Illuminating device for capillary gel electrophoresis apparatus and capillary gel electrophoresis apparatus

Abstract

The utility model provides a capillary gel electrophoresis apparatus and a lighting device for the same, and relates to the technical field of capillary gel electrophoresis apparatuses, the lighting device comprises a light source, a light conduction assembly, a micro-lens array and a dichroscope, the light source emits lighting light, the light conduction assembly allows the lighting light to pass through, and the dichroscope is arranged on the micro-lens array. Illuminating light is processed into oval light beams, the oval light beams are converged by the micro-lens array and then are segmented into multiple beams of collimated light in one-to-one correspondence with capillary tubes in the capillary tube array, and the multiple beams of collimated light from the micro-lens array are reflected to the corresponding capillary tubes in the capillary tube array in one-to-one correspondence by the dichroscope. Light is projected independently for each capillary tube in the capillary tube array, the problem that illumination of the capillary tube array is not uniform due to incident light projection from the side edge of the capillary tube array is effectively solved, energy waste of exciting light is almost avoided, the energy utilization rate is high, and the signal acquisition signal-to-noise ratio cannot be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of capillary electrophoresis instruments, in particular to an illuminating device for a capillary gel electrophoresis instrument and the capillary gel electrophoresis instrument. Background Art

[0002] Capillary gel electrophoresis enhances separation efficiency by adding gel to the capillary tube. The gel's porosity acts like a molecular sieve, separating solutes by size. Capillary gel electrophoresis is particularly well-suited for biomacromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acid fragments, offering strong separation capabilities and rapid speed. The high viscosity of the gel reduces solute diffusion, resulting in sharp peaks and maximum column efficiency.

[0003] In the imaging unit of the capillary gel electrophoresis instrument, there are two main conventional line illumination methods. The first illumination method is as follows: Figure 1A As shown in the figure, the spatially transmitted laser light is converged by the lens and incident along the side of the capillary array. The advantage of this method is that the energy of the excitation light can be fully utilized, and at the same time, due to the convergence effect of the lens, the width of the line illumination can be effectively reduced. However, this method has a significant disadvantage, that is, the energy of the illumination light gradually decays as the number of capillaries it passes through increases. The final result is that the farther the capillary is from the incident point of the excitation light, the lower the excited fluorescence signal. In order to compensate for the shortcomings of the above method, it can be used as follows Figure 1B The method shown here adds an identical set of excitation modules to the other side of the capillary array to compensate for the energy attenuation of single-ended illumination. This method effectively addresses the issue of illumination uniformity when the capillary array is small, but as the number of capillaries in the array increases, the problem of uneven illumination persists. Furthermore, the illumination light is thinnest at the focal point of the lens. Excitation light outside this focal point gradually diffuses, reducing spectral resolution and resulting in variations in spectral resolution between different capillaries.

[0004] The above two existing line illumination methods are both incident from the side of the capillary array. The energy of the illumination light gradually decays as the number of capillaries passing through increases. That is, the two existing line illumination methods cannot solve the problem of uneven illumination of the capillary array when the number of capillaries is large. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of the utility model is to provide an illumination device for a capillary gel electrophoresis instrument and the capillary gel electrophoresis instrument, so as to achieve uniform illumination of the capillary array when the number of capillaries is large and improve the spectral resolution.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present utility model is as follows:

[0007] A lighting device for a capillary gel electrophoresis instrument, comprising:

[0008] a light source for emitting illumination light;

[0009] a light transmission component, disposed on one side of the light source, for transmitting the illumination light and processing the illumination light into an elliptical light beam;

[0010] a microlens array disposed on one side of the light transmission component, the microlens array including microlenses corresponding one-to-one to the capillaries in the capillary array, the microlens array being configured to converge the elliptical light beam and then split it into multiple beams of collimated light corresponding one-to-one to the capillaries in the capillary array, wherein the multiple beams of collimated light are arranged in an array, and the spacing between each two adjacent beams of collimated light in the multiple beams of collimated light is equal to the spacing between two adjacent capillaries in the capillary array;

[0011] The dichroic mirror is arranged on one side of the microlens array and is used for reflecting the multiple beams of collimated light from the microlens array to the corresponding capillaries in the capillary array in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0012] Further,

[0013] The light transmission component includes a concave cylindrical lens and a convex cylindrical lens. The concave cylindrical lens is used to adjust the illumination light from the light source to diverge along one dimension, and the convex cylindrical lens is used to collimate the one-dimensional divergent light after passing through the concave cylindrical lens in the same dimension.

[0014] Further,

[0015] The illumination light is a circular collimated beam, and the diameter of the circular collimated beam is L in The focal length of the concave cylindrical lens is f1, the focal length of the convex cylindrical lens is f2, and the length of the major axis of the elliptical beam is L out ;

[0016] Among them, L out =-1*L in *f2 / f1.

[0017] Further,

[0018] The light transmission component includes a first convex cylindrical lens and a second convex cylindrical lens. The first convex cylindrical lens is used to adjust the illumination light from the light source to diverge along one dimension, and the second convex cylindrical lens is used to collimate the one-dimensional divergent light after passing through the first convex cylindrical lens in the same dimension.

[0019] Further,

[0020] The illumination light is a circular collimated beam, and the diameter of the circular collimated beam is Lin , the focal length of the first convex cylindrical lens is f3, the focal length of the second convex cylindrical lens is f2, and the length of the major axis of the elliptical beam is L out ;

[0021] Among them, L out =L in *f2 / f3.

[0022] Further,

[0023] The light source is a laser source that emits single-mode laser light;

[0024] The light transmission component includes a Powell prism and a convex cylindrical lens. The Powell prism is used to adjust the single-mode laser from the laser source to diverge along one dimension and uniformly shape the single-mode laser. The convex cylindrical lens is used to collimate the one-dimensional single-mode laser after passing through the Powell prism in the same dimension.

[0025] Further,

[0026] The microlens array is a one-dimensional microlens array or a two-dimensional microlens array.

[0027] Further,

[0028] The optical focus of each microlens in the microlens array falls on the flow channel of the corresponding capillary.

[0029] Further,

[0030] The major axis length of the elliptical beam matches the width of the capillary array.

[0031] A capillary gel electrophoresis instrument comprises any one of the aforementioned lighting devices.

[0032] Compared with the prior art, the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following technical effects:

[0033] The lighting device of the embodiment of the present invention includes a light source, a light transmission component, a microlens array and a dichroic mirror. The light source emits illumination light. The light transmission component is arranged on one side of the light source. The light transmission component allows the illumination light to pass through and processes the illumination light into an elliptical light beam. The microlens array is arranged on one side of the light transmission component. The microlens array includes microlenses corresponding one-to-one to the capillaries in the capillary array. After converging the elliptical light beam, the microlens array divides it into multiple beams of collimated light corresponding one-to-one to the capillaries in the capillary array, and the multiple beams of collimated light are arranged in an array. Each adjacent two beams of collimated light in the multiple beams of collimated light are aligned. The spacing between the microlenses is equal to the spacing between two adjacent capillaries in the capillary array. The dichroic mirror is arranged on one side of the microlens array. The dichroic mirror reflects the multiple beams of collimated light from the microlens array one by one to the corresponding capillaries in the capillary array. The lighting device of the embodiment of the utility model projects light individually on each capillary in the capillary array, which can effectively solve the problem of uneven illumination of the capillary array caused by incident light from the side of the capillary array. In addition, the lighting device projects light individually on each capillary in the capillary array in a targeted manner, so there is no waste of excitation light energy, and the energy utilization rate is high, that is, it will not cause a decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio of signal acquisition.

[0034] The capillary gel electrophoresis apparatus provided in the above embodiment is based on the same concept as the lighting device embodiment, and thus has the same technical effects as the corresponding lighting device embodiment, and will not be described in detail here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1A It is a structural diagram of the side lighting mode in the prior art.

[0036] Figure 1B It is a structural diagram of the other side lighting mode in the prior art.

[0037] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram in one embodiment.

[0038] Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment using a Powell prism.

[0039] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing that the light focus of the microlens falls on the capillary channel in one embodiment. FIG.

[0040] Figure 5A is the spot pattern of the emitted single-mode laser.

[0041] Figure 5B is the lateral intensity distribution of the emitted single-mode laser spot.

[0042] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the intensity distribution of illumination light focused onto the capillary by the microlens array when the light source is a single-mode laser in one embodiment.

[0043] Figure 7 FIG. 1 is a light spot diagram of another embodiment when the light source is a single-mode laser after passing through a Powell prism and a convex cylindrical lens.

[0044] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a transverse intensity distribution diagram of a light spot after passing through a Powell prism and a convex cylindrical lens in another embodiment when the light source is a single-mode laser. FIG.

[0045] Figure 9 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the intensity distribution of illumination light focused onto the capillary by the microlens array when the light source is a single-mode laser in another embodiment.

[0046] Description of Figure Numbers:

[0047] 10. Capillary array; 11. Capillary; 12. Width;

[0048] 20. Light transmission component; 21. Concave cylindrical lens; 22. Convex cylindrical lens; 23. Powell prism;

[0049] 30. Microlens array; 31. Microlens;

[0050] 40. Dichroic mirror;

[0051] 50. Light focus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] The following is a further detailed description of the technical solution of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments of the specification. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present invention. In the following description, reference is made to "some embodiments", which describes a subset of all possible embodiments, but it should be understood that "some embodiments" may be the same subset or different subsets of all possible embodiments, and may be combined with each other without conflict.

[0053] It should also be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," "outer," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation methods.

[0054] like Figure 2As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, an illumination device for a capillary gel electrophoresis instrument includes a light source, a light transmission component 20, a microlens array 30, and a dichroic mirror 40. The light source emits illumination light. The light transmission component 20 is arranged on one side of the light source. The light transmission component 20 allows the illumination light to pass through and processes the illumination light into an elliptical beam. The microlens array 30 is arranged on one side of the light transmission component 20. The microlens array 30 includes microlenses 31 corresponding to the capillaries 11 in the capillary array 10. After converging the elliptical light beam, the mirror array 30 splits it into multiple beams of collimated light that correspond one-to-one to the capillaries 11 in the capillary array 10. The multiple beams of collimated light are arranged in an array, and the distance between each two adjacent beams of collimated light in the multiple beams of collimated light is equal to the distance between two adjacent capillaries 11 in the capillary array 10. The dichroic mirror 40 is arranged on one side of the microlens array 30, and the dichroic mirror 40 reflects the multiple beams of collimated light from the microlens array 30 to the corresponding capillaries 11 in the capillary array 10 one-to-one.

[0055] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the illumination device of the utility model embodiment projects light individually onto each capillary 11 in the capillary array 10, which can effectively solve the problem of uneven illumination of the capillary array 10 caused by incident light from the side of the capillary array 10. In addition, the illumination device projects light individually onto each capillary 11 in the capillary array 10 in a targeted manner. By precisely controlling the distribution and intensity of the illumination light, unnecessary background noise can be reduced, thereby improving signal clarity and readability. There is no energy waste of the excitation light, the energy utilization rate is high, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal acquisition is not reduced.

[0056] like Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the light transmission component 20 includes a concave cylindrical lens 21 and a convex cylindrical lens 22. The concave cylindrical lens 21 adjusts the illumination light from the light source to diverge along one dimension, and the convex cylindrical lens 22 is used to collimate the one-dimensional divergent light after passing through the concave cylindrical lens 21 in the same dimension. With the help of the specific lens arrangement of the light transmission component 20, the concave cylindrical lens 21 is first used to diverge the light, and then the convex cylindrical lens 22 is used to collimate the light after the light diverges, thereby converting the circular spot illumination collimated light into an elliptical spot illumination collimated light. More specifically, in one embodiment of the present invention, the illumination light is a circular collimated light beam, and the diameter of the circular collimated light beam is L in The focal length of the concave cylindrical lens 21 is f1, the focal length of the convex cylindrical lens 22 is f2, and the length of the major axis of the elliptical beam is L out , where L out =-1*L in *f2 / f1.

[0057] In one embodiment of the present invention, the light transmission component 20 includes a first convex cylindrical lens and a second convex cylindrical lens. The first convex cylindrical lens is used to adjust the illumination light from the light source to diverge along one dimension, and the second convex cylindrical lens is used to collimate the one-dimensional divergent light after passing through the first convex cylindrical lens in the same dimension. In this embodiment, the first convex cylindrical lens can be used to replace the concave cylindrical lens 21 in the aforementioned embodiment, and the second convex cylindrical lens still uses the convex cylindrical lens 22 in the aforementioned embodiment. A convex cylindrical lens is first used to diverge the light, and after the light is diverged, another convex cylindrical lens is used to collimate it, thereby converting the circular spot illumination collimated light into an elliptical spot illumination collimated light. More specifically, in one embodiment of the present invention, the illumination light is a circular collimated light beam, and the diameter of the circular collimated light beam is L in , the focal length of the first convex cylindrical lens is f3, the focal length of the second convex cylindrical lens is f2, and the length of the major axis of the elliptical beam is L out , where L out =L in *f2 / f3.

[0058] like Figure 3 As shown, in another embodiment of the present invention, the light source is a laser source that emits single-mode laser light. The light transmission assembly 20 includes a Powell prism 23 and a convex cylindrical lens 22. The Powell prism 23 adjusts the single-mode laser light from the laser source to diverge along one dimension and uniformly shapes the single-mode laser light. The convex cylindrical lens 22 collimates the one-dimensional single-mode laser light after passing through the Powell prism 23 in the same dimension. When the light source is a laser source, the Powell prism 23 is used to replace the concave cylindrical lens 21 in the previous embodiment to achieve divergent light. The Powell prism 23 can uniformly shape the single-mode laser light, improving illumination uniformity. Uniform illumination can improve sample detection sensitivity, and the light beam can more effectively stimulate fluorescence or absorption in the sample, thereby generating a stronger signal.

[0059] When the light source is a laser source emitting single-mode laser, the intensity distribution of the laser reflects a typical Gaussian distribution characteristic. Specifically, the spot of the single-mode laser is as follows: Figure 5A As shown, the lateral intensity distribution of the spot is as follows Figure 5B As shown, if the light transmission component 20 uses a concave cylindrical lens 21 and a convex cylindrical lens 22, after the laser is focused on the capillary 11, the Gaussian distribution of the incident light intensity will lead to uneven multi-focus illumination, as shown in FIG. Figure 6To solve the above problem, in another embodiment of the present invention, a Powell prism 23 is used to replace the concave cylindrical lens 21 to complete the divergent light. The light transmission component 20 includes a Powell prism 23 and a convex cylindrical lens 22. The Powell prism 23 adjusts the single-mode laser from the laser source to diverge along one dimension and uniformly shapes the single-mode laser. The convex cylindrical lens 22 collimates the one-dimensional single-mode laser after passing through the Powell prism 23 in the same dimension. After the laser passes through the Powell prism 23 and the convex cylindrical lens 22, the circular spot is shaped into an elliptical spot (as shown in FIG. Figure 7 As shown), the light intensity distribution is shaped evenly along the major axis of the ellipse, and the light intensity distribution is almost a flat-top curve (as shown Figure 8 As shown in FIG, the intensity distribution of the homogenized line light spot focused by the microlens array 30 onto the capillary 11 is as follows: Figure 9 As shown, it can be seen that its lighting uniformity is greater than 75%, which is much better than Figure 6 Results shown.

[0060] In another embodiment of the present invention, when the light source is a single-mode laser source, a Powell prism 23 is used to replace the concave cylindrical lens 21 to address the uneven multi-focal illumination that may result from the combination of the concave cylindrical lens 21 and the convex cylindrical lens 22. The Powell prism 23 adjusts the single-mode laser light to diverge along a single dimension and uniformly shapes the laser light to improve illumination uniformity. Subsequently, the convex cylindrical lens 22 collimates the one-dimensional single-mode laser light shaped by the Powell prism 23 along the same dimension. The uniform shaping effect of the Powell prism 23 makes the laser light intensity distribution uniform along the major axis of the ellipse, almost forming a flat-top curve, thereby improving illumination uniformity. Uniform illumination can more effectively stimulate fluorescence or absorption in the sample, generating a stronger signal, thereby improving sample detection sensitivity. The laser light intensity distribution uniformity after being processed by the Powell prism 23 and the convex cylindrical lens 22 exceeds 75%, far superior to the result of the combination of the concave cylindrical lens 21 and the convex cylindrical lens 22. After the laser passes through the Powell prism 23 and the convex cylindrical lens 22 , the circular spot is shaped into an elliptical spot, which is more adapted to the cross-sectional shape of the capillary 11 and improves the utilization efficiency of light energy.

[0061] like Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the microlens array 30 is a one-dimensional microlens array 30. The microlenses in the microlens array 30 are arranged in a one-dimensional linear array. The size of each microlens 31 in the microlens array 30 is larger than the short side of the incident beam spot to ensure no energy loss in the short side direction. The focal length of the microlenses 31 in the microlens array 30 is greater than 30 mm to ensure a sufficient working distance for the microlens array 30. In other embodiments of the present invention, the microlenses 31 in the microlens array 30 can also be arranged in a two-dimensional manner to facilitate assembly and customization.

[0062] like Figure 4 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the optical focus 50 of each microlens 31 in the microlens array 30 falls on the flow channel of the corresponding capillary 11. The capillaries 11 are located at the optical focus of each microlens 31 in the microlens array 30, which can effectively improve the illumination resolution.

[0063] like Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the major axis length of the elliptical light beam matches the width 12 of the capillary array 10. By matching the major axis length with the capillary width 12, it is possible to ensure that the light energy is concentrated on the capillary 11, reduce light energy waste, and improve energy utilization.

[0064] A capillary gel electrophoresis instrument comprises any one of the aforementioned lighting devices.

[0065] The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to them. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this utility model should be included in the scope of protection of the present utility model. The scope of protection of the present utility model should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A lighting device for a capillary gel electrophoresis instrument, characterized in that: include: A light source, for emitting illumination light; a light transmission component (20), arranged on one side of the light source, for allowing the illumination light to pass through and processing the illumination light into an elliptical light beam; A microlens array (30) is provided on one side of the light transmission component (20), the microlens array (30) comprising microlenses (31) corresponding one-to-one to the capillaries (11) in the capillary array (10), the microlens array (30) being used to converge the elliptical light beam and then split it into a plurality of collimated light beams corresponding one-to-one to the capillaries (11) in the capillary array (10), the plurality of collimated light beams being arranged in an array, and the spacing between each two adjacent collimated light beams in the plurality of collimated light beams being equal to the spacing between two adjacent capillaries (11) in the capillary array (10); A dichroic mirror (40) is arranged on one side of the microlens array (30) and is used to reflect the multiple beams of collimated light from the microlens array (30) to corresponding capillaries (11) in the capillary array (10) in a one-to-one correspondence.

2. The lighting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The light transmission component (20) comprises a concave cylindrical lens (21) and a convex cylindrical lens (22), wherein the concave cylindrical lens (21) is used to adjust the illumination light from the light source to diverge along one dimension, and the convex cylindrical lens (22) is used to collimate the one-dimensional divergent light after passing through the concave cylindrical lens (21) in the same dimension.

3. The lighting device according to claim 2, characterized in that The illumination light is a circular collimated beam, and the diameter of the circular collimated beam is L in The focal length of the concave cylindrical lens (21) is f1, the focal length of the convex cylindrical lens (22) is f2, and the length of the major axis of the elliptical light beam is L out ; Among them, L out =-1*L in *f2 / f1.

4. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein The light transmission component (20) comprises a first convex cylindrical lens and a second convex cylindrical lens, wherein the first convex cylindrical lens is used to adjust the illumination light from the light source to diverge along one dimension, and the second convex cylindrical lens is used to collimate the one-dimensional divergent light after passing through the first convex cylindrical lens in the same dimension.

5. The lighting device according to claim 4, characterized in that The illumination light is a circular collimated beam, and the diameter of the circular collimated beam is L in , the focal length of the first convex cylindrical lens is f3, the focal length of the second convex cylindrical lens is f2, and the length of the major axis of the elliptical beam is L out ; Among them, L out =L in *f2 / f3.

6. The lighting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The light source is a laser source that emits single-mode laser light; The light transmission component (20) includes a Powell prism (23) and a convex cylindrical lens (22). The Powell prism (23) is used to adjust the single-mode laser from the laser source to diverge along one dimension and uniformly shape the single-mode laser. The convex cylindrical lens (22) is used to collimate the one-dimensional single-mode laser after passing through the Powell prism (23) in the same dimension.

7. The lighting device according to claim 1, characterized in that The microlens array (30) is a one-dimensional microlens array (30) or a two-dimensional microlens array.

8. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein The optical focus (50) of each microlens (31) in the microlens array (30) falls in the flow channel of the corresponding capillary (11).

9. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein: The major axis length of the elliptical light beam matches the width (12) of the capillary array (10).

10. A capillary gel electrophoresis apparatus, characterized in that: The lighting device comprises the lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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