JPH0230034Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an ultrafilter for separating biochemical trace components.

When removing proteins from serum or plasma in the field of clinical chemistry, which is an example of the field of biochemistry, or when conducting research on the binding of low-molecular substances such as hormones, drugs, and inorganic ions to proteins,
When separating bound low-molecular substances and free low-molecular substances, ultrafiltration methods are used along with gel filtration methods, equilibrium dialysis methods, and the like.

In the ultrafiltration method, centrifugal force is applied to an ultrafilter that holds the test liquid in contact with an ultrafiltration membrane, and only the low molecular weight fraction of the test liquid is passed through the ultrafiltration membrane to remove the high molecular fraction. It is separated from the minutes.

The ultrafilter conventionally used in this ultrafiltering method has a hollow cylindrical tube 2, as shown in FIG.
An ultrafiltration membrane 3 is stretched across the lower part of the ultrafilter 1 through a support member 4. In use, a test liquid is put into the ultrafilter 1, and a receiver is placed in the lower part of the ultrafilter. A container 5 is attached to the container 5, and the target substance is separated and removed using a centrifugal separator.

By the way, when a swing rotor centrifuge is used to perform ultrafiltration by applying centrifugal force to the ultrafilter, concentration polarization occurs in the test liquid in the direction of the centrifugal vector as the ultrafiltration progresses.

Conventionally, ultrafiltration membranes are pasted at right angles to the centrifugal vector, and in this case, high-concentration fractions of polymeric substances are unevenly distributed in a layer near the ultrafiltration membrane, and even more There was a problem in that a gel layer was formed on the filtration membrane where the concentration of the substance was high, and this prevented further filtration, resulting in a significant decrease in the filtration rate.

The present invention was devised as an ultrafilter for separating trace components in biochemistry using a swing rotor centrifuge, which is often used in the field of clinical testing, with the aim of eliminating this drawback. It is characterized by having a flat shape and being stretched in a hollow cylindrical tube so as to be inclined with respect to the centrifugal vector.

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

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which the ultrafilter 1 has an ultrafilter membrane 3 slanted and stretched downwardly inside a hollow cylindrical tube 2 with a support member 4 interposed therebetween.

The hollow cylindrical tube 2 can be made of synthetic resin, such as acrylic, polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, etc., and the ultrafiltration membrane 3 can be used by appropriately selecting one with a pore size depending on the purpose. The angle of inclination of the ultrafiltration membrane may be any angle that can be inclined with respect to the centrifugal vector during centrifugation, and is, for example, 20 to 70 degrees, preferably 30 to 60 degrees.

The support member 4 that supports the ultrafiltration membrane is, for example, in the form of a lattice, and can be integrally molded with the hollow cylindrical tube 2.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, which is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 2, the ultrafiltration membrane 3 is mounted on a lattice-shaped support member 4 integrally formed with the hollow cylindrical tube 2''. The hollow cylindrical tube 2' is fitted from above, and the hollow cylindrical tubes 2' and 2'' are ultrasonically fused.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the hollow cylindrical tube 2 is divided into hollow cylindrical tubes 2' and 2'' having flanges 6' and 6'', and the hollow cylindrical tube 2'' is It is integrally molded with the support member 4.

And the ultrafiltration membrane 3 placed on the support member 4
is held by a flange 6' of the upper hollow cylindrical tube 2' via an O-ring 7, and both flanges 6' and 6'' form an ultrafilter 1 which is fixed by a suitable clamp 8. .

According to the ultrafilter 1 for separating biochemical trace components described above, since the ultrafilter membrane 3 always has an inclination angle with respect to the centrifugation vector, it is possible to The concentration fraction moves along the slope of the ultrafiltration membrane 3 and is biased to one side (the tip side when viewed from the rotation axis of the centrifuge).

Therefore, the region on the other side of the ultrafiltration membrane 3 (the region on the near side when viewed from the rotation axis of the centrifuge) is always in contact with the low concentration fraction of the polymer substance in the test solution, and the gel in this region The formation of layers can be suppressed.

As explained in detail above, according to the ultrafilter for biochemical trace component separation of the present invention, the ultrafilter membrane is stretched on a plane that is inclined with respect to the centrifugal vector, which prevents concentration polarization and gel layer formation. It is possible to effectively suppress the decrease in the ultra-high overspeed caused by this.

In addition, since the membrane area per cross-sectional area of the tube is large, the capacity can be improved, and a flat ultrafiltration membrane that does not require special shaping is pasted inside the hollow cylindrical tube. Since it has a simple structure similar to the conventional one, it has great effects such as being able to be manufactured easily and at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional limiter, and FIGS. 2 and 4 are sectional views of the limiter of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of section A in FIG. 2, and shows an example of how the ultrafiltration membrane is attached. 1... Limiter, 2... Hollow cylindrical tube, 3...
Ultrafiltration membrane, 4... support member, 5... receiver.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] In an ultrafiltration device for biochemical trace component separation in which a low molecular fraction of a test liquid is passed through an ultrafiltration membrane and separated from a high molecular fraction by centrifugal force, An ultrafilter for separating trace components of biochemistry, characterized in that the membrane is flat and is stretched in a hollow cylindrical tube so as to be inclined with respect to a centrifugal vector.