Aluminum foil cups for covering laboratory vessels

Abstract

A method of covering an opening in a laboratory container with aluminum foil to provide a heat-resistant and solvent-resistant closure. The method includes the steps of: providing a preformed aluminum foil cup of sufficient size to cover the container's opening, in which the foil is less than 2.5 mils thick and is free of any substance that could contaminate the laboratory container, in which the cup includes a bottom wall and a raised perimeter sidewall continuous with, and surrounding the bottom wall; inverting and placing the cup over the opening; optionally adjusting the shape and diameter of the cup so as to fit over the opening, and compressing the sidewall of the cup to a friction fit around the opening.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] N / A STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] N / A FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] This invention concerns disposable coverings for laboratory containers, vessels, implements and the like. Laboratory containers typically include test tubes, flasks, beakers, vials, graduated cylinders and other vessels that have at least one opening for inserting and removing laboratory implements such as pipettes, magnetic stirring bars and the like, or laboratory materials such as chemical reagents. Disposable barrier materials for covering such containers include stretchable thermoplastic films such as Parafilm® (American National Can, Inc.) as well as household aluminum foil. The present invention is intended to facilitate the use of aluminum foil as an inexpensive heat-resistant and solvent-resistant covering, as well as sterile barrier material for laboratory containers. [0004] Perlman in U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,344 describes ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention relates to the use of pre-formed and finger-formable aluminum foil cups in laboratories. These foil cups are manufactured in a compact format and are space-saving. They can be sterilized and are convenient for both sterile and non-sterile applications as laboratory container covers. The use of paper interleaf sheets between the foil cups provides additional protection against contamination of the interior surface of the cup. The invention eliminates the need for labor-intensive and time-consuming steps of tearing or scissor-cutting foil into many swatches and pre-sterilizing each foil item. The foil cups can be easily and snugly fitted over laboratory containers, providing a snug closure over the container. The invention provides a convenient and efficient solution for laboratory workers who need to use foil cups as laboratory container covers."

Problems solved by technology

Foreign materials could be transported or leached from the foil surface and contaminate a sample held inside a laboratory container that is covered by the foil cup.

Applicant has found that the conventional laboratory means for handling and cutting regular aluminum foil (e.g., commercially available in 12 inch wide rolls) that is used as a covering material on laboratory containers, is awkward and time-consuming.

More specifically, the laboratory worker is usually faced with the awkward task of either manually tearing or scissor-cutting aluminum foil into many swatches (i.e., typically flat square portions of the foil) to be used as container covers.

Handling the individual pieces of foil that are initially chemically clean, without contaminating them is also cumbersome.

While, in theory, it would be possible for a laboratory worker to hand-form and pre-sterilize foil container coverings without an accompanying container, this is not routinely done in the laboratory for several reasons.

This would be cumbersome, inconvenient, and wasteful of materials and space.

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