Temperature control module of nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument
By introducing an exhaust channel and a lifting device into the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument, the problem of difficult removal of condensate was solved, enabling rapid cooling and heating, and improving the efficiency of the equipment.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411147066.3
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-08-21
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-03
AI Technical Summary
Existing nucleic acid extraction and purification instruments generate condensate during the cooling process of the elution tube, which is difficult to remove and affects subsequent heating time and equipment efficiency.
A temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument is designed, comprising a carrier box, a heat-conducting block, a semiconductor cooling chip, a heat sink, a cooling fan, and an air intake channel. The air intake channel guides the air from the cooling fan to both sides of the heat-conducting block and into the heating tank to promote the evaporation of condensate. The condensate is then blown into the waste liquid tank by a lifting device.
It effectively removes condensate, improves the cooling efficiency and heating speed of the equipment, reduces the impact of condensate on the equipment, and enhances the efficiency of equipment use.
Smart Images
Figure CN121592477A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of nucleic acid extraction instrument technology, and in particular to a temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument. Background Technology
[0002] Nucleic acid extraction and purification instruments are automated instruments that extract nucleic acids using magnetic beads. The sample is lysed with a lysis buffer, and the free nucleic acid molecules released from the sample are specifically adsorbed onto the surface of magnetic beads, forming a magnetic bead-DNA polymer. Impurities such as proteins are not adsorbed and remain in the solution. After a certain reaction time, the magnetic bead-DNA polymer is separated from the liquid under the influence of a magnetic field. The magnetic bead-DNA polymer is recovered, and then washed with a washing solution to obtain pure DNA.
[0003] Existing nucleic acid extraction and purification instruments require heating and incubation of lysis and elution tubes during nucleic acid extraction. Heating of the lysis tubes uses a heating film, while for the elution tubes, if rapid cooling is not achieved after heating, the high temperature may cause nucleic acid lysis. Therefore, a semiconductor cooling chip is needed for both heating and cooling, along with air cooling, to achieve rapid cooling and reduce nucleic acid loss. However, the inventors found that rapid cooling results in a lot of condensation adhering to the heating element, requiring wiping with a towel after use. Condensation also occurs in the heating tank where the elution tubes are placed, which is difficult to dry with a towel and affects the timing of the next heating cycle. Therefore, a temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument that can eliminate condensation is proposed. Summary of the Invention
[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument to solve the problems mentioned in the background art. The specific technical solution is as follows:
[0005] To achieve the above and other related objectives, the present invention provides a temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument. This temperature control module is mounted on the base of the instrument and includes a support box, a heat-conducting block, a semiconductor cooling chip, a heat sink, a cooling fan, and an air intake channel. The support box is mounted on the base. The heat-conducting block has a heating groove for placing the elution tube. The heat sink is located inside the support box, and a semiconductor cooling chip is positioned between the heat sink and the heat-conducting block. The cooling fan is mounted on the base and blows air onto the heat sink for heat dissipation. The air inlet of the air intake channel is located above the cooling fan, and the air outlet of the air intake channel is located on both sides of the heat-conducting block.
[0006] As a preferred embodiment of the temperature control module of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument of the present invention, the carrier box is provided with a lifting device, the lifting device is connected to the air intake channel, the lifting device is used to raise the height of the air intake channel, and the exhaust port of the air intake channel is inclined downward.
[0007] As a preferred embodiment of the temperature control module of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument of the present invention, the bottom of the heating tank is provided with a connecting hole for connecting multiple heating tanks, a drainage pipe is provided at the bottom of the heating tank at one end, and a waste liquid tank is provided at the bottom of the carrying box, which is arranged below the outlet of the drainage pipe.
[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the temperature control module of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument described in this invention, the air inlet of the air intake channel is larger than the area of the air outlet.
[0009] As a preferred embodiment of the temperature control module of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument described in this invention, the side wall of the heat-conducting block is fitted with a heat insulation plate.
[0010] As a preferred embodiment of the temperature control module of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument of the present invention, the lifting device is an electric telescopic rod, which is installed on the carrier box, and the telescopic part of the electric telescopic rod is connected to the air duct.
[0011] As a preferred embodiment of the temperature control module of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument described in this invention, the carrier box is provided with a page-turning door.
[0012] The temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument provided by this invention has the following beneficial effects:
[0013] 1. By adding an exhaust duct, the air exhausted by the cooling fan is guided through the exhaust duct and blown to both sides of the heat guide block during cooling. This accelerates cooling on one side and accelerates the evaporation of condensate on the other, preventing excessive condensate production.
[0014] 2. The lifting device raises the air intake channel so that the exhaust port of the air intake channel faces the heating tank of the heat guide block. The air intake channel guides the air from the cooling fan into the heating tank, accelerating the evaporation of condensate. At the same time, it can also blow down the condensate adhering to the inner wall of the heating tank and discharge it into the waste liquid tank through the drainage pipe. Attached Figure Description
[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the temperature control module of a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument according to the present invention;
[0017] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Sectional view of AA;
[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A magnified view of a section at point B. Detailed Implementation
[0019] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, provides a further detailed explanation of the temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument proposed in this invention. The advantages and features of this invention will become clearer from the following description. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are all in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, and are only used to facilitate and clarify the illustration of the embodiments of this invention.
[0020] In the description of this invention, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified.
[0021] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic representations of the basic concept of the present invention. Therefore, the illustrations only show the components related to the present invention and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape and size of the components in the actual implementation. In the actual implementation, the shape, quantity and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the layout of the components may also be more complex.
[0022] Therefore, the present invention provides a temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument, such as... Figure 1-3 As shown, the temperature control module 100 is mounted on the base 200 of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument. The temperature control module 100 includes a carrier box 101, a heat-conducting block 102, a semiconductor cooling chip 103, a heat sink 104, a cooling fan 105, and an air intake channel 106. The carrier box 101 is mounted on the base 200. The heat-conducting block 102 has a heating groove 107 for placing the elution tubes. The heat sink 104 is installed inside the carrier box 101. A semiconductor cooling chip 103 is disposed between the heat sink 104 and the heat conduction block 102. The cooling fan 105 is disposed on the base 200 and is used to blow air onto the heat sink 104 for heat dissipation. The air inlet 1061 of the air intake channel 106 is disposed above the cooling fan 105, and the air outlet 1062 of the air intake channel 106 is disposed on both sides of the heat conduction block 102. The air intake channel 106 is used to guide the air blown out by the cooling fan 105 to the heat sink 102.
[0023] It should be noted that, in addition to the above structure, the carrier box 101 is also equipped with a heating film and a heating well for placing the lysis tube. Because after lysis, the magnetic beads adsorbed with nucleic acid are transferred to the washing tube, the heating well only needs to cool down naturally, and almost no condensate is produced in this state.
[0024] In the lysis and washing process, the temperature control module of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument operates in the same way as the existing temperature control module 100. During the elution process, the semiconductor cooling chip 103 heats up the heat-conducting block 102. After elution, the semiconductor cooling chip 103 cools down, and at the same time, the cooling fan 105 starts to remove the heat from the heat sink 104. Through the dual cooling of the semiconductor cooling chip 103 and the cooling fan 105, the eluent is cooled down rapidly, and the heat-conducting block 102 can be cooled down to below 4°C. At the same time, the air exhausted by the cooling fan 105 is guided by the air duct 106 and blown to both sides of the heat-conducting block 102, accelerating the cooling on one side and accelerating the evaporation of condensate on the other side, thus avoiding excessive condensate production.
[0025] In one embodiment of the present invention, a lifting device 108 is provided on the carrier box 101. The lifting device 108 is connected to the air duct 106. The lifting device 108 is used to raise the height of the air duct 106, and the exhaust port 1062 of the air duct 106 is inclined downward. By raising the height of the air duct 106, the exhaust port 1062 of the air duct 106 can blow into the heating groove 107 of the heat-conducting block 102.
[0026] During operation, after cooling is completed, the washing tube is removed. Condensate will also be generated in the heating tank 107 inside the heat conduction block 102. At this time, the lifting device 108 raises the air intake channel 106 so that the exhaust port 1062 of the air intake channel 106 faces the heating tank 107 of the heat conduction block 102. The air intake channel 106 guides the air from the cooling fan 105 to blow into the heating tank 107, accelerating the evaporation of the condensate.
[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the heating tank 107 is provided with a connecting hole 109 for connecting multiple heating tanks 107. A drain pipe 110 is provided at the bottom of the heating tank 107 at one end. A waste liquid tank 111 is provided at the bottom of the bearing box 101. The waste liquid tank 111 is arranged below the outlet of the drain pipe 110 for collecting the condensate flowing out of the drain pipe 110. When the air duct 106 blows air into the heating tank 107 of the heat-conducting block 102, it can blow the condensate adhering to the inner wall of the heating tank 107 down and discharge it into the waste liquid tank 111 from the drain pipe 110.
[0028] In one embodiment of the present invention, the air inlet 1061 of the air-guiding channel 106 is larger than the area of the air outlet 1062, so that the airflow is accelerated and blown to the heat-conducting block 102 within the air-guiding channel 106.
[0029] In one embodiment of the present invention, the heat-conducting block 102 is fitted with a heat insulation plate 112 on its sidewall. On the one hand, it can quickly heat up and keep the temperature. On the other hand, when cooling down rapidly, the heat insulation plate 112 cools down slowly, and the condensation rate of the condensate decreases.
[0030] In one embodiment of the present invention, the lifting device 108 is an electric telescopic rod, which is installed on the carrier box 101, and the telescopic part of the electric telescopic rod is connected to the air duct 106.
[0031] During normal use, the condensate in the waste liquid tank 111 will evaporate during the nucleic acid extraction process and be discharged by the aerosol deaerator fan installed on the top of the nucleic acid extractor. However, under frequent use conditions, the condensate in the waste liquid tank 111 does not have enough time to evaporate. Therefore, a flap door is provided on the carrier box 101. The waste liquid tank 111 can be taken out by opening the flap door and the waste liquid can be poured out.
[0032] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.
Claims
1. A temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument, wherein the temperature control module is mounted on the base of the nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument, characterized in that, The temperature control module includes a carrier box, a heat-conducting block, a thermoelectric cooler, a heat sink, a cooling fan, and an airflow channel. The carrier box is mounted on a base. The heat-conducting block has a heating groove for placing the washing tube. The heat sink is located inside the carrier box. A thermoelectric cooler is placed between the heat sink and the heat-conducting block. The cooling fan is mounted on the base and blows air onto the heat sink for heat dissipation. The air inlet of the airflow channel is located above the cooling fan, and the air outlet of the airflow channel is located on both sides of the heat-conducting block.
2. The temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that, The carrier box is equipped with a lifting device, which is connected to the air duct. The lifting device is used to raise the height of the air duct, and the exhaust port of the air duct is inclined downward.
3. The temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument according to claim 2, characterized in that, The bottom of the heating tank is provided with a connecting hole for connecting multiple heating tanks. A drain pipe is provided at the bottom of the heating tank at one end. A waste liquid tank is provided at the bottom of the carrying box, and the waste liquid tank is arranged below the outlet of the drain pipe.
4. The temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air inlet of the air duct is larger than the air outlet area.
5. The temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heat-conducting block has a heat insulation plate fitted onto its side wall.
6. The temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lifting device is an electric telescopic rod, which is installed on the carrier box, and the telescopic part of the electric telescopic rod is connected to the air duct.
7. The temperature control module for a nucleic acid extraction and purification instrument according to claim 3, characterized in that, The carrier box is equipped with a page-turning door.