Extracting apparatus

Abstract

A loading mechanism holds at least one extracting cartridge provided with a filter member, at least one waste liquid vessel for accommodating a discharged liquid of a sample liquid and a discharged liquid of a washing liquid, which discharged liquids have been discharged from the extracting cartridge, and at least one recovery vessel for accommodating a recovery liquid, which contains a recovered nucleic acid and has been discharged from the extracting cartridge. A pressurized air supplying mechanism introduces pressurized air into the extracting cartridge. A liquid injecting mechanism injects each of the washing liquid and the recovery liquid into the extracting cartridge.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 920,447 filed on Aug. 18, 2004, which claims priority from Japanese Patent Applications 2003-295084, filed Aug. 19, 2003-295085, filed Aug. 19, 2003 and 2003-357674, filed Oct. 17, 2003 in the Japanese Patent Office, the entirety of which are incorporated herein by referenceBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates to an extracting apparatus for extracting a predetermined substance such as a nucleic acid from a sample liquid by use of at least one extracting cartridge provided with a filter member. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] As extracting methods, for example in techniques for extracting a nucleic acid, a centrifugal technique, a technique utilizing magnetic beads, a technique utilizing a filter, and the like, have heretofore been known. acid extracting apparatus utilizing filters. With the proposed nucl...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides an extracting apparatus that can automatically and efficiently extract nucleic acid from a sample liquid. The apparatus is small in size and can prevent contamination and improve extraction accuracy. It includes a loading mechanism for holding an extracting cartridge, a pressurized air supplying mechanism, and a liquid injecting mechanism. The apparatus can also be modified to prevent scattering of the discharged liquid and to adjust the position of the extracting cartridge. The technical effects of the invention include improved efficiency, accuracy, and prevention of contamination.

Problems solved by technology

However, the conventional nucleic acid extracting apparatus described above has the problems in that, in cases where the nucleic acid extracting apparatus has a large size so as to be appropriate for analyses of large amounts of samples and in cases where the number of the samples is small, and the frequency of analyses is low, the cost of the nucleic acid extracting apparatus is not capable of being kept low, and the processing efficiency is not capable of being kept high.

However, the problems described below occur with the nucleic acid extracting apparatus proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,723.

As a result, the problems often occur in that the processing on sample liquids having a comparatively high viscosity is not capable of being completed.

In cases where the capacity of the reduced pressure is increased in order to prevent the aforesaid problems from occurring, the size of the nucleic acid extracting apparatus is not capable of being kept small.

Also, due to a large volume of the reduced pressure, a long time is required to obtain the reduced pressure.

Further, it is not always possible to detect the completion of the discharging of all of the sample liquids.

Therefore, the setting time is not capable of being kept short, and the processing efficiency is not capable of being enhanced.

Furthermore, the problems occur in that a sample liquid having a low viscosity is vigorously discharged from the filter tube, and a bubble-like splash of the sample liquid clings to an adjacent filter tube and an adjacent area of the rack and causes contamination to occur.

As a result, the accuracy of the analysis is not capable of being kept high.

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