JPS6398544A - Reaction container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an inexpensive reaction container suitable for high speed processing, by providing a large number of partition walls between the inner and outer cylinders of a ring-shaped cylindrical body consisting of the inner and outer cylinders. CONSTITUTION:This reaction container is constituted by providing a large number of partition walls between the inner and outer cylinder 3, 4 of a ring- shaped cylindrical body 5 consisting of the cylinders 3, 4 to provide a large number of reaction cells 6 in an annular form. The partition walls 7, bottom parts 8 and the inner and outer cylinders 3, 4 are integrally molded from a transparent resin low in optical strain to form square hole-shaped reaction cells 6 with open upper ends. Therefore, even when the interval between the reaction cells 6 becomes small, since the reaction cells 6 are formed of the inner and outer cylinders, 3, 4 of the ring-shaped cylindrical body 5 and the partition walls 7, mechanical strength is sufficient and a large number of reaction cells can be held at high density.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention involves sequentially irradiating a plurality of reaction cells containing a plurality of samples with a measurement light beam and detecting the transmittance thereof. This invention relates to a reaction vessel in an automatic chemical analyzer that measures various components contained in a sample.

(Prior art) In an automatic chemical analyzer, a plurality of reaction cells each containing a sample of $31 are arranged concentrically and rotated, while the reaction cells are sequentially irradiated with a measuring light beam in a direction perpendicular to the circumference. death,
When measuring the amount of transmitted light, conventionally the reaction cell 1 was set in a circular holder 2 as shown in FIG.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In order to increase the analytical processing capacity of the automatic chemical analyzer as described above, it is necessary to: ■ use reagents that allow the reaction to proceed and complete in a short time; ■ the number of reaction cells. It is conceivable to increase the number of processes per hour by increasing the number of processes and allowing a large amount of processing to proceed at the same time.

However, it is difficult to use a reagent that allows the reaction to proceed and complete in a short time because there are limits to the stability and speed of the reagent.

On the other hand, when attempting to increase the number of reaction cells using the conventional configuration shown in Figure 4, the spacing between the reaction cells becomes small and the holder 2 lacks regional strength, making it impossible to hold a large number of reaction cells. There are still limitations, and the problem is that the device is ineffective in maintaining mechanical precision in holding all reaction cells.

Furthermore, when using the conventional configuration shown in Figure 4, a sensor (not shown) is required to detect the photometry starting point in each reaction cell, and furthermore, during measurement, detection due to stray light or temperature is required. The optical path is blocked to correct for fluctuations in the transmittance, etc., and the transmittance is
There is a problem in that a shutter is also required to obtain the signal.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems with the conventional configuration and provide a reaction container that can hold reaction cells at a high density, and preferably to set the measurement starting point of each reaction cell at the time of measurement. By using a measurement light beam without using any other means, measurements can be made at low cost and with high precision.Furthermore, in order to correct stray light, drift, etc., the measurement light beam can be used without using any other means. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a reaction container that can perform measurements at low cost and with high accuracy.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a ring-shaped cylindrical body consisting of an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder. By providing partition walls, a reaction vessel was constructed in which a large number of reaction cells were arranged in an annular shape.

(Function) Since the reaction container of the present invention has the above structure, it functions as follows.

In other words, even if the interval between reaction cells is reduced by increasing the number of reaction cells, the reaction cells are held by the inner and outer cylinders of the ring-shaped cylindrical body, making the machine easier to use than with conventional holders. It has sufficient physical strength and can therefore hold a large number of reaction cells at high density.

If a light-shielding portion is provided between adjacent reaction cells, the transmittance of the measuring light beam will be O for each light-shielding slit between each cell during measurement, and this will be used as the reference for each cell. Therefore, the measurement starting point of each reaction cell can be measured inexpensively and accurately by using the measuring light beam without using any other means.

Furthermore, if one of the many reaction cells is provided with a light-shielding part that blocks the measurement light beam and has a light transmittance of O, the measurement light beam is blocked and the detector output is Since stray light such as disturbance light and the dark current of the detector itself are output as signals, stray light, drift, etc. can be detected inexpensively and accurately by using a measurement light beam without using other means. Corrections can be made.

(Example) The illustrated embodiment will be described below.

<Example 1> As shown in FIG. 1, the reaction container of this example consists of a ring-shaped cylindrical body 5 consisting of an inner cylinder 3 and an outer cylinder 4.
A large number of reaction cells 6 are provided in an annular shape by providing a large number of partition walls between the two.

The illustrated reaction vessel has an inner cylinder 3. Outer cylinder 4. A partition wall 7 and a bottom part 8 (third
(see figure) are integrally molded from transparent resin with little optical distortion.

According to such a reaction container, even if the interval between the reaction cells becomes smaller by increasing the number of reaction cells 6, the reaction cells 6 are still connected to each other by the inner cylinder 3, outer cylinder 4 and partition wall 7 of the ring-shaped cylinder 5. Because of this structure, it has sufficient mechanical strength compared to conventional holders, and can therefore hold a large number of reaction cells at a high density.

<Example 2> As shown in FIG. 2(a), the reaction vessel of this example was
A light shielding portion 11 is provided between each adjacent reaction cell 6. The light-shielding portion 11 is composed of a light-shielding slit for cell position detection, and the size of the slit 11 only needs to be slightly larger than the light beam diameter.

The reaction container as described above has its respective reaction cells 6 (a in the figure,
b, C, d, e, 'f', ・) are designed to accommodate samples and reagents for reaction, and photometry is performed as shown in Figure 2 (
As shown in a), a light beam B for measurement is irradiated from a light source 9 in a direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the container, and the light transmitted through the sample is guided to a detector 10 for each reaction cell to measure the transmittance. It looks like this.

Since the measurement here measures the light transmittance of each sample, in order to have reliable data, it is necessary to perform each measurement at the same position in each reaction cell (usually with an accuracy of 10 to several tens of μm).
However, since the reaction vessel of this example is provided with light-shielding slits 11 between adjacent reaction cells 6, when measuring, it is necessary to sample at each light-shielding slit between each cell 6. The transmittance of the measuring light beam becomes O, which can be used as the reference position of each cell, that is, the measurement starting point. Therefore, the measuring light beam can be set at the measurement starting point of each reaction cell without using other means. By using this, measurements can be made at low cost and with high accuracy.

That is, when the conventional configuration shown in FIG. 4 is used, the physical position of each cell is usually detected by a cell position detection sensor connected to a reaction vessel rotation drive mechanism (not shown), and data is collected. However, with this conventional method, a dedicated high-precision sensor is required, and it is difficult to adjust the position of each cell and position detection sensor. Since the cells are located at different positions, it is impossible to accurately detect the cell position due to mechanical backlash.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, since the light-shielding slits 11 are provided between adjacent cells of the reaction cells 6,
When the reaction vessel is rotated and photometered, a detector output signal as shown in Fig. 2(b) is generated and sequentially measured from cell a as the reaction vessel rotates, and changes in transmittance are detected depending on the sample concentration within the cell. At the same time, the transmittance is O for each light-shielding slit 11 between each cell, so that is the reference position of each cell,
If the rotational speed is constant, by setting the data sampling point after a predetermined period of time has elapsed from that point, it is possible to always collect data at the same position in each cell.

<Embodiment 3> In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the measurement light beam B (FIG. 2) is completely blocked in one of the plurality of reaction cells 6 to reduce the light transmittance. A light shielding portion 12 of O is provided.

According to such a reaction vessel, the measurement light beam is blocked, and the detector output signal includes stray light such as disturbance light and the dark current of the detector itself. This varies depending on the ambient temperature and the installation status of the device, and is normally used to correct base noise when calculating absorbance, thereby allowing highly accurate measurements. In general, this light-shielding portion 12 can also be used as a reference origin position (home position) of each cell.

That is, when using the conventional configuration as shown in FIG.
In order to completely block the measuring light beam B and make the light transmittance O, a shutter is provided in the optical path to block the light, and in order to obtain the reference origin position of each cell, a shutter is provided as part of the reaction vessel drive mechanism. It was necessary to provide a reference position detection sensor linked to the reaction vessel, but according to this example, this can be done at low cost and with high precision by using a measuring light beam without using these other conventional means. Stray light, drift, etc. can be corrected.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

For example, the shape of the reaction cell is not limited to a rectangular shape, but may be a circular shape or any other arbitrary shape.

Further, in the above embodiment, the reaction cell was formed integrally with the ring-shaped cylinder, but the invention is not limited to this, and a separate reaction cell may be formed between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder of the ring-shaped cylinder. It can also be fitted.

Furthermore, it is also possible to configure a combination of the second embodiment and the third embodiment.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a reaction vessel suitable for high-speed processing at an extremely low cost, and it is also possible to perform accurate measurement and control of the reaction vessel without any other additional mechanism. Home position detection becomes possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the reaction vessel according to the present invention, FIG. 2(a) is a partial perspective view of the second embodiment of the same, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the third embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the conventional example. 3... Inner cylinder, 4... Outer cylinder, 5... Ring-shaped cylindrical body, 6... Reaction cell. Agent Patent Attorney Yudo Noriyuki Chika
Norio Ogo Figure 1

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A reaction vessel comprising a ring-shaped cylindrical body consisting of an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder, and a large number of partition walls provided between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder to provide a large number of reaction cells in an annular shape. (2) The reaction container according to claim 1, wherein a light shielding portion is provided between each adjacent reaction cell. (3) The reaction according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one of the plurality of reaction cells is provided with a light-shielding portion that blocks the measuring light beam and makes the light transmittance 0. container.