Device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing

Abstract

The utility model provides a slice incubation reagent volatilization prevention device. The slice incubation reagent volatilization prevention device comprises a top plate and two side plates symmetrically arranged on the two sides of the bottom of the top plate. For any one of the two side plates, the inner side of the side plate is provided with a slot for fixing a tissue slice; the distance between the bottoms of the inserting grooves in the two side plates is larger than or equal to the width of a tissue slice, and the distance between the tops of the inserting grooves in the two side plates is smaller than the width of the tissue slice. After tissue slices are inserted into the slots, incubation bins are formed between the tops of the tissue slices and the bottom of the top plate; and the top plate is provided with a sample feeding hole for feeding a sample to the tissue slice. The device is helpful for avoiding volatilization of an incubation reagent and guaranteeing the incubation effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of medical devices, and more particularly, to a device for preventing the volatilization of incubation reagents for tissue sections. Background Art

[0002] Tissue sectioning is an important technique in biology, botany, basic medicine, and clinical pathological diagnosis. This technique involves using a specific medium to fix biological tissues and using a microtome to cut the tissues into micron-thin slices. Subsequently, these slices are attached to an adhesive glass slide or other carriers to prepare tissue sections. Depending on the embedding medium and processing method used, tissue sections are mainly divided into paraffin sections and frozen sections.

[0003] During research or pathological diagnosis, it is usually necessary to analyze proteins, nucleotides, or other molecules in tissue sections. By observing information such as the quantity and location of these molecules, the disease progression and molecular mechanisms of experimental animals or patients can be determined. However, since tissue sections are very thin and usually transparent, it is difficult to directly observe the quantity or location of these molecules with the naked eye or a high-resolution microscope.

[0004] Therefore, when performing tissue section detection, researchers usually use dyes, mixed reagents, fluorescent tags, etc. to characterize and localize proteins, nucleotides, or other molecules on the sections. In this way, it is easier to distinguish these molecules on the tissue, which is then convenient for in-depth analysis. After some staining solutions, mixed reagents, and fluorescent tags are dropped onto tissue sections, they need to be incubated for a long time to achieve an ideal imaging effect. However, long-term incubation may cause reagent deviation and volatilization, which affects the correct characterization of molecules on tissue sections and may even lead to misrepresentation.

[0005] In view of this, the present application is specifically proposed. Summary of the Utility Model

[0006] In consideration of the above problems, the present application is proposed. According to one aspect of the present application, a device for preventing the volatilization of incubation reagents for tissue sections is provided, including: a top plate and two side plates symmetrically arranged on both sides of the bottom of the top plate; for any one of the two side plates, a slot for fixing a tissue section is provided on the inner side of the side plate; the distance between the bottoms of the slots on the two side plates is greater than or equal to the width of the tissue section, and the distance between the tops of the slots on the two side plates is less than the width of the tissue section; after the tissue section is inserted into the slot, an incubation chamber is formed between the top of the tissue section and the bottom of the top plate; a sample injection hole for adding a sample to the tissue section is provided on the top plate.

[0007] Exemplarily, after the tissue section is inserted into the slot, the sample injection hole is located above the biological tissue on the tissue section.

[0008] Exemplarily, the sample injection hole is arranged in the middle of the top plate along the extending direction of the slot; after the tissue section is inserted into the slot, the sample injection hole corresponds to the middle of the tissue section along the extending direction of the slot.

[0009] Exemplarily, the sample injection hole is arranged on one side of the top plate along the left - right direction; when adding a sample to the tissue section through the sample injection hole, the incubation reagent diffuses outward along one side of the biological tissue on the tissue section.

[0010] Exemplarily, the size of the sample injection hole is not less than the size of the muzzle of the pipette used for adding a sample to the tissue section.

[0011] Exemplarily, the size of the sample injection hole is the same as the size of the muzzle of the pipette.

[0012] Exemplarily, a first protrusion and a second protrusion parallel to each other are arranged on the inner side of the side plate, and a slot is formed between the first protrusion and the second protrusion.

[0013] Exemplarily, the top of the slot is flush with the inner side surface of the side plate.

[0014] Exemplarily, the top plate is made of a transparent material.

[0015] Exemplarily, the top plate is made of a brown translucent material.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the above - mentioned technical solution fixes the tissue section by means of slot insertion. A semi - enclosed incubation chamber can be formed between the tissue section and the top plate, which helps to prevent the evaporation of the incubation reagent and helps to make the incubation reagent evenly distributed on the surface of the biological tissue. By setting the sample injection hole, the user can add a sample to the tissue section through the sample injection hole, which can facilitate the user to more accurately control the sample - adding position and ensure the sample - adding effect. In addition, the device can fix the tissue section only by means of insertion, which is convenient to use and can better limit the tissue section, helping to avoid large - scale movement of the incubation reagent on the biological tissue during movement and gentle shaking, thus helping to avoid the situation of reagent deviation or even dry - film, and further helping to solve the problems in the previous staining process that it is inconvenient to transfer the whole tissue section after reagent dropping, some experiments need to switch different temperature conditions during the reagent incubation process, or the incubation problems during long - term gentle shaking. Therefore, this device can be applied to some experiments that require transferring the incubation environment, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization and other experiments. In short, the device of this solution has a simple overall structure, is convenient to use, can effectively prevent the evaporation of the incubation reagent on the tissue section, and helps to ensure a good incubation effect.

[0017] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of this application. In order to be able to more clearly understand the technical means of this application, it can be implemented according to the content of the specification. And in order to make the above - mentioned and other purposes, features and advantages of this application more obvious and understandable, the following specifically gives the specific implementation manners of this application. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] By reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, various other advantages and benefits will become clear to those of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings are only for the purpose of showing the preferred embodiments and are not considered as a limitation of the present application. Moreover, throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a device for preventing the volatilization of incubation reagents in an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic diagram of the structure of the device in the top-down direction;

[0021] Figure 3 is Figure 1 a schematic diagram of the structure of the device in the side view direction.

[0022] In the figure: 1, top plate; 101, sample injection hole; 2, side plate; 3, first protrusion; 4, second protrusion; 5, slot. Detailed Embodiments

[0023] In the following description, a large number of details are provided to enable a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art can understand that the following description only relates to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be implemented without one or more of such details. In addition, in order to avoid confusion with the present invention, some technical features well known in the art are not described.

[0024] As described above, when characterizing and localizing proteins, nucleotides or other molecules on tissue sections (such as paraffin sections, frozen sections), after certain staining solutions, mixed reagents, and fluorescent labels are dropped onto the tissue sections, long-term incubation is required to achieve an ideal imaging effect. However, long-term incubation may cause reagent deviation and volatilization, which may lead to poor overall staining effect of the tissue section or even false positive results, thereby affecting the correct characterization of molecules on the tissue section and even possibly causing characterization errors. In the related art, the following several methods are used to prevent reagent volatilization:

[0025] 1. Use a wet box to provide an incubation environment for the incubation reagents of tissue sections to prevent reagent volatilization. This method provides a moist environment for the tissue sections by adding water or other liquids to the wet box, thereby preventing the reagents dropped on the tissue sections from volatilizing. However, the volume of the wet box is generally large, and when multiple sections are placed in the wet box, it is impossible to ensure completely horizontal movement during transfer, which may cause the reagents dropped on the sections to shift or drip.

[0026] 2. Use plastic wrap / sealing film to prevent reagent volatilization. After dropping the reagent on the tissue section, cut a suitable size of plastic wrap / sealing film and fit it above the biological tissue of the tissue section to achieve the purpose of covering the liquid medium on the surface of the biological tissue to prevent volatilization. However, the plastic wrap / sealing film is usually in a curled state, and uneven distribution of the reagent on the surface of the biological tissue may occur during covering. At the same time, manual fitting may cause the plastic wrap / sealing film to touch the biological tissue, resulting in fragmentation and damage of the biological tissue.

[0027] 3. Use anti-volatilization reagent to prevent reagent volatilization. When preparing the incubation reagent, add an appropriate amount of anti-volatilization agent, such as propylene glycol or polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and then drop it on the surface of the tissue section to achieve the purpose of slowing down the reagent volatilization. However, some anti-volatilization agents may react chemically with the reagent or tissue sample, affecting the accuracy of the experimental results. At the same time, the toxicity of the anti-volatilization agent may affect the environment and experimental personnel.

[0028] In view of this, the present application provides an anti-volatilization device for slice incubation reagent. This device can form a semi-closed incubation chamber on the surface of the biological tissue, which helps to prevent the volatilization of the incubation reagent and ensure a good incubation effect. The specific structure and principle of this device are described in detail below.

[0029] According to one aspect of the embodiments of the present application, an anti-volatilization device for slice incubation reagent is provided. Figure 1 The schematic diagram showing the anti-volatilization device for slice incubation reagent according to an embodiment of the present application is as follows. Figure 1 As shown, the anti-volatilization device for slice incubation reagent includes: a top plate 1 and two side plates 2 symmetrically arranged on both sides of the bottom of the top plate 1. For any one of the two side plates 2, a slot 5 for fixing the tissue section is provided on the inner side of the side plate 2; the distance between the bottoms of the slots 5 on the two side plates 2 is greater than or equal to the width of the tissue section, and the distance between the tops of the slots 5 on the two side plates 2 is less than the width of the tissue section; after the tissue section is inserted into the slot 5, an incubation chamber is formed between the top of the tissue section and the bottom of the top plate 1; a sampling hole 101 for adding samples to the tissue section is provided on the top plate 1.

[0030] For the convenience of description, in this article, the insertion direction of the tissue section is referred to as the front-back direction, and the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the tissue section and parallel to the top surface of the top plate 1 is referred to as the left-right direction.

[0031] In this example, for any one of the side plates 2, the inner side of the side plate 2 refers to the side of the side plate 2 that is close to the other side plate 2. It can be understood that since the two side plates 2 are symmetrically arranged, the slots 5 on the two side plates 2 can be used to guide and position both sides of the tissue section. When the tissue section is inserted into the device via the slot 5, the top of the tissue section (i.e., the side where the biological tissue is located) is parallel to the bottom of the top plate 1. Thus, when adding a sample to the tissue section through the sample inlet hole 101, the incubation reagent will form a fitting state between the bottom of the top plate 1 and the tissue section. And since the top of the tissue section is parallel to the bottom of the top plate 1, that is, the distance between the top of the tissue section and the bottom surface of the top plate 1 is uniform, it can ensure that the incubation reagent is evenly distributed on the surface of the biological tissue. The space between the top of the tissue section and the bottom of the top plate 1 can be referred to as the incubation chamber. This incubation chamber is only open at the front and rear sides, so the contact area between the incubation reagent and the outside is extremely small. Therefore, even during long-term incubation, there will be no situation where a large amount of the incubation reagent volatilizes.

[0032] Optionally, the width of the slot 5 can be equal to the thickness of the tissue section. In this way, the tissue section can be closely fitted with the slot 5. Thus, when the tissue section moves horizontally in the slot 5, the upper surface of the tissue section is always parallel to the bottom surface of the top plate 1, which helps to further avoid the reagent from shifting or even dripping due to the relative movement of the tissue section with respect to the slot 5. Of course, in some embodiments, the width of the slot 5 can also be slightly larger than the thickness of the tissue section, which can facilitate the insertion of the tissue section into the slot 5.

[0033] In the solution of this example, the distance between the bottoms of the slots 5 on the two side plates 2 is greater than or equal to the width of the tissue section. In some embodiments, the distance between the bottoms of the slots 5 on the two side plates 2 can be equal to the width of the tissue section. This can limit the tissue section in the width direction, thereby helping to further prevent the incubation reagent from moving significantly on the biological tissue when transferring and incubating the tissue section.

[0034] Optionally, the length of the top plate 1 can be the same as the length of the tissue section. In this case, when the tissue section is completely inserted into the slot 5, the front and rear end faces of the tissue section are flush with the front and rear end faces of the top plate 1. On the one hand, this helps to position the insertion position of the tissue section. On the other hand, in this way, on the premise of ensuring complete coverage of the tissue section, the material used for the top plate 1 can be reduced, which not only helps to save costs but also helps to make the overall device more compact. In some embodiments, the lengths of both the top plate 1 and the side plate 2 are the same as the length of the tissue section. Of course, the length of the top plate 1 can also be greater than the tissue section, and the present application does not limit this.

[0035] The above technical solution fixes the tissue section by means of insertion and fitting in the slot 5. A semi-closed incubation chamber can be formed between the tissue section and the top plate 1, which helps to prevent the evaporation of the incubation reagent and helps to make the incubation reagent evenly distributed on the surface of the biological tissue. By providing the sample injection hole 101, the user can add samples to the tissue section through the sample injection hole 101, which can facilitate the user to more accurately control the sample addition position and ensure the sample addition effect. In addition, the device can fix the tissue section only by means of insertion and fitting, which is convenient to use and can better limit the tissue section, helping to avoid large-scale movement of the incubation reagent on the biological tissue during movement and gentle shaking, thus helping to avoid the situation of reagent deviation or even dry slices, and further helping to solve the problem that it is inconvenient to transfer the entire tissue section after the reagent is dropped during the previous staining process, and some experiments need to switch different temperature conditions during the reagent incubation process, or the incubation problem during long-term gentle shaking. Therefore, this device can be applied to some experiments that require transferring the incubation environment, such as other experiments like fluorescence in situ hybridization. In short, the device of this solution has a simple overall structure and is convenient to use, can effectively prevent the evaporation of the incubation reagent on the tissue section, and helps to ensure a good incubation effect.

[0036] Exemplarily, after the tissue section is inserted into the slot 5, the sample injection hole 101 is located above the biological tissue on the tissue section. In the solution of this example, by making the sample injection hole 101 located above the biological tissue, the incubation reagent can directly infiltrate the biological tissue during sample addition, which helps to avoid the situation that the incubation reagent overflows from one side of the device before the biological tissue is infiltrated. In short, this setting method can facilitate the user to add samples.

[0037] Exemplarily, as Figure 2 shown, the sample injection hole 101 is arranged in the middle of the top plate 1 along the extension direction of the slot 5; after the tissue section is inserted into the slot 5, the sample injection hole 101 corresponds to the middle of the tissue section along the extension direction of the slot 5. It can be understood that the middle of the tissue section along the extension direction of the slot 5 is the middle of the biological tissue on the tissue section in the front-back direction. In this case, when adding samples to the tissue section through the sample injection hole 101, the incubation reagent can slowly diffuse from the middle of the biological tissue in the front-back direction to the front and back sides respectively, which helps to avoid the situation that the incubation reagent drips from the other side (such as the back side) before one side (such as the front side) of the biological tissue is not fully infiltrated. In short, this solution helps to improve the sample addition effect, and helps to avoid waste of the incubation reagent and pollution caused by dripping of the incubation reagent.

[0038] Exemplarily, as Figure 2As shown, the sample injection hole 101 is arranged on one side of the top plate 1 in the left - right direction; when adding a sample to the tissue section through the sample injection hole 101, the incubation reagent diffuses outward along one side of the biological tissue on the tissue section. It can be understood that biological tissues are usually very fragile. In the solution of this example, adding the sample slowly from one side can reduce mechanical damage to the biological tissue, especially for those samples that need to maintain integrity. And adding the sample from one side can reduce the disturbance to the biological tissue and maintain its original structure and morphology. In addition, adding the sample from one side can make the reagent gradually diffuse along the surface of the biological tissue, which helps the incubation reagent to uniformly infiltrate the entire biological tissue, rather than directly concentrating at the dropping point. In addition, directly dropping the incubation reagent in the center of the biological tissue may generate air bubbles under the biological tissue, affecting the contact between the incubation reagent and the biological tissue. The method of adding the sample from one side in this solution can reduce the generation of air bubbles. In short, the solution of this example helps to avoid damage to the biological tissue or disturbance to the morphology of the biological tissue during the sample - adding process, and helps the incubation reagent to uniformly diffuse on the surface of the biological tissue, improving the incubation effect.

[0039] Exemplarily, the size of the sample injection hole 101 is not less than the size of the muzzle of the pipette used for adding a sample to the tissue section. This setting method can enable the incubation reagent in the pipette to be directly added to the tissue section through the sample injection hole 101, avoiding partial leakage of the incubation reagent outside the sample injection hole 101 due to the too - small size of the sample injection hole 101.

[0040] Exemplarily, the size of the sample injection hole 101 is the same as the size of the muzzle of the pipette. Such a setting can not only avoid dripping during sample addition but also prevent part of the incubation reagent from volatilizing from the sample injection hole 101 due to the too - large size of the sample injection hole 101.

[0041] Exemplarily, as Figure 3 shown, on the inner side of the side plate 2, there are parallel first protrusion 3 and second protrusion 4, and a slot 5 is formed between the first protrusion 3 and the second protrusion 4. The first protrusion 3 and the second protrusion 4 are arranged in sequence from far to near along the direction close to the top plate 1. Of course, the structure of the slot 5 is not limited to Figure 3 the form shown. In some embodiments, the top of the slot 5 is flush with the inner side surface of the side plate 2. In this embodiment, the side surface of the side plate 2 is recessed inward to form the slot 5.

[0042] Exemplarily, the top plate 1 is made of a transparent material. Such a setting can facilitate the user to observe the sample - adding progress during the sample - adding process. In some embodiments, the side plate 2 and the top plate 1 are made of the same material. The device of this example can be used for incubating a variety of non - fluorescent reagents such as pathological dyes, antibody solutions, blocking solutions, etc.

[0043] Exemplarily, the top plate 1 is made of brown translucent material. The brown translucent top plate 1 can not only facilitate the user to observe the sample loading progress, but also avoid the influence of light on the incubation reagent. The device provided by this example can be applicable to the incubation of reagents carrying fluorescent groups or other light-emitting and easily quenched groups.

[0044] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the device structure as shown in Figure 1 is adopted. Among them, the width of the top plate 1 is 27.5 mm, and the length is 50 mm. The center of the sample injection hole 101 is 3.5 mm away from the right side of the top plate 1, and the diameter of the sample injection hole 101 is 3 mm. The height of the side plate 2 is 4 mm, so the overall height of the device is also 4 mm. The thicknesses of both the top plate 1 and the side plate 2 are 1 mm. The bottom of the first protrusion 3 is flush with the bottom of the side plate 2. The widths of both the first protrusion 3 and the second protrusion 4 are 0.5 mm. The width of the slot 5 is 1 mm, and the distance between the bottoms of the two slots 5 is 25.5 mm. The above dimensions are only examples and not limitations to the present application. Those skilled in the art can adjust the dimensions of each part of the device according to actual needs, which will not be elaborated.

[0045] The usage method of the device provided by the embodiment of the present application is as follows: When it is necessary to incubate a tissue section, the tissue section can be inserted into the slot 5 of the device, with the side of the biological tissue on the tissue section facing upward, and the tissue to be incubated should be placed as much as possible in the middle of the entire device. After insertion, place the device-tissue section combination on a flat experimental operation table. Use a pipette to aspirate an appropriate amount of incubation reagent and slowly add it along the sample injection hole 101 above the device, ensuring that the reagent evenly and slowly fills the chamber above the tissue section. Since there is no seal on both sides of the device, it is possible to observe whether the biological tissue is completely covered by the incubation reagent and whether there is any leakage on both sides when adding the incubation reagent. If the biological tissue has been completely covered by the incubation reagent, the entire sample loading process is completed at this time. If multiple reagents need to be incubated during the experiment, the tissue section can be taken out of this device, the device can be washed with a washing buffer solution, wiped with a lint-free paper, and then inserted again with the tissue section for the incubation of the next incubation reagent. Of course, a new device can also be used for the incubation of the next reagent.

[0046] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by orientation terms such as "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "lateral", "vertical", "perpendicular", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", etc. is usually based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description. Without contrary description, these orientation terms do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation on the protection scope of the present application; the orientation terms "inner" and "outer" refer to the inside and outside relative to the contour of each component itself.

[0047] For convenience of description, regional relative terms such as "above", "over", "on the upper surface", "upper" etc. can be used here to describe the regional positional relationship between one or more components or features shown in the drawings and other components or features. It should be understood that the regional relative terms not only include the orientation of the components described in the drawings, but also different orientations during use or operation. For example, if the components in the drawings are inverted as a whole, the component "above other components or features" or "over other components or features" will include the situation where the component is "below other components or structures" or "under other components or structures". Thus, the exemplary term "above" can include both the orientations of "above" and "below". In addition, these components or features can also be positioned at other different angles (such as rotated 90 degrees or other angles), and this document is intended to cover all such situations.

[0048] It should be noted that the terms used here are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to the present application. As used here, unless otherwise clearly specified in the context, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. In addition, it should also be understood that when the terms "comprise" and / or "include" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, components, parts and / or their combinations.

[0049] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the description, claims and above-mentioned drawings of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects and do not necessarily have to be used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so that the embodiments of the present application described here can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here.

[0050] This application has been described through the above embodiments. However, it should be understood that the above embodiments are only for illustrative and explanatory purposes, and are not intended to limit this application to the scope of the described embodiments. In addition, those skilled in the art can understand that this application is not limited to the above embodiments, and more variations and modifications can be made according to the teachings of this application, and these variations and modifications all fall within the scope of protection required by this application. The scope of protection of this application is defined by the appended claims and their equivalent scope.

Claims

1. A device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing, characterized in that: It includes: a top plate and two side plates symmetrically arranged on both sides of the bottom of the top plate; For any one of the two side panels, a slot for fixing the tissue slice is provided on the inner side of the side panel; the distance between the bottoms of the slots on the two side panels is greater than or equal to the width of the tissue slice, and the distance between the tops of the slots on the two side panels is less than the width of the tissue slice; after the tissue slice is inserted into the slot, an incubation chamber is formed between the top of the tissue slice and the bottom of the top panel; The top plate is provided with a sampling hole for adding samples to the tissue slices.

2. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to claim 1, characterized in that: After the tissue slice is inserted into the slot, the injection hole is located above the biological tissue on the tissue slice.

3. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The injection hole is arranged in the middle of the top plate along the extension direction of the slot; after the tissue slice is inserted into the slot, the injection hole corresponds to the middle of the tissue slice along the extension direction of the slot.

4. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The injection hole is arranged on one side of the top plate along the left-right direction; when the sample is added to the tissue slice through the injection hole, the incubation reagent diffuses outward along one side of the biological tissue on the tissue slice.

5. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The size of the injection hole is not less than the muzzle size of a pipette used for adding samples to the tissue slice.

6. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to claim 5, characterized in that: The size of the injection hole is the same as the muzzle size of the pipette.

7. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first protrusion and a second protrusion parallel to each other are arranged on the inner side of the side plate, and the slot is formed between the first protrusion and the second protrusion.

8. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The top of the slot is flush with the inner side of the side plate.

9. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The top plate is made of transparent material.

10. The device for preventing slice incubation reagent from volatilizing according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The top plate is made of brown translucent material.

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