28, and the airflow reaching the lower part of the work room is sucked in by sucking the air flow flowing downward along the wall surface. Prevents you from falling into.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10B, a gap 37 connected to the negative pressure path is provided between the side wall side end portion of the work pan 35 arranged at the bottom of the work chamber 12 and the wall surface of the side wall 28, and is downward along the wall surface. By sucking in the airflow that flows into the work room, it is possible to prevent the air flow that has reached the lower part of the work room from flowing into the work room. As a result, it is possible to prevent the airflow flowing along the wall surface of the side wall from flowing into the work room after reaching the lower part of the work room, and it is possible to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples, and includes various modifications. The above-described embodiment has been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to the one including all the described configurations. Further, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add / delete / replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, all or part of the configurations of Examples 1 to 4 may be provided.

10 Isolator Main room 12 Work room 14 Airtight damper for air supply 16 Fan 18 HEPA filter 20 Punching plate 22 Airtight damper for exhaust 23 Front door 24 Glove port 25 Glove 26 Pass box side opening / closing door 27 Bottom of work room 28 Side wall of work room 29 Back wall of work room 31 Inclined metal fittings 32 Front slit 34 Side front slit 35 Work pan 36 Side slit 37 Gap 38 Back slit 40 Pass box 42 Circulation fan 44 HEPA filter 46 Punching plate 48 Connecting part 50 Sterilization gas generator 52 Condition (Return) Route 54 Condition (Go) Route 56 Aeration Route

Claims (5)

An isolator having a work room having a side wall, a back wall, and a bottom surface, and a front door provided in front of the work room, and supplying clean air to the work room.
The front door is equipped with a glove port for attaching work gloves.
A front slit connected to a negative pressure path is provided on the bottom surface of the work room, behind the front door, and below the glove port.
The front slit is an isolator characterized in that it is formed in a metal fitting that is inclined so that the front door side is lowered. In the isolator according to claim 1 , further
An isolator characterized in that a side front slit connected to a negative pressure path is provided on the front side of the side wall and on the back side of the front door at a position below the glove port. In the isolator according to claim 1 , further
An isolator characterized in that a side slit connected to a negative pressure path is provided in the lower portion of the side wall. In the isolator according to claim 3 ,
An isolator characterized in that a gap is provided between the side wall side end portion of the work pan arranged on the bottom surface of the work chamber and the wall surface of the side wall, and a slit is provided in the side wall below the gap. In the isolator according to claim 1 , further
An isolator characterized in that a back slit connected to a negative pressure path is provided in the lower part of the back wall of the work room.

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