JPH0343587B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a method for cleaning a flow cell in an analyzer that performs a required analysis by suctioning a test liquid from a reaction container into a flow cell at a predetermined analysis position while sequentially and repeatedly transferring a plurality of reaction containers. It is about the method.

In an analyzer that uses reaction vessels repeatedly, when sample liquids contained in successive reaction vessels are sequentially aspirated into a flow cell for photometry, the flow cell is usually cleaned after the routine is completed and the flow cell is filled with a cleaning solution. It is preferable to leave it as is in terms of analysis accuracy in the next routine. However, in conventional analyzers of this type, only an empty reaction vessel is transported to the suction position to the flow cell after the routine is completed, so the suction tube to the flow cell is manually removed and transferred to the container containing the cleaning liquid. By inserting it into the flow cell and performing a suction operation to the flow cell,
The flow cell is cleaned to fill the flow cell with a cleaning liquid. Therefore, there was a problem that the operation was extremely complicated.

One possible solution to this problem is to connect a cleaning tank to the flow cell and clean the flow cell by suctioning the cleaning liquid through the flow cell and discharging it into the reaction container. There is a problem in that the required apparatus makes the apparatus large and complicated, and there is also a problem in that the reaction vessel is contaminated by the discharge of the cleaning liquid from the flow cell.

The present invention has been made in view of the various problems mentioned above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for cleaning a flow cell that can be easily operated, and furthermore, can be made compact and simple.

The present invention provides a method for cleaning a flow cell of an analyzer that performs a required analysis by suctioning a test liquid in a reaction container into a flow cell at a predetermined analysis position while sequentially and repeatedly transferring a plurality of reaction containers. A cleaning liquid is injected into the reaction vessels that pass in sequence to clean each reaction vessel, and at the same time, the cleaning liquid injected into the washed reaction vessels is sucked into the flow cell at the analysis position to clean the flow cell, and the normal routine is performed. After completion of the process, all reaction vessels and flow cells are filled with a cleaning liquid.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an example of the essential parts of an analyzer for carrying out the method of the present invention. In this example, N reaction vessels 2 are held at equal intervals on the same circumference of a turntable 1 that rotates intermittently in the direction of arrow A in a horizontal plane, and these are sequentially moved to step stop positions _D1 to _DN . Transport. A draining device 3 is provided at the step stop position _D1 , and by inserting a nozzle 3a that can be raised and lowered into the reaction container 2 and activating the suction pump 3b, the remaining liquid in the reaction container 2 is sucked and discharged. . Cleaning liquid injection device 4 is installed at step stop position _D2 .
is provided, and the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank 4a is passed through the pump 4b and the nozzle 4c to the reaction vessel 2.
Inject a certain amount into the body. The step stop position _D4 is provided with a drain device 5 similar to the drain device provided at the step stop position _D1 , and the nozzle 5a, which can be raised and lowered, is inserted into the reaction vessel 2 and the suction pump 5b is activated. , the cleaning liquid injected into the reaction container 2 at the step stop position _D2 is sucked and discharged. A reagent dispensing device 6 is provided at the step stop position _D5 , and the reagent corresponding to the analysis item contained in the reagent tank 6a is dispensed into the reaction vessel 2 through the syringe 6b and nozzle 6c. Step stop position
_D6 is provided with a sample dispensing device 7, which is housed in a sample cup 7a. A sample such as serum is dispensed into a reaction container 2 containing a reagent through a syringe 7b and a nozzle 7c, and a test liquid consisting of the sample and the reagent is reacted. A suction device 8 to the flow cell is provided at the step stop position D _N after a predetermined reaction time has elapsed, and a nozzle 8a that can be raised and lowered is connected to the reaction vessel 2.
By operating the pump 8b for a predetermined period of time, the test liquid in the reaction container 2 is sucked into the flow cell 8c and colorimetrically measured by a photometer (not shown).Then, the pump 8b is operated again and the sample liquid is drawn into the flow cell 8c. Drain the aspirated test liquid.

In this embodiment, during normal routine analysis, after a predetermined reagent according to the analysis item is dispensed into the empty reaction container 2 by the reagent dispensing device 6 at the step stop position _D5 , the reagent is dispensed at the step stop position _D6 . A sample is dispensed by the sample dispensing device 7 to prepare a test liquid, and this test liquid is sucked into the flow cell 8c by the suction device 8 at the step stop position D _N for colorimetric measurement. Then step stop position D ₁
At step stop position _D2 , the remaining test liquid is suctioned and discharged by the drainage device 3, and then a certain amount of cleaning fluid is injected by the cleaning fluid injection device 4 at step stop position D2.This cleaning fluid is then pumped by the drainage device 5 at step stop position _D4 . It is suctioned and discharged and transferred to the next step stop position _D6 .
Thereafter, by repeating the above-described sequential operations, the plurality of reaction vessels 2 are used repeatedly while being cleaned to perform the required analysis.

In the normal routine analysis completion step, the liquid draining device 5, reagent dispensing device 6, and sample dispensing device 7 are deactivated, and only the liquid draining device 3, washing liquid injection device 4, and suction device 8 are activated. That is, as shown in FIG. 2 for one reaction vessel 2, the remaining test liquid in the reaction vessel 2 is drained at the step stop position _D1 , and the empty reaction vessel ₂ is drained at the step stop position D2. A certain amount of cleaning liquid is injected into the flow cell 8c, and the cleaning liquid that has been injected into the flow cell 8c is sucked into the flow cell 8c after passing through step stop positions D ₃ to D _{N -1,} and then moved to the next stop position D _N+1 , that is, at the step stop position D N. After the remaining cleaning liquid is discharged at _D1 , the cleaning liquid is injected again at the next step stop position _DN+2 , that is, _D2 . In this way, by discharging the remaining liquid at the step stop position _D1 before injecting the cleaning liquid at the step stop position _D2 , the reaction vessel 2 can be cleaned without overflowing, and the reaction vessel 2 can be cleaned after the normal routine is completed. The container 2 can be filled with cleaning liquid. Further, by sucking the cleaning liquid injected into the reaction container 2 into the flow cell 8c, the flow cell 8c can be automatically cleaned, and the flow cell 8c can be filled with the cleaning liquid.

FIG. 3 shows the operation timing of the draining device 3, the washing liquid injection device 4, and the suction device 8 to the flow cell 8c shown in FIG. 1 during the normal routine analysis completion process. At the first stop of step movement at the start of the normal routine analysis completion process, only the liquid draining device 3 is operated to drain the remaining test liquid in the reaction container 2 that has passed through the suction device 8. N-1 from the 2nd time
When the step movement is stopped for the first time, the liquid draining device 3 and the cleaning liquid injection device 4 are operated. In the next Nth step, the reaction container 2 filled with the cleaning liquid is transferred to the step stop position, so in the Nth step, the draining device 3, the cleaning liquid injection device 4, and the suction device 8 are operated. Thereafter, the liquid draining device 3, cleaning liquid injection device 4, and suction device 8 are operated until the N+αth time to drain liquid, inject cleaning water, and perform suction operations to the flow cell 8c. In this way, the flow cell 8
By repeating the suction operation to c a number of times, the cleaning effect of the flow cell 8c can be enhanced. No. N
+α+ At the first time, the suction device 8 is deactivated to stop the suction of the cleaning liquid into the flow cell 8c, and the draining device 3 and the cleaning liquid injection device 4 are activated to stop the suction into the flow cell 8c and the reaction vessel 2 at the step stop position _D1 . The cleaning liquid remaining inside is discharged, and the cleaning liquid is injected into the empty reaction vessel 2 at the step stop position _D2 . Next, at the N+α+2nd rotation of one more step, only the cleaning liquid injector 4 is operated, and the cleaning liquid is injected into the reaction vessel 2, which has become empty at the N+α+1th rotation, and all operations are completed.

By doing this, all the reaction vessels 2 can be effectively cleaned without overflowing, the flow cell 8c can be automatically cleaned, and all the reaction vessels 2 can be cleaned automatically after the routine analysis is completed. 2 and flow cell 8c
It can be filled with cleaning liquid.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example, and can be modified or modified in many ways. For example, FIG. 1 shows a one-channel analyzer in which a plurality of N reaction vessels 2 are held on one circumference of a turntable 1, but as shown in FIG. There are N reaction vessels 1 on each circumference (four in the drawing) of
2 are arranged in the radial direction of a turntable 11 and are rotated intermittently to simultaneously analyze multiple items. The present invention can also be effectively applied to a multi-channel analyzer that analyzes multiple items simultaneously by intermittently moving N racks 14 holding reaction vessels 13 as shown by arrows. That is, in these cases,
A step stop position D ₁ next to the step stop position D _N , where the sample liquids in the plurality of reaction containers 12 and 13 are simultaneously sucked into the flow cell by the suction device.
A drainage device is installed to simultaneously suck and discharge the residual liquid in the plurality of reaction vessels 12 and 13, and a certain amount of washing liquid is simultaneously pumped into each of the plurality of reaction vessels 12 and 13 at the next step stop position _D2 . What is necessary is to provide a cleaning liquid injection device for injection. Also, Figures 1 and 4
In Figures and Figure 5, the step stop position D _N
It is also possible to use the suction function of the flow cell at this step stop position D _N to suction and discharge all the liquid in the reaction container, thereby removing the liquid draining device at the next step stop position D ₁ . It is also possible to operate the draining device at the same step stop position _D1 or _D2 to suck and discharge the remaining liquid, and then operate the cleaning liquid injection device to inject the cleaning liquid. Such a configuration is extremely suitable when a U-shaped reaction vessel is used. That is, when using a U-shaped reaction vessel, it is possible to detachably connect a liquid draining device to one opening to suction and discharge the remaining liquid, and inject the cleaning liquid from the other opening with a cleaning liquid injection device. can.

As described above, in the present invention, the cleaning liquid injected into the cleaned reaction container is sucked into the flow cell to clean the flow cell, so there is no need to provide a dedicated cleaning device for the flow cell, The flow cell can be automatically cleaned by the suction device, making the device compact and simple, and the flow cell can be filled with a cleaning solution after a routine analysis is completed. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the remaining liquid in the reaction container is sucked and discharged before injecting the cleaning liquid into the reaction container, so all the reaction containers can be effectively cleaned without overflowing. After completion of routine analysis, all reaction vessels can be filled with cleaning liquid. Furthermore, since the remaining liquid is sucked and discharged before injecting the cleaning liquid, the test liquid can be separated and treated, and waste liquid treatment can therefore be facilitated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an example of the essential parts of an analyzer for carrying out the method of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the operation, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are FIG. 7 is a diagram showing two other examples of essential parts of an analyzer capable of implementing the method of the present invention. 1...Turntable, 2...Reaction container, 3...
...Draining device, 4...Washing liquid injection device, 5...Draining device, 6...Reagent dispensing device, 7...Sample dispensing device, 8...Suction device, 8c...Flow cell, 11
...Turntable, 12,13...Reaction container,
14... Easy.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Perform the required analysis by suctioning the test liquid in the reaction containers into the flow cell at a predetermined analysis position while repeatedly transferring a plurality of reaction containers in sequence. When cleaning the flow cell of the analyzer, the method passes through the analysis positions in sequence. A cleaning liquid is injected into the reaction vessels to clean each reaction vessel, and the cleaning liquid injected into the cleaned reaction vessels is sucked into the flow cell at the analysis position to clean the flow cell. After the normal routine is finished, 1. A method for cleaning a flow cell in an analytical device, which comprises accommodating a cleaning liquid in all reaction vessels and flow cells.