ATTACHABLE LID-SHAPED ACCESSORY FOR COLLECTING PARTICLES AND MICROORGANISMS FROM EXHALED AIR

Abstract

Attachable accessory in the form of a lid for assembling a portable bubble system for collecting particles and microorganisms from the respiratory tract in humans, consisting of: a central piece (101) with thread (102) and two holes; an air inlet module with a nozzle (103) connected, through one of the holes of the central piece (101), to a bubble cannula (104) with perforations in its distal region (105); an air outlet module consisting of a duct coupled to the air outlet hole (106) of the central piece (101), and its other end coupled to a sanitizing outlet filter (107) containing a filter membrane (108).

Description

ATTACHABLE LID-SHAPED ACCESSORY FOR COLLECTING PARTICLES AND MICROORGANISMS FROM EXHALED AIR TECHNICAL SECTOR This utility model application falls within the field of sampling particles, biomarkers, and microorganisms for analysis. The application seeks to register an attachable accessory in the form of a disposable lid for conventional biological sampling containers, enabling the sampling of exhaled air via a bubbler system. Currently, the collection of clinical specimens from the lower respiratory tract is an invasive procedure requiring sophisticated technical equipment and highly qualified personnel, and it also poses discomfort and risk to the patient. These procedures involve direct access to the bronchi and lungs for sample collection using endoscopic techniques. Therefore, such procedures are only justified for diagnostic purposes in patients with pathologies or clinical suspicion.As a result, progress in basic knowledge of the metabolites, microorganisms, and particles present in a healthy lower respiratory tract has been hampered by the lack of an ethically acceptable sampling method for healthy individuals. Alternatively, the air and particles contained in the lungs could be collected as they are expelled through coughing. Coughing is a defense mechanism of our body designed precisely to expel any particles or foreign bodies from our upper and lower respiratory tracts. Airborne particles or exhaled aerosols can be captured by a liquid medium using a bubbling system. Bubbling devices are widely used in environmental monitoring and are a versatile method for sampling particles, biomolecules, and microorganisms. These devices, typically connected to flow or vacuum pumps, work by passing a gas through an absorbent material, such as a liquid solution, which is then analyzed using specific techniques such as culture, molecular techniques, chromatography, mass spectrometry, etc.According to its principle, the smaller the diameter of the air bubbles in the liquid medium, the greater the contact surface between the two media that allows for the solubility or suspension of the particles. The utility model described here is not a diagnostic method but rather an attachable, lid-shaped accessory for sample collection. Furthermore, it offers advantages over other bubbling systems and is designed for the simple, convenient, and non-invasive capture of particles, biomolecules, and microorganisms from the lower respiratory tract, thus enabling studies based on this type of sample in healthy individuals. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are devices similar to the one described in the present invention that reflect the prior art related to it. References to some of these, obtained from the WIPO registry, are provided below. US patent 20230009668 ("Liquid Impinger Sampling Systems and Methods") describes a compact, disposable bubbler system for monitoring airborne particles. Japanese patent JP1995294398 ("Impinger") describes a compact bubbler system for monitoring airborne particles that passes the sample through filters with different pore sizes before expelling it to the outside. Although both inventions describe portable bubbler systems, they are designed for analyzing particles present in the ambient air of enclosed or open spaces to determine their air quality and require connection to an electromechanical air circulation system. Neither invention includes a system for sanitizing the exhaust air, nor are they adapted for high-flow inlet and outlet. The invention described in US patent 20140065602 ("Human Exhaled Aerosol Droplet Biomarker System and Method") is a system for collecting aerosols and biomarkers exhaled by individuals, but it is neither portable nor portable. The collection of analytes relies on the condensation of moisture from exhaled air in a cold trap. The invention described is a sophisticated piece of equipment consisting of a booth for the individual, an exhaled air cone, various air channels through coolers, impactors, flow pumps, and steam generators, all occupying the space of a single room. EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION This invention consists of an attachable accessory in the form of a lid, equipped with the necessary parts to transform a commonly used sample collection container in any clinical laboratory, such as a 50 ml disposable plastic centrifuge tube with a screw cap, into a portable and disposable bubble system for collecting exhaled air obtained by coughing. This accessory comprises an ergonomic mouthpiece for the intake of exhaled or coughed air, a bubble cannula, and an air outlet connected to a sanitizing filter. By attaching this accessory, via a screw, to a 50 ml centrifuge tube or other biological sampling container, with a preservative solution, a complete portable and disposable bubbling system for sampling is obtained. The parts of the accessory are described below: The accessory has a central piece or cap that emulates, in dimensions, material, and design, the cap of a common 50 ml centrifuge tube sold by various brands as disposable laboratory equipment. The purpose of this resemblance is precisely to ensure compatibility with these tubes, which are present in every biological laboratory and for whose dimensions many analytical instruments are also designed. It can also be adapted to the dimensions of the cap of any other biological sampling container. The central piece of the accessory is a plastic cap with a screw closure and two perforations at the top, where the air inlet and outlet modules are inserted. The air inlet module consists of an ergonomic nozzle with an elliptical outer opening for better lip fit, and a narrower, circular, elbow-shaped end that inserts into one of the holes in the central piece. Connected to this nozzle, beneath the central piece, is the bubbler cannula, a blind, transparent plastic tube with an elbow shape and multiple perforations in its distal region to allow bubbles to escape. The air outlet module consists of an elbow-shaped duct connected at one end to the second opening of the central piece, and at the other to an air sanitizing filter. This filter is a disc-shaped plastic support, open to the outside, containing a circular filter membrane that traps any particles or aerosols that have not remained suspended in the liquid medium. In this way, the exhausted air poses no potential biological risk. - The antagonistic orientation of the air inlet and outlet modules is designed to make them comfortable to use and to ensure that the air evacuated through the filter is directed away from the user. Assembly and operation: The accessory, with its central section and air inlet and outlet modules, forms a compact, self-contained unit. For microorganism sampling, it must be bagged beforehand and sterilized with gamma radiation. Sterilization is not required for other uses. - To use this accessory, three items are required: a standard 50 ml centrifuge tube with its original cap or another biological sampling container, sample preservative, and the accessory itself. - First, pour at least 25 ml of the preservative into the centrifuge tube or container, or enough to submerge the perforated portion of the bubbler cannula. Then, seal the tube with the screw-on accessory, ensuring the bubbler cannula is fully submerged in the liquid. - At this point, it is ready for use. The user, holding the assembled bubbling system, should cough or exhale through the mouthpiece of the air inlet module. The air will enter from the mouthpiece into the bubbling cannula until it reaches the perforated area, where it will exit as small bubbles and pass through the liquid medium. Finally, the sampled air is safely expelled to the outside through the sanitizing filter. The process can be repeated as many times as necessary. Once sampling is complete, the accessory is unscrewed from the container and disposed of for incineration, following proper waste management procedures. The container holding the preservative and analytes is then sealed with its original lid. The biological sample is thus properly preserved and ready for storage and analysis. This accessory, when assembled into a container, offers several advantages and innovations compared to other existing or published bubbling systems: 1. It is adapted for air exhaled by coughing and is suitable for biological samples: - The air inlet and outlet ducts are designed to allow a high flow, characteristic of a cough. - The air evacuation duct is coupled to a high-flow sanitizing filter to prevent the emission of aerosols with possible biological risk to the outside. In this way, all the microorganisms emitted by a cough are trapped inside the container. - The accessory can be bagged and sterilized using gamma radiation, in the same way that 50 ml centrifuge tubes or other compatible sterile containers are sold. - Once the accessory has been used, it is disposable following an appropriate waste management system. 2. Portability and versatility: - It does not require access to an electrical supply, nor flow or vacuum pumps, nor pre-cooling. - Its size is small, about 14 cm long and 7 cm wide. - It is compatible with any 50 ml centrifuge tube or disposable biological sampling container. It is only necessary to adapt the thread type of the device to the thread of the tube during manufacturing. 3. Compatibility with any sample preservation solution The liquid medium where the bubbling will occur can be any type of sample preservation solution. Simply add enough solution to the container so that all the holes in the bubbler cannula are submerged, and close it with the fitting. 4. Scalability - The accessory is made of plastic material and a filter membrane, all of which are very low cost and easy to manufacture by any industry in the plastics and pharmaceutical sector. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To complement the description being made, and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is included as an integral part of said description, in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented: Figure 1A.- Shows a side view of the accessory of the invention, cross-sectioned, specifically, an accessory for assembling a portable bubbler system for taking biological samples. Figure 1B.- Shows a side view of the accessory of the invention. Figure 1C.- Shows a front view of the accessory of the invention, viewed from the air inlet module. Figure 1D.- Shows a rear view of the accessory of the invention, viewed from the air outlet module. Figure 2A.- Shows a side view of the invention accessory coupled to a centrifuge tube, cross-sectioned. Figure 2B.- Shows a side view of the invention accessory attached to a centrifuge tube, cut transversely and indicating by arrows the flow and direction of the air. Figure 2C.- Shows a side view of the invention accessory attached to a centrifuge tube and containing the preservative solution during use. Figure 3.- Shows a 50 ml centrifuge tube after being used and the accessory detached. Figure 4.- Shows the accessory of the invention attached to a sampling container, ready for use. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION As already indicated, and as can be seen in Figure 1A, the accessory consists of a central piece (101) with a thread (102), an air inlet module with a nozzle (103), a blind bubbler cannula (104) with perforations in the distal region (105), and an air outlet duct (106), coupled to a sanitizing outlet filter (107). In Figure 1D, the air outlet module is shown from the front, from where the filter membrane (108) is visible. As shown in Fig. 1A, the central piece (101), the air inlet module with nozzle (103), and the sanitizing outlet filter structure (107) will be made of polypropylene or similar plastic. The bubbler cannula (104) will be made of a more flexible, transparent plastic, such as PVC or similar. The filter membrane (Fig. 1D, 108) will be water-repellent and have a mesh size and density sufficient to prevent the escape of microorganisms, comparable to those used in spirometry filters. Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C show the accessory attached to a standard 50 ml centrifuge tube (201). As shown in Figure 2B, in the assembled bubbling system, air is blown, coughed, or exhaled (202) through the air inlet module with nozzle (103), exits through the perforations (203) of the bubbling cannula (104), and is expelled to the outside (204) through the sanitizing outlet filter (107). Figure 2C shows the assembled bubbling system with the liquid preservative medium (205 and 302), illustrating the emission of bubbles (206) during normal operation. Figure 3 shows the standard 50 ml centrifuge tube after use and with the fitting detached. The fitting (Figures 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D) has been replaced with the original centrifuge tube cap (301). This container now holds and preserves the biological sample obtained, consisting of the preservative liquid medium (205 and 302) and the collected particles, biomarkers, or microorganisms (303). This utility model has broad industrial applications. All its components are made of inexpensive materials readily available to any industry working with plastics; they could even be manufactured using a 3D printer. The filter membrane included in the air outlet module is currently sold by various companies specializing in medical supplies. Attaching it to the plastic structure of the sanitizing filter is also straightforward, as is assembling all the elements of the invention. If the accessory is intended for sampling microorganisms, it must be bagged beforehand and sterilized using gamma radiation. This procedure is routinely used in industries that manufacture biohazardous materials to produce sterile packaging and disposable materials.

Claims

1. Attachable accessory in the form of a lid for assembling a portable bubble system for collecting particles and microorganisms from the respiratory tract in humans, consisting of: a central piece (101) with thread (102) and two holes; an air inlet module with a nozzle (103) connected, through one of the holes of the central piece (101), to a bubble cannula (104) with perforations in its distal region (105); an air outlet module consisting of a duct coupled to the air outlet hole (106) of the central piece (101), and its other end coupled to a sanitizing outlet filter (107) containing a filter membrane (108).

2. The attachable lid-shaped accessory for assembling a bubbling system according to claim 1, wherein the dimensions of the central piece (101) and its thread (102) are compatible with the thread of a 50 ml centrifuge tube or other biological sample collection container. 3.The attachable accessory in the form of a lid for assembling a bubbling system according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the central piece (101), the air inlet module with nozzle (103), the bubbling cannula (104) and the sanitizing outlet filter structure (107) are made of plastic material.