JPH11304666A - Specimen handling tool and method of using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the simultaneous and simple operations of determination, isolation, transferring, holding, and mixing of a large number of trace amounts of liquid samples or microorganism samples by arranging micro hydrophilic regions on a plane and a hydrophobic region around it and using the hydrophilicity of samples to the hydrophilic regions. SOLUTION: A matrix of hydrophilic regions 2 is provided on a plane, and a hydrophobic region 3 is provided around them. A liquid 4 on a handling tool 1 for liquid samples is repelled on the hydrophobia region 3 and is stably held only on the hydrophilic regions 2. The size of the hydrophilic region 2 is normally 1 mm or less in diameter. Its shape may be circular, rectangular or in other shapes. The number of the hydrophilic regions 2 per handling tool for liquid samples is not especially limited. However, it is preferably 96 pieces or more for multi-sample processing, and it is preferably a multiple of 4 in the case of DNA samples. The base material of the tool 1 is not especially limited. However, a heat resisting material such as heat resisting plastic, glass, silicon, metal is suitable for the purpose of performing a reaction using heat resisting enzymes at temperatures close to 100 deg.C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microfluidic and microbial sample handling tool mainly used for molecular biological operations in gene analysis, genetic testing and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In gene analysis and genetic testing using molecular biology techniques, it is necessary to perform various sample preparation operations such as nucleic acid purification and enzyme reaction. When preparing these samples, it is often necessary to handle a small amount of the sample due to the limitation of the amount of the sample, and it is often necessary to handle the liquid sample on a minute scale in units of microliters. Further, in recent years, in genome analysis of various organisms and large-scale screening for drug discovery, there is an increasing need to handle a larger number of samples. in this way,
The need to handle large numbers of small samples is increasing.

The liquid sample handling required for such a sample preparation operation includes liquid quantification, transport, holding, mixing, storage, and the like. Various liquid sample handling tools suitable for each purpose are commercially available. . As a liquid sample handling tool for the purpose of quantifying and transporting a liquid, a micropipettor is widely used. In this method, a disposable tube, often made of plastic, called a chip is attached to the tip of an air cylinder, and the operation of quantifying and transporting a sample is performed by sucking and discharging a liquid sample. For the purpose of holding, mixing, and preserving liquids, plastic sample tubes and multi-hole plates are widely used. Further, especially for the operation at the time of purification, a column-shaped container equipped with a filter has become widespread. The above-mentioned micropipettors, sample tubes, and multi-well plates are commercially available in various capacities depending on the application.

[0004] On the other hand, in a molecular biological sample preparation operation, it is necessary to handle a microorganism sample in addition to a liquid sample. Since it is difficult to handle individual microorganisms one by one by visual observation or the like, a suspension of microorganisms is often handled as a liquid sample. For isolation of a microorganism individual, a suspension of the microorganism is diluted and cultured on an agar medium for several hours to several weeks to form a visible colony of bacterial cells on the medium. Operation such as subculture.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Conventional liquid quantification,
Since a micropipetter for transport uses a tubular tip, it has a volume of less than a microliter unit, especially less than 100 nanoliters, due to the adhesion of liquid to the inner and outer walls of the chip and the surface tension of the liquid. Handling liquid samples was not easy.

When the number of samples is large, it is necessary to use a large number of micropipettors at the same time or to repeatedly use a small number of micropipettors.
Since many chips are mounted and operated at the same time, there are problems such as complicated mechanisms and generation of many wastes.In the latter case, the time required for repeated use increases and the time between samples increases. There was a pollution problem.

[0007] Further, the conventional micropipettor cannot hold the liquid when the chip is removed from the air cylinder, and thus is not suitable for an operation requiring the holding of the liquid, for example, an operation such as preservation. It had to be transferred to a container. As described above, there is no liquid sample handling tool suitable for simultaneously quantifying, transporting, and holding a large number of trace liquid samples at the same time.

Further, when the sample is a microorganism, it is not easy to handle the individuals one by one visually, and it is necessary to colonize the microorganism by a culturing operation in order to isolate the individual microorganism. It was impossible to operate these operations with a normal liquid sample handling tool. Also, when handling cells, there are problems similar to microorganisms.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has devised a sample handling tool suitable for simultaneously quantifying, transporting, and holding a large number of trace liquid samples or microorganism samples. It is. As means for solving the problem, a minute hydrophilic region is arranged on a surface and a hydrophobic region is arranged around the minute hydrophilic region, and the sample is handled using the affinity of the sample to the hydrophilic region.

That is, the liquid sample stably forms water droplets on the hydrophilic region, but cannot stably form water droplets on the hydrophobic region. Therefore, the liquid sample can be arranged according to the pattern of the hydrophilic region. is there. The volume of the liquid sample to be handled can be changed depending on the size, shape, and number of the hydrophilic regions. The sample captured on the hydrophilic region is held by the surface tension, and the influence of the inclination of the sample handling tool is small, so that the transport, the reaction, the mixing operation using a plurality of sample handling tools, and the like can be easily performed.

For a microorganism sample, the above-mentioned hydrophilic region is formed into a size and shape according to the size and shape of the microorganism, whereby each individual microorganism can be captured as a hydrophilic region. . In particular, when a substance that specifically binds to the target microorganism, such as an antibody that specifically binds to the surface of a specific bacterium, is immobilized in the hydrophilic region, only the target microorganism can be captured in the hydrophilic region. It is. By setting the interval between the hydrophilic regions to be an interval that can be individually accessed by microorganisms by a manual technique or mechanical means,
An operation such as enzymatic reaction after isolation or subculture can be easily performed. By arranging the hydrophilic region in a linear, spiral, or concentric shape, the device mechanism for operation can be simplified.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Liquid sample handling tool 1 of the present embodiment
As shown in FIG. 1A, a matrix of hydrophilic regions 2 and a hydrophobic region 3 around the matrix are provided on a plane. The liquid 4 on the liquid sample handling tool 1 is repelled on the hydrophobic region 3 and is stably held only in the hydrophilic region 2 as shown in FIGS. Representative examples of the method of adding a sample to the hydrophilic region include a method by dropping a sample solution,
Examples of the method include immersion in a sample solution and lifting.

In addition, as a method of adding a sample to the hydrophilic region, a method of spraying a liquid and then applying ultrasonic vibration to move the liquid to the hydrophilic region, a column such as liquid chromatography or capillary electrophoresis, etc. And the like can be used. When used in combination with electrophoresis, the sample may be electrically moved by imparting the function of an electrode by a method such as gold plating on the hydrophilic region. The size of the hydrophilic region 2 is desirably such that the sample is not easily flown and held even when the liquid sample handling tool 1 is tilted, and usually has a diameter of 1 mm or less.

The shape of the hydrophilic region 2 is circular in this embodiment, but may be other shapes such as a square. The number of hydrophilic regions 2 per one liquid sample handling tool is as follows:
Although not particularly limited, it is desirable that the number be 96 or more for processing multiple samples, and it is desirable that the number be a multiple of 4 when handling DNA samples. Although the material of the substrate of the liquid sample handling tool 1 is not particularly limited, heat-resistant plastics such as polypropylene and polycarbonate,
A heat-resistant material such as glass, silicon, or a metal is suitable for the purpose of performing an enzymatic reaction, particularly a reaction at a temperature close to 100 ° C. using a heat-resistant enzyme. When the material of the base material is hydrophobic, the surface is roughened or oxidized,
A hydrophilic region is formed by disposing a hydrophilic material such as a hydrophilic resin.

As an example, a hydrophilic SiO ₂ thin film is formed on a hydrophobic silicon substrate by oxidation, and a portion of the SiO ₂ thin film other than the hydrophilic region is dissolved and removed with hydrofluoric acid. And create a hydrophobic region. When the material of the base material is hydrophilic, a hydrophobic region is formed by disposing a hydrophobic material such as a fluorine-based resin or a silicon-based resin. The distance between the hydrophilic regions existing in the hydrophobic region is arbitrary, but may be any distance as long as the liquid samples on the hydrophilic region do not contact each other. Usually, the size is preferably equal to or larger than the size of the hydrophilic region. Further, the distance between the hydrophilic regions may be changed according to the necessity of an operation such as mixing of a sample, and the intervals between the hydrophilic regions are not necessarily required to be equal.

Mixing of the sample on the hydrophilic region is possible by simple contact by bringing the liquid sample handling tool close as shown in FIG. That is, the liquids 4 on the liquid sample handling tool 1 come into contact with each other and become a mixed liquid 5. For the stirring operation, in addition to the above-described methods, methods such as mixing using a stirring rod and vibration by ultrasonic waves can be used. When the distance between the hydrophilic regions is shortened, the liquid samples on the adjacent hydrophilic regions are likely to come into contact with each other. It is possible to control. When performing an enzymatic reaction or the like, the liquid sample handling tool is used in contact with a heat source such as a heat block for temperature control.

When performing an operation such as a reaction for a long time that may be affected by evaporation, the entire liquid sample handling tool is placed in a humidity-controlled atmosphere in order to suppress evaporation. The liquid sample handling tool of the present embodiment can easily and simultaneously handle a large number of liquid samples having a volume determined by the size of the hydrophilic region and the surface tension of the liquid sample. Further, it is possible to perform an operation such as a reaction on the liquid sample handling tool.

Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The present embodiment is a handling tool for isolating a microorganism sample. The basic configuration of the microorganism sample handling tool 6 is the same as that of the liquid sample handling tool 1 except that the hydrophilic region 7 is provided in the hydrophobic region 8. The size of the hydrophilic region 7 is equal to or smaller than the size of the target microorganism, and is usually about 0.1 to 1 micron. The shape is circular,
The shape may be oval, square, linear, etc., and is selected according to the shape of the microorganism.

The hydrophilic region 7 may be coated in advance so that the microorganism to be isolated is easily adsorbed. In particular, the hydrophilic region 7 is immobilized with a substance such as an antibody that specifically binds to the microorganism to be isolated. It is desirable to keep. The interval between the hydrophilic regions 7 may be any interval that can be individually accessed by a manual technique or mechanical means in order to perform an operation for collecting bacteria, and is usually preferably several millimeters or more. The surface of the hydrophobic region 8 needs to be particularly smooth so that microorganisms are not physically caught in the unevenness, and the height of the unevenness needs to be sufficiently smaller than the size of the hydrophilic region 7.

FIG. 3 (b) is a perspective view schematically shown for explanation, and the relative size of each part is different from the actual one. The microorganism 9 adheres to the hydrophilic region 7 by bringing the microorganism sample handling tool 6 into contact with the diluted suspension of the microorganism by operations such as immersion and lifting. Thereby, the microorganism 9 can be isolated. As a method for collecting the isolated microorganisms, a method of adding a small amount of liquid to the microorganisms 9 and collecting the microorganisms together with the liquid can be used.

As another method for collecting the isolated microorganisms, a method of stamping and transferring the microorganism sample handling tool 6 with the microorganisms 9 captured on an agar medium can be used. When the handling tool for a microorganism sample of the present embodiment is used, the microorganism can be easily isolated in a short time. Therefore, the culturing operation for cloning and the time required for culturing are not required. Cell samples can be handled in the same manner as microbial samples.

Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the hydrophilic regions are arranged on a plane as in FIG. 1, but the hydrophilic regions 10 and 12 are made of a hydrophilic porous material. Glass filters, glass beads, hydrophilic polymer filters, hydrophilic polymer beads, ceramics, or the like can be used as the hydrophilic porous material. Hydrophobic regions 11, 13
Is preferably a plastic such as polypropylene or polystyrene. The hydrophilic region is formed on the surface like the hydrophilic region 10 in FIG.
It is configured to penetrate to the back surface like the hydrophilic region 12.

In this embodiment, it is possible to increase the effective surface area of the hydrophilic region. As a result, a large amount of sample can be stably held, and evaporation can be suppressed by infiltration of the liquid into the porous material. Further, operations such as purification utilizing properties specific to porous materials are possible. For example, when a silica glass filter is used as a porous material, a purification operation can be performed by utilizing the property of nucleic acids adsorbing to silica under a high salt concentration. Furthermore, when the hydrophilic region 12 is configured to penetrate to the back surface as shown in FIG. 4B, operations such as addition and removal of the sample liquid can be easily performed by suction or pressurization.

In the above embodiments, the arrangement of the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region in the form of a matrix is not limited to this. For example, they may be linearly arranged one-dimensionally,
Alternatively, the hydrophilic region 15 and the hydrophobic region 16 may be spirally arranged on the circular disk 14 as shown in FIG.
Similarly, they may be arranged concentrically. The arrangement of the hydrophilic region and the hydrophobic region is not limited to a plane.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a hydrophilic region 18 and a hydrophobic region 19 may be arranged on the surface of a stick-like solid 17. In this case, the sample can be handled by moving the stick up and down. These arrangements are particularly suitable for operation by automated equipment.

Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, an example in which a sample is used for sample injection in capillary electrophoresis will be described. The sample is a DNA fragment (125 bases, 237 bases,
432 base length PCR product). A hydrophobic region 79 and a hydrophilic region 76 are provided on the substrate 75, and a sample aqueous solution is held on the surface of the hydrophilic region as in samples 77 and 78, respectively. Substrate 75 has a conductive surface. Specifically, a gold thin film is formed on the glass surface by vapor deposition, and has conduction with the hydrophilic region 76, but each hydrophilic region is electrically insulated by the hydrophobic region 79.

The hydrophilic region 76 has a diameter of 200 micrometers and the amount of the sample liquid added thereto is as small as 100 nanoliters or less. The capillary 71 is a polyacrylamide gel (concentration: 4%, degree of crosslinking: 5%, 7M urea)
Was used, but other materials can be used as needed depending on the target sample and the measurement time. In general, the filler may be a polyacrylamide gel, a polymer such as uncrosslinked polyacrylamide, a derivative of cellulose, or a material simply filled with a buffer.

The capillary 71 has an outer wall formed of a hydrophobic region 72.
When approaching the substrate holding the sample solution, the sample solutions 77 and 78 are connected only to the respective capillary ends, and the capillary filling and the base are electrically connected via the sample solution. At this time, if the substrate 75 is kept at a positive potential, the DNA in each sample solution is introduced into the capillary. The capillary length is 25 cm. The end opposite to the injection side is irradiated with a 594 nm laser,
The separated DNA fragments were detected by monitoring the fluorescence between nm and 540 nm. The sample solutions 77 and 78 contain a mixture of 125 bases and 432 bases, respectively, and a mixture of 237 bases and 432 bases, respectively.

FIG. 8 shows the result of analyzing a sample by capillary electrophoresis using this device. 81 is a 125-mer PC, 82 is a 237-mer PC, 83 is a 432-mer PC
From the R product, it can be seen that a sample 77 can detect an electrophoretic separation band of 125 bases and 432 bases in length, and a sample 78 can detect an electrophoretic separation band of 237 bases and 432 bases in length. Peak 84 is derived from the fluorescent labeled primer present in excess.

An analysis method using a capillary is originally several tens.
Although a sample requires only a very small amount of nanoliter, a method for handling such a very small amount of solution has not been established in the past. This device has the advantage that a sample of 100 nanoliters or less can be added to the capillary.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, a device for fractionating DNA separated by capillary electrophoresis, micro liquid chromatography, or the like and an application example thereof will be described. Specifically, DNA from gel-filled capillary electrophoresis was used as in Example 4.
An example of fractionation is shown.

The gel-filled capillary is a capillary 91
Is covered with a hydrophobic region 92. The filler 93 is a polyacrylamide gel (concentration: 4%, degree of crosslinking: 5%, not including urea). The preparative device 95 is a hydrophobic substrate 96
And the hydrophilic regions 97 are arranged in an array. Further, the electrode 101 in which the electrode 101 in FIG. 10B is disposed is formed by depositing platinum, and is disposed at a position different from the axis of the capillary 91. This aims at preventing the bubbles caused by the electrolysis from blocking the capillary end face and preventing the eluted DNA from being modified by the electrode reaction.

The surface of the array-like hydrophilic region 97 is previously filled with an electrophoresis buffer (an electrophoresis buffer of pH 8.3 generally called a TBE buffer) 98. In this device, a silicon wafer is used for the substrate 96, the hydrophobic region is formed of a Teflon thin film (not shown), and the hydrophilic region 97 is subjected to silane coupling treatment after plasma etching the surface, and a hydroxyl group is fixed on the surface. Further, agarose baked at 120 ° C. was used. The electrode portion is also subjected to the same hydrophilic treatment. 10
Reference numeral 2 denotes a wiring for an electrode, which is subjected to a hydrophobic surface treatment.

As shown in FIG. 9B, when the end face of the capillary 91 is brought into contact with the buffer solution 98, the electrode and the capillary packed gel are connected, an electric field is applied, and a specific DNA separation band elutes. After a certain period of time as shown in FIG. 9C, the process of moving the capillary to the region next to the hydrophilic array portion as indicated by an arrow 99 is repeated, so that the DNA bands separated by capillary electrophoresis are sequentially arranged in the hydrophilic array region. Can be sorted.

Generally, when DNA is separated using a capillary having an inner diameter of 50 to 200 micrometers, each DNA separation band is as small as several tens to 100 nl. In the fractionation using the present device, the area of the hydrophilic region can be reduced to 1 square millimeter or less.

Although the capacity of the buffer 98 depends on the treatment method for the hydrophobic region and the hydrophilic region, there is an advantage that the volume of each buffer 98 in the hydrophilic array can be made constant. In this device, there is an advantage that 460 nl of the buffer 98 is retained in the hydrophilic region 97 and the fractionated DNA fragment can be recovered in a small amount of buffer.

Since it is difficult to handle a solution of 10 microliters or less with a normal fraction collector, this device is suitable for handling a very small amount of solution. Actually, recovery of the 125-base and 237-base DNAs used in Example 4 was attempted. The electrophoresis was performed at an electric field intensity of 100 V / cm. The end face of the capillary is irradiated with a laser of 594 nm in advance, a separation and migration profile is taken in the same manner as in Example 4, and the elution time of the target DNA band is measured.

In the fractionation, each DNA was collected in this device with a window of 20 seconds near the scheduled elution time as a window. Since the amount of DNA to be separated was very small, the buffer solution in each hydrophilic array region after fractionation was PCR-amplified using Taq DNA polymerase and detected by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. DNA having a base length could be collected in separate hydrophilic regions.

Embodiment 6 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This device is a disk 111 having a hydrophobic region 112 on the surface, and has hydrophilic regions 113 to 117 in shape. In addition to being able to handle multiple samples simultaneously,
It is designed so that the sample and the reaction solution can be mixed. Here, an example in which the device is used as a device for detecting DNA will be described.

The hydrophilic region 117 is a region where the target DNA is fixed. Streptavidin is immobilized. The sample was P-labeled with biotin and 2,4-dinitrophenyl.
It is a CR product. When the sample is added to 117, biotin /
The PCR product is trapped at 117 by the avidin association reaction. Biotin is chemically fixed to 117, and an alkaline phosphatase-labeled anti-2,4-dinitrophenyl antibody is kept dry using dextran as a stabilizer. Therefore, when a sample is added to 107, P
An alkaline phosphatase-labeled anti-2,4-dinitrophenyl antibody is captured on the solid phase via the CR product.
Captured alkaline phosphatase labeled anti 2,4
-The amount of dinitrophenyl antibody depends on the amount of PCR product.

AMPPD 115 is a substrate for alkaline phosphatase and is kept in a dry state.

The carrier liquid is dropped on 113 and the disk 111
Is rotated, the carrier liquid held in 113 dissolves the AMPPD held in 115 and reaches 117. Since the surface of 117 is hydrophilic, a predetermined amount of a carrier liquid in which AMPPD is dissolved is retained on the surface. In the path of the carrier liquid, hydrophilic water passages 114 and 116 are provided so as to correctly dissolve 115 AMPPD and reach 117.

Since the headrace and the hydrophilic regions 115 and 117 are separated by hydrophobic regions, they do not mix unnecessarily. Further, there is an effect that impurities added together with the sample on 117 are washed away with the carrier liquid. In the measurement, a fluorescent substance generated by the decomposition of AMPPD by alkaline phosphatase held on 117 is converted into an electric signal by a laser confocal microscope to measure a fluorescent intensity.

This device has an advantage that a device for simultaneous measurement of multiple samples can be provided in which reagents required for measurement are stored on a chip in advance.

[0045]

According to the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously perform quantification or isolation, transport, holding, and mixing operations on a large number of small liquid samples or microbial samples in gene analysis, genetic diagnosis, and the like. The repetitive operation and the operation of transferring the sample for the reaction required when using the pipettor can be omitted. Waste generated when disposable chips are used can be reduced.
In addition, microorganisms can be easily isolated in a short time. Therefore, the culturing operation for cloning and the time required for culturing are not required.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view, a sectional view, and a perspective view of a sample handling tool according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of liquid mixing using the liquid sample handling tool of Example 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view and a perspective view of a microorganism sample handling tool according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a sample handling tool according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a planar arrangement of a hydrophilic region and a hydrophobic region.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of an arrangement of a hydrophilic region and a hydrophobic region other than on a plane.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a sample handling tool according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a spectrum diagram of an analysis result of a sample collected using Example 4.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a sample handling tool according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view and a plan view of a sample handling tool according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a sample handling tool according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Handling tool for liquid sample 2. Hydrophilic region
3: Hydrophobic region, 4: Liquid, 5: Mixed solution, 6: Handling tool for microorganism sample, 7: Hydrophilic region, 8: Hydrophobic region, 9: Microorganism, 10: Hydrophilic region, 11: Hydrophobic region , 12: hydrophilic area, 13: hydrophobic area, 14: circular disc, 15: hydrophilic area, 16: hydrophobic area, 17
... stick-like solid, 18 ... hydrophilic region, 19 ... hydrophobic region, 71, 91 ... capillary tube.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G01N 33/48 G01N 33/48 T

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A sample handling tool wherein a minute hydrophilic region is arranged on a hydrophobic surface. 2. The sample handling tool according to claim 1, wherein the maximum length of the hydrophilic region is 0.1 to 1 micron. 3. The sample handling tool according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement of the hydrophilic regions is one of a linear shape, a two-dimensional lattice shape, a circumferential shape, and a spiral shape. 4. The sample handling tool according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic region is formed on the surface of the stick-shaped individual. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein an antibody, biotin, or avidin is immobilized on the surface of the hydrophilic region.
5. The sample handling tool according to any one of items 1 to 4. 6. The sample handling tool according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the hydrophilic region is made of a conductive material. 7. The sample handling tool according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic region is formed of a hydrophilic porous material. 8. The sample handling tool according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic region is formed of a hydrophilic porous material, and the hydrophilic porous material penetrates to the back surface. 9. The sample handling tool according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic porous material contains silica. 10. An apparatus comprising at least a temperature controller and a sample handling tool according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 11. An apparatus comprising at least an ultrasonic transducer and the sample handling tool according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 12. An apparatus comprising at least an electrophoresis apparatus and the sample handling tool according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 13. An apparatus comprising at least a liquid chromatography column and a sample handling tool according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the droplet of the liquid sample is moved to the hydrophilic region by ultrasonic vibration. 15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the liquid sample is moved to the hydrophilic region by an electric field. 16. The method of using the sample handling tool according to claim 1, wherein the liquid sample is fixed, held, transported, or mixed by forming droplets of the liquid sample on the hydrophilic region. . 17. A liquid sample droplet formed on a hydrophilic region is moved together with a sample handling tool to mix with a liquid sample droplet on another sample handling tool.
A method for using the sample handling tool according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 18. A method comprising contacting a diluted suspension of microorganisms or cells with a surface to capture the microorganisms or cells in a hydrophilic region.
A method for using the sample handling tool according to claim 2. 19. A sample handling tool wherein a hydrophilic region is provided in a radial direction on a surface of a hydrophobic substrate, and a sample is moved between hydrophilic regions in a radial direction by centrifugal force due to rotation. 20. The sample handling tool according to claim 19, wherein a hydrophilic area for transporting the sample is provided between the hydrophilic areas in the radial direction.