An apparatus for rapidly drying an electrophoretic gel film after staining

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for quickly drying an electrophoretic gel film after staining, belonging to the technical field of biomedical experimental equipment. It includes a power source, a heat source, a temperature control circuit and a heat conducting plate; a heat conducting plate is provided on the upper end surface of the device, and a heat source is provided below the heat conducting plate; the power source is connected to the heat source through the temperature control circuit. The present invention provides an efficient device that can help testers automatically complete the drying of the film, improving the efficiency of clinical detection by gel electrophoresis technology. The structure of the present invention is simply designed, enabling batch industrial production; it can batchwise complete the film drying work with high working efficiency; it requires no manual operation and can achieve fully automatic film drying; the present invention has a wide range of applications and can be compatible with most specifications of electrophoretic gel films.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for quickly drying a stained electrophoresis gel film, belonging to the technical field of biomedical experimental equipment. Background Art

[0002] Gel electrophoresis detection technology has currently been widely applied in biomedical research and clinical diagnosis of diseases. Its principle is that due to the different sizes and charges of protein and nucleic acid molecules in a specific pH buffer system, by applying a specific electric field, separation is promoted, and finally, staining is used for tracing; thus, qualitative and quantitative detection of different protein molecules or nucleic acid molecules is achieved. Currently, this technology is mainly used in the detection of hematological diseases and M proteinemia in clinical practice, and is of great significance in the diagnosis and treatment of specific patients. After staining, the electrophoresis gel film needs to be dried and dehydrated before it can be stored for a long time. The existing main dehydration methods are natural air drying dehydration and hair dryer air drying dehydration. The efficiency of natural air drying dehydration is extremely low. Generally, in a laboratory environment, it takes 1-2 hours to dehydrate the gel film to an ideal storage state, far from meeting the detection requirements of the laboratory. And hair dryer air drying dehydration accelerates the evaporation of the moisture of the gel by means of the high-speed hot air flow provided by the hair dryer. Generally, the dehydration of the gel film can be completed within 5-10 minutes; however, when using a hair dryer for drying and dehydration, it needs to be manually completed by the tester holding the film and the hair dryer. The degree of automation is low, and the tester cannot complete other work at the same time, which is not conducive to the development of other detection work. Therefore, there is an urgent need in this technical field to develop an efficient device that can help the tester automatically complete the drying of the film to improve the clinical detection efficiency of gel electrophoresis technology. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to solve the technical problem of how to obtain an efficient device that can help the tester automatically complete the drying of the film.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a device for quickly drying a stained electrophoresis gel film, including a power supply, a heat source, a temperature control circuit, and a heat conducting plate; a heat conducting plate is provided on the upper end surface of the device, and a heat source is provided below the heat conducting plate; the power supply is connected to the heat source through the temperature control circuit.

[0005] Preferably, the heat conducting plate is set as the upper end surface of the device.

[0006] Preferably, the heat conducting plate is provided with a horizontally arranged double-groove structure.

[0007] Preferably, a film bracket is provided on the heat conducting plate; the film bracket is a plate structure stacked up and down, and the film bracket is made of a heat conducting material.

[0008] Preferably, a pop-up mechanism is provided on the upper end surface of the device for detaching the film carrier from the heat conducting plate.

[0009] Preferably, a film carrier is provided on the heat conducting plate; the film carrier is a multi-piece fin structure in parallel, and a space for drying the film is provided between individual fins; the film carrier is made of a heat-conducting material.

[0010] Preferably, a control panel and a display screen for displaying parameters are provided on the device.

[0011] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0012] The present invention provides an efficient device that can help testers automatically complete film drying, improving the efficiency of clinical detection of gel electrophoresis technology. The structure of the present invention is simply designed and can achieve batch industrial production. The present invention can batch complete film drying work with high work efficiency. Without manual operation, the device can achieve fully automatic film drying. The present invention has a wide application range and can be compatible with most specifications of electrophoresis gel films. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall external structure of the dual-channel gel film drying device of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of the dual-channel gel film drying device of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the stacked multi-channel film drying device of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the fin-type multi-channel film drying device of the present invention;

[0017] Reference numerals: 1. Device housing; 2. Heat source; 3. Temperature control circuit; 4. Heat conducting plate; 5. Film carrier; 6. Control panel; 7. Display screen; 8. Power supply. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] To make the present invention more obvious and understandable, the preferred embodiments are described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings:

[0019] As Figures 1-4As shown, the present invention provides a device for fast drying of electrophoresis gel film after dyeing, including a power supply 8, a heat source 2, a temperature control circuit 3, a heat conducting plate 4 and a film holder 5; a heat conducting plate 4 is provided on the upper end surface of the device, and a heat source 2 is provided below the heat conducting plate 4; the power supply 8 is connected to the heat source 2 through the temperature control circuit 3; and a film holder 5 is provided on the heat conducting plate 4. The heat conducting plate 4 can be set as the upper end surface of the device. The heat conducting plate 4 is provided with a horizontal parallel double groove structure. The film holder 5 can be a plate structure superimposed on top of each other, and the film holder 5 is made of a heat conductive material; a pop-up mechanism that can be popped up to separate the film holder 5 from the heat conducting plate 4 is provided on the upper end surface of the device. The film holder 5 can be a parallel multi-fin structure, and a space for film drying is provided between the single fins; the film holder 5 is made of a heat conductive material. The device is also provided with a control panel 6 and a display screen 7 for displaying parameters.

[0020] The present invention aims at the defects of the existing gel film drying technology and provides a technical solution for automatic and rapid drying of electrophoresis gel film. The device provided by the solution has a simple structure, and the heating module cooperates with the temperature control circuit to accelerate the drying of the gel film at a set temperature, thereby realizing rapid and automatic film drying. The device has a low production cost, can be adapted to various specifications of gel films for adjustment, and has extremely high applicability and practicality.

[0021] The specific implementation of the above-mentioned device is as follows: The present invention provides an automated film drying device for quickly drying gel electrophoresis film, including a device housing 1, a heat source 2, a temperature control circuit 3, a heat conducting plate 4, and a film holder 5. The device housing 1 is surrounded by plastic or metal plates, and a hollow cavity is formed inside. The control mainboard, switch and main power wiring used by the temperature control circuit 3 are located in the cavity and fixed by screws, rivets or glue. The heat source 2 is connected to the control circuit 3, and its work output power can be controlled by the control circuit 3 to achieve different set temperatures. The heating surface of the heat source 2 is in contact with and fixed to the heat conducting plate 4, and the heating area of the heat source 2 is enlarged by the heat conducting plate 4 to achieve direct contact with the entire film. The heat conducting plate 4 can be directly used as the upper cover of the device and fixed to the device housing 1 by screws, rivets or glue. When in use, turn on the power switch 8, and the heat source 2 starts to heat under the regulation of the temperature control circuit 3. When the heat conducting plate 4 reaches the specified temperature, the stained gel electrophoresis film can be placed on the heat conducting plate 4 for heating and drying.

[0022] As a further improvement of the present invention, the area of the heat conducting plate is increased and the number of heat sources is increased to meet the demand of drying multiple films at the same time.

[0023] As a further improvement of the present invention, a film holder 5 made of a heat-conducting material is added above the heat-conducting plate 4 to further increase the number of dried films and improve the overall work efficiency.

[0024] As a further improvement of the present invention, it further includes vertically arranging the film carrier 5 for drying multiple films to improve the temperature uniformity of different drying grilles.

[0025] As a further improvement of the present invention, it further includes using a water-absorbing material at the bottom of the film carrier 5 in contact with the film for waste liquid collection to further improve the drying efficiency of the chip.

[0026] As a further improvement of the present invention, it further includes adding an ejection mechanism in the film carrier 5. After the set drying time arrives, the corresponding carrier grille will automatically pop out, making it easier to take out the dried film.

[0027] The technical advantage of this solution is that the equipment provided by the present invention can achieve batch automatic rapid drying of gel electrophoresis films through a simple electric heating method with low power consumption and high efficiency. It greatly improves the working efficiency of the laboratory.

[0028] Controlling the temperature within an appropriate range can effectively improve the evaporation rate of the bound water in the film and increase the film drying speed. However, too high a temperature will also damage the film. Therefore, by combining a temperature control module and a Peltier, the temperature is controlled within an appropriate range, and with the help of materials with high thermal conductivity such as copper sheets, the temperature is conducted to the film, and the film can be quickly dried.

[0029] Embodiment

[0030] The technical solution of the present invention will be further elaborated below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] As shown in Figures 1-4 the appearance main body of the embodiment is composed of five parts: an equipment shell 1, a heat source 2, a temperature control circuit 3, a heat conducting plate 4, and a film carrier 5. The overall appearance of the equipment is as shown in Figure 1 shown.

[0032] As shown in Figure 1 the overall equipment is wrapped by the shell 1 and the heat conducting plate 4. A display screen 7 and a control panel 6 can be set on the shell 1 for setting the heating temperature and displaying the working state of the equipment. The upper heat conducting plate 4 can be divided into different drying areas as needed. The internal structure of the equipment is as shown in Figure 2 shown. The power supply 8 and the main board of the temperature control module are fixed at the bottom of the shell 1, and the heat source 2 is in contact with the heat conducting plate 4 for efficient heat conduction. The heat conducting plate 4 is connected to the shell 1 to completely wrap the whole equipment.

[0033] As shown in Figure 3 to further improve the working throughput of the equipment, several film carriers 5 made of heat conducting materials can be added above the heat conducting plate 4.

[0034] As shown inFigure 4 As shown, to further improve the heat conduction efficiency of the device and reduce the temperature difference between the film drying chambers, the heat conduction plate is replaced with a finned heat conduction plate. The space between two fins is the drying chamber for the film.

[0035] In this embodiment, the main body of the device housing is integrally formed using ABS plastic through 3D printing technology. Its dimensions are 300*260*105 mm, with a wall thickness of 5 mm. The heat conduction plate 4 uses an aluminum plate, with the plate dimensions of 300*175*8 mm, and the central drying groove dimensions of 140*156*3 mm. The heat source 2 uses two 150W Peltier TEC1-12715 50*50 models. Their hot surfaces are in contact with the back of the heat conduction plate 4, and a thermal conductive silicone sheet is used to increase the heat conduction efficiency between the two. The temperature measurement probe uses a surface-mounted high-precision temperature measurement probe, with a measurement working range of -55°C - 125°C.

[0036] The main board uses a general single-chip microcomputer for simple program control. The power supply 8 uses a standard 220v to 15v regulated power supply. The power supply 8 and the main board are installed at the bottom of the housing 1 through screws. The temperature measurement probe and the Peltier are connected to the single-chip microcomputer. The single-chip microcomputer receives the temperature measurement data and controls the output power in real time to regulate the output temperature of the Peltier. The heat conduction plate 4 is locked to the top of the housing 1 through screws to complete the sealing of the device.

[0037] During use, connect the power cord to the mains socket. After turning on the power switch and waiting for the device to pass the self-check, the device automatically starts heating to the set temperature. After waiting for the instrument to prompt that the heat conduction plate 4 has reached the specified temperature, it can start working.

[0038] The specific usage method is: directly place the film after the dyeing step in the groove of the corresponding size in the heat conduction plate 4, and it can complete the drying of the film after waiting for 5 - 10 minutes.

[0039] In another embodiment, an aluminum plate is also used to process a film bracket 5 with the same size as the heat conduction plate 4, and the brackets are stacked. This embodiment can increase the working throughput of the device and can realize the simultaneous drying of more films. At the same time, by numbering different drying slots, it is also possible to simply distinguish the order of the films when the films are wet to prevent the order from being confused.

[0040] In another embodiment, a finned structure is processed using brass. The fin spacing is 3 mm, and the height is 100 mm. This embodiment more effectively improves the working throughput and can dry 28 films simultaneously. On the other hand, the finned structure makes the heat distribution more uniform between different drying chambers and the heat transfer speed faster, so the overall working performance is also more excellent.

[0041] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not impose any formal or substantial limitations on the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art of this technology, without departing from the premise of the present invention, several improvements and supplements can still be made, and these improvements and supplements should also be regarded as within the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes in the form of slight modifications, decorations, and evolutions made by those skilled in the art who are familiar with this specialty without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention by using the technical content disclosed above are all equivalent embodiments of the present invention; at the same time, any equivalent changes, modifications, and evolutions made to the above embodiments based on the substantial technology of the present invention still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for rapidly drying an electrophoretic gel film after staining, characterized in that, It includes a power supply, a heat source, a temperature control circuit and a heat conducting plate; the heat conducting plate is provided on the upper end surface of the device, and a heat source is provided below the heat conducting plate; the power supply is connected to the heat source through the temperature control circuit; The heat conducting plate is provided with a horizontal parallel double groove structure; The heat conducting plate is provided with a film bracket; A water-absorbing material for collecting waste liquid is provided at the bottom of the film holder, where it contacts the film; The heat-conducting plate is provided with a film bracket; the film bracket is a plate-type structure stacked up and down, and the film bracket is made of heat-conducting material; An ejection mechanism is provided on the upper end surface of the device, which can be ejected to separate the film holder from the heat conducting plate.

2. The device for rapidly drying an electrophoretic gel film after dyeing according to claim 1, wherein, The heat conducting plate is arranged as the upper end surface of the device.

3. The device for quickly drying an electrophoretic gel film after dyeing according to claim 1, wherein, The heat-conducting plate is provided with a film holder; the film holder is a parallel multi-fin structure, and a space for film drying is provided between the individual fins; the film holder is made of a heat-conducting material.

4. A device for quickly drying an electrophoretic gel film after dyeing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The device is provided with a control panel and a display screen for displaying parameters.

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