Replaceable tooth comb for making agarose gel
The comb design with a base and removable tooth pieces addresses the challenge of preparing agarose gels with varying well widths, enabling efficient production of gels with varied dimensions.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025001767U
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-05-30
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-19
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-05-30
Smart Images
Figure 0003253670000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] This invention relates to an agarose gel preparation comb used to prepare agarose gels with multiple depressions, which are commonly used in life science research, and which has replaceable comb teeth for defining the width of the depressions. [Background technology]
[0002] Agarose gels commonly used in life science research require numerous depressions called wells into which samples such as DNA and protein solutions can be injected. The required well width varies depending on the experimental purpose, and when creating gels, experimenters need a comb with teeth of the same width as the required wells. When creating multiple gels simultaneously, conventional combs do not allow the width of the pre-installed teeth to be changed, making it difficult to simultaneously create agarose gels with different well widths. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]
[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] "Mupid General Catalog 2023.11", p.2, Accessories section, Gel Maker Set-L, [online], November 2023, Mupid Co., Ltd., [Accessed and retrieved from the Mupid Co., Ltd. website on October 10, 2024], Internet<URL:https: / / www.mupid.com / catalog / generalcatalog2311.pdf> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0004] When multiple agarose gels with different well widths need to be prepared at the same time, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive for the experimenter to prepare only agarose gels with wells of the same width as the width of the pre-installed teeth on the agarose gel preparation comb. This invention aims to solve this problem by providing a removable tooth structure that allows replacement with teeth of different widths. [Means for solving the problem]
[0005] This device separates conventional combs into two components: a comb base and tooth pieces. The comb base has a lattice for attaching the tooth pieces, and the tooth pieces have flat protrusions for attaching them to the comb base. These two components are made of tough materials such as ABS resin or PP resin. The frame that forms the lattice of the comb base clamps the flat protrusions of the tooth pieces, creating strong friction and making them difficult to attach and detach. The attachment protrusions are equipped with flat protrusions called removal buttons to facilitate removal from the comb base. These devices solve the problem by allowing experimenters to create combs with the tooth width they require by attaching tooth pieces with any desired tooth width to the comb base. [Effects of the Invention]
[0006] As described above, the tooth-replaceable comb for preparing agarose gel of the present invention has replaceable tooth pieces, making it possible to easily prepare combs with multiple widths as required by the experimenter for each experiment, thereby enabling the experimenter to simultaneously prepare agarose gels with multiple well widths as needed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0007] [Figure 1] Typical example of a replaceable tooth agarose gel preparation comb [Figure 2] Typical example of a replaceable tooth agarose gel preparation comb [Figure 3] Comb substrate [Figure 4] Medium / thick tooth piece [Figure 5] View of the medium and thick tooth pieces from the back [Figure 6] Close-up of the connection between the tooth piece and the comb board DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0008] 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. The tooth pieces can be attached to the comb base by fitting the protrusions of the tooth pieces into the lattice portion of the comb base. This allows the experimenter to prepare a comb with the tooth width they desire.
[0009] As shown in Figure 6, the lattice part of the comb substrate, made of a tough plastic material, bends, pinching the protrusions of the tooth pieces and making them impossible to remove without applying a certain amount of force.
[0010] By pressing the removal button shown in Figure 6, the experimenter can remove the tooth piece from the comb substrate. [Example]
[0011] An embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Reference numeral 1 denotes a comb substrate made of a suitable material, such as a tough plastic like ABS or PP; 2 denotes a tooth piece characterized by having thin teeth and extra-thick teeth; 4 denotes a tooth piece characterized by having medium teeth and thick teeth; and 6 denotes a long tooth piece characterized by having medium teeth and thick teeth. Comb substrate 1 has a lattice-like structure called lattice section 8, and various tooth pieces can be attached to comb substrate 1 by inserting tooth piece protrusions 10 into the gaps created by the lattice section. By selecting and combining these, an experimenter can simultaneously create agarose gels with wells of various widths by placing this replaceable-tooth agarose gel-making comb in a gel maker set such as that described in Non-Patent Document 1 and pouring liquid agarose into it.
[0012] 9 is a tooth piece removal button included in the tooth piece protrusion portion 10, and when the experimenter wants to remove various tooth pieces from the comb substrate 1, they can easily remove the various tooth pieces from the comb substrate 1 by pressing the tooth piece removal button 9 with their finger. [Explanation of symbols]
[0013] 1 Comb board 2 Thin and extra thick tooth pieces 3 Thin and extra thick tooth pieces 4 Medium and thick tooth pieces 5 Medium teeth of the medium-thick tooth piece 6 Medium-thick long tooth pieces 7 Thick teeth of medium-thick long tooth piece 8 Comb substrate grating section 9 Teeth piece removal button 10 Tooth piece protrusion
Claims
1. This is a comb for making agarose gel, which is commonly used in life science research. It features a replaceable tooth structure that combines two parts called a comb base and tooth pieces, making the teeth removable.
2. 1. A comb substrate according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a lattice for mounting tooth pieces, and allows the projections of the tooth pieces to be inserted.
3. The invention of claims 1 and 2 relates to a tooth piece characterized in that two new flat protrusions called removal buttons are provided on the protruding portion of the tooth piece, making it easy to attach and remove the tooth piece from the comb base.