Mass spectrometer

Abstract

This mass spectrometer is provided with: a reagent refrigerator (21) for storing reagent containers; a mass analysis unit (40) that performs mass analysis on the specimen that has been pretreated by reacting with the reagent contained in the reagent container; and a gas pipe (71) that is connected to a gas source (50) and that supplies the inert gas from the gas source, the gas pipe being branched into a first inert gas flow path that supplies the inert gas to the mass analysis unit and a second inert gas flow path that supplies the inert gas to the reagent refrigerator. As a result, the reagent refrigerator can be kept clean.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a quality analysis device. Background Art

[0002] An automatic analysis device that keeps a reagent refrigerator storing reagent containers clean is disclosed in Patent Document 1. When outside air flows into a reagent refrigerator that stores reagent containers containing analysis reagents at a low temperature for a long time, it may cause the mixing of dust, miscellaneous bacteria, etc. contained in the outside air and dew condensation caused by the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the reagent refrigerator, thereby contaminating the reagent refrigerator. Therefore, when opening the reagent container replacement section for replacing the reagent container, the inside of the reagent refrigerator is made positive pressure with respect to the surroundings of the reagent refrigerator, or dust or miscellaneous bacteria attached to the reagent container are removed, thereby suppressing the contamination of the reagent refrigerator.

[0003] Prior Art Documents

[0004] Patent Documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: International Publication No. 2020 / 208914 Summary of the Invention

[0006] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] In Patent Document 1, when replacing a reagent container, the inside of the reagent refrigerator is made positive pressure to suppress the inflow of normal-temperature air, thereby suppressing the generation of dew condensation inside the reagent refrigerator. However, when replacing the reagent, the reagent refrigerator opens widely, and as the mechanism for reagent replacement operates, the air inside the reagent refrigerator is stirred, so it is inevitable that a certain amount of outside air flows in.

[0008] A quality analysis device is a device that ionizes a liquid sample and introduces it into a vacuum device, and separates ions according to the mass-to-charge ratio (m / z). When generating ions by, for example, electrospray ionization (ESI method) in a quality analysis device, a heated inert gas (e.g., nitrogen gas) is sprayed onto the droplets of the sample. Therefore, an inert gas is introduced from a gas source into the quality analysis device.

[0009] Therefore, the inventor studied using the inert gas from the gas source to keep the reagent refrigerator clean. An object of the present invention is to provide a quality analysis device that can keep the reagent refrigerator clean using an inert gas.

[0010] Means for Solving the Problems

[0011] A quality analysis device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a reagent refrigerator for storing reagent containers; a quality analysis unit for performing quality analysis on a specimen that has been pre-treated by reacting with a reagent contained in the reagent container; and a gas pipe connected to a gas source for supplying an inert gas from the gas source, the gas pipe branching into a first inert gas flow path for supplying the inert gas to the quality analysis unit and a second inert gas flow path for supplying the inert gas to the reagent refrigerator.

[0012] Advantages of the Invention

[0013] Provided is a quality analysis device capable of keeping a reagent refrigerator clean using an inert gas. Other problems and new features will become clear from the description and drawings of this specification. Description of the Drawings

[0014] Figure 1 is a structural example of the quality analysis device.

[0015] Figure 2 is a structural diagram of the inert gas flow path of the quality analysis device.

[0016] Figure 3 is a structural diagram of the cooling water flow path and the inert gas flow path in the reagent refrigerator. Detailed Embodiments

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 Shows a structural example of the quality analysis device 1 of this embodiment. The quality analysis device 1 mainly includes a specimen input unit 10, a pre-treatment unit 20, a separation unit 30, and a quality analysis unit 40. The specimen to be analyzed is accommodated in a specimen container, the specimen container is mounted on a specimen holder 16, and is input into the quality analysis device 1 from the specimen input unit 10.

[0019] The sample input unit 10 includes a sample loading / unloading unit 11 and a buffer unit 14. The sample holder 16 loaded into the sample loading / unloading unit 11 is carried out towards the pretreatment unit 20 by the holder transfer mechanism 12. In the pretreatment unit 20, the sample holder 16 is transferred to the holder transfer mechanism 15, and at the dispensing position on the holder transfer mechanism 15, a required amount of sample is dispensed from the sample container into the reaction container on the incubator 23. When the dispensing of the samples contained in the multiple sample containers mounted on the sample holder 16 is all completed, the sample holder 16 is transferred from the holder transfer mechanism 15 to the holder transfer mechanism 13, returned to the sample loading / unloading unit 11 by the holder transfer mechanism 13, and then retrieved by the operator. The buffer unit 14 is used to temporarily retract the sample holder 16 when the number of sample holders 16 loaded into the sample loading / unloading unit 11 is excessive and the analysis process of the apparatus 1 cannot keep up, so that the sample holder 16 does not stay on the holder transfer mechanism 12. In addition, in Figure 1 the example, a conveyor belt type transfer mechanism is illustrated as the holder transfer mechanism, but it is not limited to this method.

[0020] The pretreatment unit 20 is a unit that performs pretreatment for quality analysis. The content of the pretreatment is not limited. For example, in the pretreatment unit 20, a process of amplifying the analysis target component in the sample is performed. The pretreatment unit 20 includes: a reagent refrigerator 21 that stores the reagents required for pretreatment; an incubator 23 that maintains the mixed solution of the reagent and the sample at a certain temperature to promote the reaction; a reaction container supply mechanism 24 that stores the reaction containers for mixing the reagent and the sample and supplies the reaction containers to the incubator 23; a reagent dispensing mechanism 25 that dispenses the reagent from the reagent container stored in the reagent refrigerator 21 into the reaction container on the incubator 23; a sample dispensing mechanism 26 that dispenses the sample from the sample container on the sample holder 16 into the reaction container on the incubator 23; and a sample extraction unit 27 that removes the components unnecessary for subsequent analysis from the reaction solution of the reagent and the sample after the reaction in the incubator 23.

[0021] The separation unit 30 is a unit that separates the sample pretreated by the pretreatment unit 20 into multiple components, and the quality analysis unit 40 is a unit (quality analyzer) that performs quality analysis on the multiple components separated by the separation unit 30. An analysis method using liquid chromatography as the separation unit 30 and a mass spectrometer as the detector of the liquid chromatography, namely liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), is known.

[0022] Use Figure 1 and Figure 3 To briefly describe the structure of the reagent refrigerator 21. In Figure 3The reagent refrigerator 21 is shown in a sectional view. By supplying cooling water to the reagent refrigerator 21, the interior of the refrigerator is maintained at a low temperature. In addition, a lid 28 is fixed to the reagent refrigerator 21, and a reagent replacement mechanism 22 and a dispensing hole 29 are provided in the lid 28. Although not shown, a reagent tray for holding reagents is rotatably provided inside the reagent refrigerator 21. The reagent replacement mechanism 22 is normally blocked from the reagent refrigerator 21, and outside air does not flow into the reagent refrigerator 21. However, during reagent replacement, the reagent is loaded and unloaded from the opening 22o with respect to the reagent tray inside the refrigerator, so outside air flows into the reagent refrigerator 21 at this time. In addition, since the reagent dispensing mechanism 25 dispenses reagents from a reagent container, the dispensing hole 29 for allowing the probe to pass through has a small opening area but is always open.

[0023] In this way, it is difficult to always block the inside of the reagent refrigerator 21 from the outside air. Therefore, if condensation occurs inside the reagent refrigerator 21, molds and miscellaneous bacteria may multiply. In this embodiment, attention is paid to supplying an inert gas from the gas source 50 to the mass spectrometer 1. The inert gas from the gas source 50, which is different from the outside air and does not contain oxygen, is supplied not only to the mass analysis unit 40 but also to the reagent refrigerator 21, thereby keeping the reagent refrigerator clean.

[0024] Figure 2 A structural diagram showing the inert gas flow path of the mass spectrometer 1. In addition, the boundary line 60 shown by the double-dashed line conceptually represents the boundary between the mass spectrometer 1 and an external device. The gas source 50 can be a gas generation device that generates an inert gas or a gas cylinder that stores an inert gas. As the inert gas, the case of using nitrogen is described here. The gas source 50 is connected to the gas pipe 71 via the connection part 62. Here, the gas pipe 71 is divided into three sections A to C for description. In addition, Figure 2 The shown flow path structure is an example and is not limited to this flow path structure.

[0025] Interval A is an interval that is connected to the gas source 50 via the connection part 62, branches into two parts in the middle, and the branched gas pipes reach the regulators 54a and 54b respectively. The gas pipe 71 in interval A is marked as gas pipe 71A. A filter 51 and a pressure sensor 52 are provided in the gas pipe 71A from the upstream. The filter 51 is provided to protect the mechanism for supplying the inert gas by capturing dust and fine particles in the gas supplied to the gas pipe 71. The pressure sensor 52 is provided to monitor the pressure of the inert gas supplied from the gas source 50. Downstream of the pressure sensor 52, the gas pipe 71A is branched, one flow path is connected to the regulator 54a for the mass analysis unit, and the other flow path is connected to the regulator 54b for the reagent refrigerator. Manual valves 53a and 53b are provided in the branched flow paths respectively. These are used when it is desired to stop supplying the inert gas to the mass analysis unit 40 or the reagent refrigerator 21 during maintenance of the device.

[0026] Interval B is the interval from the regulator 54a to the mass analysis unit 40. The gas pipe 71 in interval B is marked as gas pipe 71B. The regulator 54a is provided to make the air pressure of the inert gas lower than that in interval A and supply the inert gas to the mass analysis unit 40 at a stable air pressure. The inert gas supplied to the mass analysis unit 40 is discharged by the vacuum pump 55 after being used for, for example, ionizing the sample, and is processed by the exhaust device 65 connected via the connection part 63.

[0027] Interval C is the interval from the regulator 54b to the reagent refrigerator 21. The gas pipe 71 in interval C is marked as gas pipe 71C. The regulator 54b is provided to make the air pressure of the inert gas lower than that in interval A and supply the inert gas to the reagent refrigerator 21 at a stable air pressure. The gas pressure in interval C can be lower than the gas pressure in interval B. A needle valve 56, a flow meter 57, and a gas cooler 58 are provided in the gas pipe 71C from the upstream. The needle valve 56 is provided to adjust the flow rate of the inert gas supplied to the reagent refrigerator 21. The flow meter 57 is provided to monitor the flow rate of the inert gas supplied to the reagent refrigerator 21. The gas cooler 58 is provided to cool the inert gas supplied to the reagent refrigerator 21. Figure 3 The structure for cooling the inert gas will be described.

[0028] The inert gas supplied to the reagent refrigerator 21 leaks from the opening of the reagent refrigerator 21. Therefore, by providing an exhaust fan 59 in the outer cover 61 of the device, the inert gas leaking from the opening of the reagent refrigerator 21 is discharged and processed by the exhaust device 65 connected via the connection part 64.

[0029] Figure 3This is a structural diagram of the cooling water flow path and the inert gas flow path in the reagent refrigerator 21. The inert gas flow path is Figure 2 the flow path shown, but is simplified and shown here. In this embodiment, by supplying an inert gas to the reagent refrigerator 21, the oxygen concentration inside the reagent refrigerator 21 is reduced, thereby suppressing the generation of contamination inside the refrigerator. Therefore, it is effective to reduce the oxygen concentration near the bottom surface of the reagent refrigerator 21 where condensation is likely to accumulate. However, when nitrogen is used as the inert gas, the specific gravity of nitrogen is 0.967 (air = 1), and the gas density difference from air is not large. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to make nitrogen easily stay near the bottom surface of the reagent refrigerator 21, the nitrogen is cooled to make the gas density greater.

[0030] To cool the inside of the reagent refrigerator 21, a water-cooled chiller 76 and a cooling water pipe 75 for circulating cooling water between the water-cooled chiller 76 and the reagent refrigerator 21 are provided. This cooling water flow path is used for cooling nitrogen. In the cooling water flow path for supplying cooling water from the water-cooled chiller 76 to the reagent refrigerator 21, nitrogen is cooled by connecting the gas cooler 58 to the cooling water pipe 75 and passing the gas through the gas pipe 71 inside the gas cooler 58. By arranging the gas cooler 58 at a position upstream of the reagent refrigerator 21 in the cooling water flow path, nitrogen at a temperature lower than the temperature of the reagent refrigerator 21 can be supplied. In addition, in order to make nitrogen easily stay near the bottom surface of the reagent refrigerator 21, it is preferable to connect the gas pipe 71 to the bottom surface of the reagent refrigerator 21. The inert gas can also be supplied from multiple parts of the bottom surface of the reagent refrigerator 21.

[0031] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modification examples. For example, the above-described embodiments are described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to having all the structures described. In addition, for a part of the structure of the embodiment, other structures can be added, deleted, or replaced.

[0032] Explanation of reference numerals:

[0033] 1: Mass analyzer; 10: Specimen input unit; 11: Specimen loading / unloading unit; 12, 13, 15: Support transfer mechanism; 14: Buffer unit; 20: Pretreatment unit; 21: Reagent refrigerator; 22: Reagent replacement mechanism; 22o: Opening; 23: Incubator; 24: Reaction vessel supply mechanism; 25: Reagent dispensing mechanism; 26: Specimen dispensing mechanism; 27: Specimen extraction unit; 28: Lid; 29: Dispensing hole; 30: Separation unit; 40: Mass analysis unit; 50: Gas source; 51: Filter; 52: Pressure sensor; 53: Manual valve; 54: Regulator; 55: Vacuum pump; 56: Needle valve; 57: Flowmeter; 58: Gas cooler; 59: Exhaust fan; 60: Boundary line; 61: Outer cover; 62, 63, 64: Connection part; 65: Exhaust equipment; 71: Gas pipe; 75: Cooling water pipe; 76: Water-cooled refrigerator.

Claims

1. A quality analysis device, wherein, the quality analysis device has: a reagent cold storage for storing reagent containers; a quality analysis unit for performing quality analysis on a specimen that has undergone pretreatment by reacting with a reagent contained in the reagent container; and a gas pipe connected to a gas source for supplying an inert gas from the gas source, the gas pipe branching into a first inert gas flow path for supplying the inert gas to the quality analysis unit and a second inert gas flow path for supplying the inert gas to the reagent cold storage.

2. The quality analysis device according to claim 1, wherein, the quality analysis device has: a water-cooled refrigerator for cooling the reagent cold storage; a cooling water pipe for circulating cooling water between the water-cooled refrigerator and the reagent cold storage; and a gas cooler disposed in a cooling water flow path for supplying the cooling water to the reagent cold storage for cooling the inert gas.

3. The quality analysis device according to claim 2, wherein, the gas cooler cools the inert gas passing through the gas pipe constituting the second inert gas flow path using the cooling water.

4. The quality analysis device according to claim 1, wherein, the gas pipe constituting the second inert gas flow path is connected to the bottom surface of the reagent cold storage.

5. The quality analysis device according to claim 1, wherein, a first regulator is connected to the first inert gas flow path for supplying the inert gas at a reduced pressure compared to the gas pressure supplied from the gas source, a second regulator is connected to the second inert gas flow path for supplying the inert gas at a reduced pressure compared to the gas pressure supplied from the gas source, the gas pressure in the second inert gas flow path is lower than the gas pressure in the first inert gas flow path.

6. The quality analysis device according to claim 5, wherein, a pressure sensor is disposed at a position upstream of the branch of the first inert gas flow path and the second inert gas flow path in the gas pipe for measuring the gas pressure of the inert gas supplied from the gas source.

7. The quality analysis device according to claim 5, wherein, a first valve capable of blocking the supply of the inert gas to the quality analysis unit is disposed in the first inert gas flow path, a second valve capable of blocking the supply of the inert gas to the reagent cold storage is disposed in the second inert gas flow path.

8. The quality analysis device according to claim 1, wherein, the inert gas supplied to the quality analysis unit is discharged through a vacuum pump connected to the quality analysis unit, the inert gas supplied to the reagent cold storage is discharged through an exhaust fan provided on an outer cover, the discharged inert gas is processed by an exhaust device.

9. The quality analysis device according to claim 1, wherein, the quality analysis unit uses the inert gas to ionize the specimen, the inert gas is nitrogen.

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