An optical system for a fluorescence quantitative analyzer

Abstract

This invention discloses an optical system for a quantitative fluorescence analyzer, comprising a light source assembly, a photodetector assembly, a spectrometer module, and a microfluidic chip. The light source assembly emits a ring beam. The microfluidic chip has sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes, which are radially distributed along the microfluidic chip, aligning them on a straight line and sequentially connected. The spectrometer module is positioned above the microfluidic chip, allowing the ring beam to fall into the amplification holes after passing through it. The fluorescence emitted by the reagents in the amplification holes is detected by the photodetector assembly after passing through the spectrometer module. This invention features a simple structure, small size, and enables rapid, simultaneous detection of multiple samples.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a fluorescence quantitative analysis technique, and more particularly to an optical system for a fluorescence quantitative analyzer. Background Technology

[0002] Optical detection systems are highly sensitive and selective, making them an important biological detection technology. In most biological detection applications, it is typically necessary to simultaneously measure multiple biological samples at multiple wavelengths. To achieve this multi-sample, multi-wavelength detection, existing fluorescence detection systems generally employ one of two methods: 1) Photographic technique: Using a single broad-spectrum light source, the desired excitation wavelength is obtained through a filter of a specific wavelength. Then, a CCD (Computer-Controlled Disk System) is used to simultaneously acquire the reaction fluorescence of all samples. Different wavelength filters are then used to obtain reaction fluorescence signals at different wavelengths. 2) Scanning method: Similar to the photographic technique, it uses the same broad-spectrum light source, obtaining the desired excitation wavelength through a filter of a specific wavelength. However, the detection element is a single photoelectric sensor, measuring only one sample at a time. The light source and detection module are then mechanically moved to measure the next sample. Switching between different wavelengths is also accomplished by mechanically switching filters. This allows switching to the next sample after measuring all wavelengths for the same sample, or switching filters after measuring all samples at the same wavelength, and then repeating the scanning of all samples. Among the traditional methods mentioned above, photographic technology is fast but expensive, while scanning is inexpensive but slow. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide an optical system for a fluorescence quantitative analyzer. This optical system has a simple structure, small size, and can achieve rapid and synchronous detection of multiple samples.

[0004] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem is: an optical system for a fluorescence quantitative analyzer, including a light source component, a photoelectric detection component, a spectrometer module, and a microfluidic component;

[0005] The light source assembly includes a light source, a focusing lens, and a first conical lens. The light beam emitted by the light source is focused by the focusing lens and then penetrates the first conical lens to form a ring beam.

[0006] The microfluidic component includes a microfluidic chip and a card holder. The microfluidic chip is installed in the card holder. The microfluidic chip is a circular chip, and the card holder is a circular card holder. The microfluidic chip and the card holder are concentric.

[0007] The microfluidic chip is provided with sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes. The sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes are distributed radially along the microfluidic chip, so that the sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes are located on the same straight line, and the sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes are connected in sequence.

[0008] The beam splitter is positioned above the microfluidic chip, so that the ring beam falls into the amplification aperture after passing through the beam splitter, and the fluorescence excited by the reagents in the amplification aperture is detected by the photoelectric detection component after passing through the beam splitter.

[0009] Optionally, a motor is provided at the bottom of the card holder, and the output shaft of the motor is fixedly connected to the center position of the bottom of the card holder.

[0010] Optionally, the beam splitting module includes a rotating system in which multiple frame frames are fixedly installed. Each frame frame includes a first support plate and a second support plate that are perpendicular to each other. Through holes are provided in the middle of the first support plate and the second support plate respectively. A first filter is installed in the through hole of the first support plate and a second filter is installed in the through hole of the second support plate.

[0011] Optionally, the axis of the first filter is parallel to the axis of the ring beam, and the second filter is coaxial with the photoelectric detection component.

[0012] Optionally, a second conical lens is provided in the subsequent optical path of the first conical lens, so that the annular beam is shaped by the second conical lens.

[0013] Optionally, a third support plate is fixedly installed on one side of the first support plate and the second support plate, and a dichroic mirror is fixedly installed on the surface of the third support plate. The angle between the dichroic mirror and the first support plate and the second support plate is 45°.

[0014] Optionally, the sample dispensing orifice is located at the center of the microfluidic chip.

[0015] Optionally, the sample dispensing orifice is located off-center from the microfluidic chip.

[0016] Optionally, the pyrolysis hole and the purification hole are located in the same position, so that the pyrolysis hole and the purification hole are merged into a single hole.

[0017] Optionally, a test tube containing reagents is connected to the sample dispensing well, and the test tube is connected to the sample dispensing well so that the reagents in the test tube enter the sample dispensing well.

[0018] Using the above technical solution, the present invention has a simple structure, small size, and can realize rapid and synchronous detection of multiple samples. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the structure of one embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the optical path according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the optical path according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the distribution of reaction orifices in a microfluidic chip according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the distribution of reaction orifices in a microfluidic chip according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present application will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and not intended to limit it. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0026] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be combined with each other. This application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0027] like Figures 1-4 As shown, this invention discloses an optical system for a quantitative fluorescence analyzer. This optical system can use a ring beam as excitation light to cover samples throughout the entire circumference, thereby exciting fluorescence in samples located throughout the circumference, enabling rapid and simultaneous detection of multiple samples. The optical system includes a light source assembly 100, a photodetector assembly 200, a beam splitter module 300, and a microfluidic assembly 400. The light source assembly 100 emits a ring beam, which, after passing through the beam splitter module 300, is directed onto samples located in the microfluidic assembly 400. Upon excitation by the excitation light, the samples emit fluorescence signals, which are then received by the photodetector assembly 200 after passing through the beam splitter module 300.

[0028] Specifically, the light source assembly 100 includes a light source 110, a focusing lens 120, and a first conical lens 130. The light source 110 can be a broadband light source, such as an LED lamp, a halogen tungsten lamp, or a xenon lamp. The light beam emitted by the light source 110 is focused by the focusing lens 120 and then passes through the first conical lens 130 to form a ring beam. The first conical lens 130 has a plane and a conical surface. When the first conical lens 130 is positioned, its plane faces the focusing lens 120, and the light source 110, the focusing lens 120, and the first conical lens 130 are coaxial. At this time, the ring beam is emitted from the conical surface of the first conical lens 130 and is perpendicular to the conical surface of the first conical lens 130.

[0029] The microfluidic assembly 400 includes a microfluidic chip 410 and a mounting base 420. Both the microfluidic chip 410 and the mounting base 420 are circular. The microfluidic chip 410 is snapped into the mounting base 420, and the microfluidic chip 410 and the mounting base 420 are concentric, allowing the microfluidic chip 410 to rotate around its own axis. A motor 430 is connected to the bottom of the mounting base 420. The motor 430 drives the mounting base 420 to rotate, thereby causing the microfluidic chip 410 to rotate, generating centrifugal force to drive sample flow. In this invention, the output shaft of the motor 430 is directly and fixedly connected to the center of the bottom of the mounting base 420 to ensure the stability of the rotation of the mounting base 420.

[0030] In this invention, such as Figure 5 and 6 As shown, the microfluidic chip 410 has reaction wells, including a sample loading well 411, a lysis well 412, a purification well 413, and an amplification well 414. The sample loading well 411 is used to add samples; specifically, a test tube 415 can be installed therein, allowing the sample in the test tube 415 to leak into the sample loading well 411. When the motor 430 drives the card holder 420 to rotate, the microfluidic chip 410 generates centrifugal force, causing the sample to flow sequentially through each well. In this invention, the lysis well 412 contains lysis buffer, the purification well 413 contains magnetic beads, and the amplification well 414 contains primers and polymerase. The sample flows from the sample loading well 411 to the amplification well 414, completing the entire amplification process according to the amplification flow.

[0031] In this invention, the sample loading port 411, lysis port 412, purification port 413, and amplification port 414 are radially distributed along the microfluidic chip 410, thereby ensuring that the sample loading port 411, lysis port 412, purification port 413, and amplification port 414 are located on the same straight line and are sequentially connected to each other. To improve the utilization rate of the microfluidic chip 410, in another embodiment of this invention, the lysis port 412 and the purification port 413 can be located in the same position, so that the lysis port 412 and the purification port 413 are combined into a single port.

[0032] In this invention, the spectrometer module 300 is positioned above the microfluidic chip 410. This arrangement allows the ring beam to fall into the amplification aperture 414 after passing through the spectrometer module 300. The reagents located in the amplification aperture 414 are excited, and the fluorescence emitted is detected by the photodetector component 200 after passing through the spectrometer module 300.

[0033] The beam splitter module 300 includes a rotation system in which multiple frame frames 310 are fixedly mounted for fixing lenses. Specifically, each frame frame 310 includes a first support plate 311 and a second support plate 312 that are perpendicular to each other. Through holes are provided in the middle portions of the first support plate 311 and the second support plate 312 for mounting lenses. For example, a first filter 313 is mounted in the through hole of the first support plate 311, and a second filter 314 is mounted in the through hole of the second support plate 312. The first filter 313 filters out excitation light, while the second filter 314 filters stray light from the fluorescence. In this invention, the mounted first filter 313 and second filter 314 must ensure that the axis of the first filter 313 is parallel to the axis of the annular beam, and the second filter 314 is coaxial with the photodetector assembly 200. A third support plate 315 is fixedly installed on one side of the first support plate 311 and the second support plate 312, and a dichroic mirror 316 is fixedly installed on the surface of the third support plate 315. The angle between the dichroic mirror 316 and the first support plate 311 and the second support plate 312 is 45°.

[0034] The rotation system of this invention can directly adopt the rotation unit of the existing spectrometer module. However, in this invention, the rotation axis of the rotation unit coincides with the rotation axis of the microfluidic chip 410. The rotation system can drive the mold frame 310 to rotate, so that the same sample is subjected to excitation light of different wavelengths, thereby generating fluorescence signals of different wavelengths and realizing multiple detection of the same sample.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present invention, the light beam transmitted from the first conical lens 130 is perpendicular to the first conical lens 130. Therefore, the first filter 313 is placed perpendicular to the light beam, so the light spot falling into the microfluidic chip 410 after passing through the first filter 313 is elliptical. Therefore, the amplification aperture 414 can be set as an elliptical aperture, and the inner wall of the elliptical aperture is parallel to the optical axis of the light beam. The size of the amplification aperture 414 is adapted to the light spot falling into the microfluidic chip 414 so that the light beam can be fully irradiated into the amplification aperture 414. In another embodiment of the present invention, in order to ensure that the light spot falling into the microfluidic chip 410 is circular, a second conical lens 140 can be installed in the subsequent optical path of the first conical lens 130. The ring-shaped light beam can be shaped into a vertical beam after passing through the second conical lens 140.

[0036] In this invention, the position of the sample application port 411 can be defined. For example, as... Figure 6 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the sample loading port 411 can be positioned at the center of the microfluidic chip 410. This arrangement allows multiple lysis wells 412 to share a single sample loading port 411. In this case, the sample loading port 411 connects to only one test tube, thus enabling simultaneous multiple detections of the same sample under centrifugal force. In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown... Figure 5 As shown, the sample loading port is set at an off-center position of the microfluidic chip 410, so that the number of sample loading ports 411 is consistent with the number of lysis ports 412, so that one lysis port 412 corresponds to one sample loading port 411. At this time, each sample loading port 411 can be connected to a test tube containing different samples, so that different samples can be detected simultaneously. With the help of the rotatable spectrometer module 300, multiple samples can be detected simultaneously.

[0037] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and an explanation of the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the invention involved in this application is not limited to technical solutions formed by specific combinations of the above-described technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by arbitrary combinations of the above-described technical features or their equivalents without departing from the inventive concept. For example, technical solutions formed by substituting the above features with (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in this application.

[0038] Apart from the technical features described in the specification, the other technical features are known to those skilled in the art. To highlight the innovative features of this invention, the other technical features will not be described in detail here.

Claims

1. An optical system for a fluorescence quantitative analyzer, characterized in that, This includes light source components, photoelectric detection components, beam splitting modules, and microfluidic components; The light source assembly includes a light source, a focusing lens, and a first conical lens. The light beam emitted by the light source is focused by the focusing lens and then penetrates the first conical lens to form a ring beam. The microfluidic component includes a microfluidic chip and a card holder. The microfluidic chip is installed in the card holder. The microfluidic chip is a circular chip, and the card holder is a circular card holder. The microfluidic chip and the card holder are concentric. The microfluidic chip is provided with sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes. The sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes are distributed radially along the microfluidic chip, so that the sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes are located on the same straight line, and the sample loading holes, lysis holes, purification holes, and amplification holes are connected in sequence. The beam splitter is positioned above the microfluidic chip, so that the ring beam falls into the amplification aperture after passing through the beam splitter, and the fluorescence excited by the reagents in the amplification aperture is detected by the photoelectric detection component after passing through the beam splitter. The beam splitting module includes a rotating system in which multiple frame frames are fixedly mounted. Each frame frame includes a first support plate and a second support plate that are perpendicular to each other. A through hole is provided in the middle of each of the first and second support plates. A first filter is installed in the through hole of the first support plate, and a second filter is installed in the through hole of the second support plate. The axis of the first filter is parallel to the axis of the annular beam, and the second filter is coaxial with the photoelectric detection component. A third support plate is fixedly mounted on one side of the first and second support plates, and a dichroic mirror is fixedly mounted on the surface of the third support plate. The angle between the dichroic mirror and both the first and second support plates is 45°. The rotation axis of the rotating system coincides with the rotation axis of the microfluidic chip, and the rotating system drives the mold frame to rotate.

2. The optical system of the fluorescence quantitative analyzer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the card holder is equipped with a motor, and the output shaft of the motor is fixedly connected to the center of the bottom of the card holder.

3. The optical system of the fluorescence quantitative analyzer according to claim 2, characterized in that, A second conical lens is provided in the subsequent optical path of the first conical lens, so that the ring beam is shaped into a vertical beam by the second conical lens.

4. The optical system of the fluorescence quantitative analyzer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sample application port is located at the center of the microfluidic chip.

5. The optical system of the fluorescence quantitative analyzer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sample application port is located off-center on the microfluidic chip.

6. The optical system of the fluorescence quantitative analyzer according to claim 4, characterized in that, The pyrolysis hole and the purification hole are located in the same position, so that the pyrolysis hole and the purification hole are merged into a single hole.

7. The optical system of the fluorescence quantitative analyzer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sample dispensing well is connected to a test tube containing reagents, and the test tube is connected to the sample dispensing well so that the reagents in the test tube enter the sample dispensing well.

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