KR102492404B1 - Microplate dispenser auxiliary device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device that assists in dispensing a sample into wells in a precise position in a microplate, and in particular, when manually dispensing a sample into a 96-well or 384-well microplate, accurate well positioning can be confirmed. It relates to a device comprising possibly a base plate, a guide cover plate and a fixing member.

Description

Microplate dispenser auxiliary device}

The present invention relates to a device that assists in dispensing a sample into wells in a precise position in a microplate, and in particular, when manually dispensing a sample into a 96-well or 384-well microplate, accurate well positioning can be confirmed. It relates to a device comprising possibly a base plate, a guide cover plate and a fixing member.

Microplates (microplates, microtiter plates, microwell plates or multiwell plates) are used in the field of biology and biotechnology, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), cell culture, bio-reaction, and storage of samples. It is a widely used instrument for various tests and analyses. These plates typically consist of 96 wells (8 X 12 arrays) or 384 wells (24 X 16 arrays). Microplates are designed to hold approximately 125 uL (for 96 well plates) or 30 uL (for 384 well plates) of solution per well. Microplates are usually made of disposable plastic materials, and although the material and shape may differ slightly depending on the manufacturer, they are composed of almost the same shape.

A microliter (ul) level of a very small amount of solution is dispensed into the microplate and used, and a micropipette is used to dispense a small amount of sample. In addition to single-channel micropipettes for dispensing one sample at a time, multi-channel micropipettes (usually 8 or 12 channels) can be used for dispensing multiple samples, such as 8 or 12 samples at a time. . A sample dispensing operation using a micropipette may be manually performed by a researcher or a tester, or an automated dispensing device may be used. However, in laboratories not equipped with automated dispensing devices or in laboratories conducting various tests, testers often manually dispense. In addition, automated dispensing devices are more expensive than manual micropipettes, and there is a limit to exclusive use by individual testers or researchers.

In addition, in the case of biological tests requiring various and complex tests, such as real-time PCR, it is often efficient and economical to perform multiple tests simultaneously and repeatedly. It is preferred to use multi-well plates, particularly 384-well plates, when performing such tests. However, when an 8-channel or 12-channel micropipette is used in a test using a 384-well plate, errors in the test often occur when the wells containing the sample are confused and abnormal sample injection occurs. In order to prevent this, an expensive automatic dispensing device must be used, resulting in an economic burden.

When using a manual dispensing device such as a single-channel, 8-channel or 12-channel micropipette, the spacing between the wells is very narrow (approximately 0.15 cm) and the size of the wells is very small (approximately 0.3 cm in diameter). frequent

In particular, since the 8-channel or 12-channel micropipette is a pipette with a structure optimized for a 96-well plate, simultaneous dispensing to immediately adjacent wells is impossible when dispensing to a 384-well plate using the 8-channel or 12-channel micropipette. Therefore, if working with an 8-channel micropipette, dispense into wells A, C, E, G, I, K, M, O (dispense 1), then B, D, F, H, J, L, N, Dispense into P (dispense 2), or if working with a 12-channel micropipette, dispense into wells 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 (dispense 1), then: It is possible to work in the order of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 wells (Division 2).

At this time, if the visibility of the work target well can be increased during the dispensing 1 operation, the dispensing operation can be smoothly performed and the reliability of the test data can be greatly improved by reducing errors.

US Patent US 8372356 B2, "MANUALLY DIRECTED, MULTI-CHANNEL ELECTRONIC PIPETTING SYSTEM" (2013.02.12.) US Patent US 7597854 B1, "PIPETTE GUIDE" (2009.10.06.) US Patent US 7159740 B2 "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PARALLEL DISPENSING OF DEFINED VOLUMES OF SOLID PARTICLES" (2007.01.09.)

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems of the prior art so that the manual dispensing operation can be performed more accurately with a multi-channel micropipette.

In order to solve the above problems, the present inventors have a base plate for stably positioning the multi-well microplate, a guide cover plate located on top of the multi-well microplate and guiding the position of the well, and the guide cover plate for the multi-well microplate. A microplate dispensing aid device including a fixing member fixed to four different positions on the top of the plate was invented.

the present invention

a bottom plate for positioning a bottom surface, a wall extending vertically from the bottom surface, and a multi-well microplate therein;

a guide cover plate located on top of the multi-well microplate located inside the bottom plate and guiding the position of the well;

a fixing member fixing the guide cover plate at four different positions on the multi-well microplate; and

It relates to a microplate dispensing assisting device including a guide cover plate guard extending vertically upward from the wall of the bottom plate and formed so that the guide cover plate is positioned on top of the microplate.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the multi-well microplate is preferably a 96-well microplate or a 384-well microplate. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the same technical idea can be applied to more diverse multi-well microplates.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that a space is formed so that the microplate or the well does not touch the inside of the bottom surface of the bottom plate when the microplate is positioned inside the bottom plate. This is to prevent data from being erroneous due to contamination when the bottom of the microplate or the well touches the inside of the bottom surface of the bottom plate.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that a groove is formed on the wall of the bottom plate to facilitate attachment and detachment of the microplate and the guide cover plate. When the microplate and/or the guide cover plate is inserted into or removed from the bottom plate by hand, the work can be performed more easily and stably if a groove is formed.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that a protrusion is formed inside the wall so that the outer circumferential surface of the microplate is stably located on the inside of the bottom plate.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that holes corresponding to the wells of the multi-well microplate are formed in the guide cover plate.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that 96 holes corresponding to the wells of the multi-well microplate are formed in the guide cover plate.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that 96 holes are arranged in a 12 × 8 pattern on the guide cover plate.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that 96 holes are formed in the guide cover plate in correspondence with the wells of the rows in the horizontal and vertical directions in the 24 × 16 array of 384 well microplates.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the guide cover plate is shorter than the inner dimension of the guide cover plate guard of the bottom plate by the distance between the wells horizontally and vertically, respectively, preferably 0.45 cm. In this way, since the guide cover plate is vertically and horizontally short by the distance between the wells of the 384-well plate, it is possible to simply and accurately dispense solutions or samples into the 384-well plate by moving the guide cover plate four times.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the fixing member is interposed between the guide cover plate guard and the guide cover plate of the bottom plate, thereby preventing the guide cover plate from moving vertically and horizontally, thereby enabling the dispensing of the sample at the correct well position. to be

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the order of the holes are displayed in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction on the guide cover plate. For example, when 96 holes are formed, the numbers 1 to 12 and the letters A to H are displayed horizontally and vertically to facilitate the test.

The present invention is a device including simple components and enables accurate dispensing of samples in a multi-well plate.

Since the device of the present invention does not have frequent failures due to program errors, maintenance and management are simple.

In addition, the device of the present invention is very economical.

1 shows the components of a microplate dispensing auxiliary device according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a base plate, (B) is a guide cover plate type A, (C) is a fixing member, and (D) is a state in which the base plate, guide cover plate, and fixing member are attached.
Figure 2 shows the components of the microphone plate dispensing auxiliary device according to another embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a state in which the microplate is mounted on the bottom plate, (B) is a guide cover plate type B, (C) is a state in which (B) and the fixing member are attached to (A).
3 is a schematic diagram of a bottom plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. A guide cover plate guard (4) and a groove (5) specifying a position where the guide cover plate is placed, and a ledge (7) of a certain height may be formed on the rim on the inside of the bottom plate. (A) is a plan view of the base plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, (B) is a side view of the base plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, (C) is a side cross-sectional view of the base plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, ( D) is a front view of the base plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, (E) is a front cross-sectional view of the base plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the unit of numbers is cm.
4 is a schematic diagram of a guide cover plate type A according to an embodiment of the present invention. The size of the guide cover plate can be made smaller in width and length than the space of the base plate by the distance between the wells of one microplate. Further, the holes in the cover plate may be made similar in size to the wells, configured to have holes corresponding to adjacent wells and next wells, and appropriate numbers and letters may be marked on the guide cover plate.
5 is a schematic diagram of a guide cover plate type B according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a picture with the hole removed from the guide cover plate type A, and only the outer well shape exists.
6 is a schematic diagram of a fixing member according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a top view, (B) is a side view, (C) is a front view. It is inserted between the guide cover plate and the bottom plate to form a size that can minimize the movement of the guide cover plate.
The unit of length in FIGS. 3 to 6 is cm, and the units shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 are based on the currently used 384-well microplate, and these units should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. do.
7 is a diagram illustrating a method of using the microplate dispensing auxiliary device of the present invention. The PCR plate (384 well) is mounted on the bottom plate (①), the guide cover plate is mounted on it (②), and the guide cover plate is fixed with a fixing member (③). and the method of appropriately dispensing (④ to ⑥) by moving the fixing member up, down, left and right.

A microplate dispensing auxiliary device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The microplate dispensing auxiliary device (FIG. 1 (D) or FIG. 2 (C)) includes a bottom plate [FIG. 1 (A) or FIG. 2 (A)] and a guide cover plate [FIG. 1 (B), Fig. 2 (B), Fig. 4 or Fig. 5] and a fixing member [Fig. 1 (C) and Fig. 6].

The bottom plate serves as a frame for stably positioning a multi-well microplate, preferably a 384-well plate, and the guide cover plate serves to increase well discrimination and visibility during sample dispensing. It serves to fix the position.

The base plate includes a guide cover plate guard (4) to hold the guide cover plate in place, and the base plate also includes a groove (5) as a mounting auxiliary space to facilitate the mounting of multi-well microplates and guide cover plates. can include When the multi-well microplate is placed on the bottom plate, a ledge 7 having a certain height may be formed on the inner rim of the base plate so that the wells under the microplate do not touch the bottom of the base plate and a space 6 is formed between the well and the base plate. This performs a function of preventing problems such as attachment of foreign substances to the bottom surface of the well during a biological reaction including a PCR reaction.

The guide cover plate may be formed in various shapes, and preferably may be formed in a guide cover plate A-type or a guide cover plate B-type shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, but is not limited thereto. The guide cover plate type A (FIG. 4) was made smaller than the inside dimension of the bottom plate (the distance from the guide cover plate guard to the opposite guard) by about 0.45 cm (the same value as the spacing between adjacent wells in a 384-well plate). It is a thin plate (preferably about 0.2 cm thick). That is, the size of the guide cover plate is made smaller (eg, 10.15 x 14.35 cm) by the distance between adjacent wells than the size of the base plate (eg, 10.6 x 14.8 cm).

A guide cover plate for a 384-well microplate is formed with 96 (8 x 12) holes 8 with a diameter slightly larger (about 0.4 cm) than the wells (about 0.3 cm in diameter) of the 384-well microplate. The hole-to-hole spacing is about 0.5 cm, considering the center-to-center spacing of adjacent wells of about 0.45 cm in a typical 384-well microplate. When viewed, one well immediately adjacent in the horizontal and vertical directions is skipped so that the hole and the well are exactly aligned. On the left side of the hole in the guide cover plate, the letters A to H are written in the vertical direction, and the numbers 1 to 12 are written in the horizontal direction on the top in order so that the position of the hole can be accurately identified. The corner of the guide cover plate may be cut into a round or angular shape to indicate top and bottom and left and right, or may be attached to a shape so that it can be easily held by hand.

Another type of guide cover plate type B (FIG. 5) is a form in which the barrier between the holes is removed from the guide cover plate type A, and the hole at the edge remains or part of it is removed to leave the shape of the hole, thereby dispensing the sample with a micropipette. It is characterized in that it is possible to easily distinguish the positions and lines of the wells when doing so, and also to distinguish the wells formed in the microplate located under the guide cover plate.

The fixing member (FIG. 6) is for preventing movement of the guide cover plate when mounting the guide cover plate to the base plate. It is inserted into the gap of about 0.45 cm between the guide cover plate and the guide cover plate guard (4) of the bottom plate to prevent the guide cover plate from moving left and right and/or back and forth so that accurate dispensing into the multi-well is possible. The size is about 0.4 cm in thickness and has a structure bent at right angles.

Each accessory of the microplate dispensing auxiliary device of the present invention can be made of metal or plastic material, and is preferably made of a metal material that is not easily bent and is resistant to biological materials and acids and alkalis. For metal materials, aluminum and copper have good thermal conductivity. Iron, zinc, etc., or alloys thereof are preferred, but not limited thereto.

Below, the configuration of the present invention will be described in more detail through examples of the use of the microplate dispensing auxiliary device of the present invention. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description does not limit the scope of the present invention.

<Example of use>

A method of using the microplate dispensing auxiliary device of the present invention using a 384-well microplate is as follows (FIG. 7). As shown in ① of FIG. 7, a 384-well microplate is placed on the bottom plate, a guide cover plate is placed on the microplate, and the guide cover plate is brought into close contact with the guide cover plate guard (4) on the upper left side of the bottom plate as much as possible. After close contact, fix the guide cover plate by inserting the fixing member into the lower right corner of the base plate where there is a gap. The solution is taken with an 8-channel or 12-channel micropipette and dispensed sequentially (②, ③ in FIG. 7). According to the needs of the dispensing operation, the dispensing operation can be performed by closely attaching the guide cover plate to the upper right guide cover plate guard (4) of the lower plate and fixing the fixing member to the lower left side of the lower plate. Attach the guide cover plate to the guide cover plate guard (4) in close contact and fix the fixing member to the upper left side of the bottom plate for dispensing work. The dispensing operation is performed by fixing the fixing member to (④, ⑤, ⑥ in FIG. 7). Through this, the sample can be properly dispensed into 384 wells.

For example, for proper reaction of the reaction solution and the sample in the PCR reaction, the reaction solution is injected into 384 wells from left to right by repeatedly moving the fixing member to 4 positions as shown in FIG. 7 with an 8-channel micropipette, It is possible to inject the sample into 384 wells in a top-down direction while moving the fixing member to four positions using a 12-channel micropipette as shown in FIG. 7 .

Through this, various biological reactions including PCR can be performed by accurately dispensing various small amounts of solutions and/or samples in multi-well plates including 384-well plates without the need for expensive automated dispensing devices.

1: bottom plate,
2: guide cover plate,
3: fixed member,
4: guide cover plate guard,
5: groove,
6: space,
7: chin,
8: hole.

Claims (12)

a bottom plate including a bottom surface and a wall having a predetermined thickness extending vertically from the bottom surface and placing a multi-well microplate therein;
a guide cover plate located on top of the multi-well microplate located inside the bottom plate, placed on the upper part of the wall, and guiding the position of the well;
a fixing member that is formed in an “L” shape and is not attached to the bottom plate so that the guide cover plate is positioned in close contact with one of four corner positions on the multi-well microplate; and
A guide cover plate guard extending vertically upward from the wall of the base plate and formed to prevent the guide cover plate from escaping upward by positioning the guide cover plate above the micro plate,
It is characterized in that a horizontal jaw is formed on the inner side of the wall so that the outer circumferential surface of the microplate is stably placed thereon at the bottom of the bottom plate,
The guide cover plate is characterized in that a shape corresponding to the well of the multi-well microplate is formed,
The guide cover plate is characterized in that it is shorter by the distance between the wells horizontally and vertically than the inner dimension of the guide cover plate guard,
The fixing member is inserted into one of the four corners between the guide cover plate guard and the guide cover plate to prevent the guide cover plate from moving back and forth and left and right so that the sample is dispensed to the correct position of the microplate well using a multi-channel micropipette. Microplate dispensing aid, characterized in that for.
The method of claim 1,
The multi-well microplate is a microplate dispensing aid, characterized in that a 96-well microplate or a 384-well microplate.
The method of claim 1,
The bottom plate is a microplate dispensing aid, characterized in that a space is formed so that the well of the microplate does not touch the inside of the bottom surface of the bottom plate when the microplate is located therein.
The method of claim 1,
A microplate dispensing auxiliary device, characterized in that a groove is formed on the wall of the bottom plate to facilitate attachment and detachment of the microplate and the guide cover plate.
delete delete The method of claim 1,
Microplate dispensing aid, characterized in that 96 holes corresponding to the wells of the multi-well microplate are formed in the guide cover plate.
The method of claim 7,
Microplate dispensing auxiliary device, characterized in that 96 holes are arranged in a 12 × 8 in the guide cover plate.
The method of claim 1,
Microplate dispensing aid, characterized in that 96 holes are formed in the guide cover plate to correspond to the wells of the rows in the horizontal and vertical directions in the 24 × 16 array of 384 well microplates.
delete delete The method of claim 1,
Microplate dispensing aid, characterized in that the order of the holes in the horizontal and vertical directions are marked on the guide cover plate.

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