Liquid Dispensing Device and Liquid Dispensing Method

Abstract

To provide a dispensing device and a dispensing method capable of improving the accuracy of dispensing volume.SOLUTION: A dispensing device 20 includes: a syringe 52 on which a chip 50 configured to be filled with a liquid 40 is attached in a detachable manner; a plunger 54 positioned inside the syringe 52; and a control unit 25 that controls the position of the plunger 54. The control unit 25 is configured to control the position of the plunger 54 so as to, when a tip 50 is attached to syringe 52, continuously discharge the liquid 40 filled in the tip 50 in multiple times, to reduce the difference in the amount of the discharge at each time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a dispensing device and a dispensing method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, although having a single cylinder mechanism, a small-sized dispensing device with high accuracy of the dispensing amount is known in a wide range of dispensing amounts, whether the amount to be dispensed is a low volume or a high volume (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Improvement in the accuracy of the dispensing amount is required.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a dispensing device and a dispensing method capable of improving the accuracy of the dispensing amount.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A dispensing device according to some embodiments includes a syringe to which a chip configured to be filled with a liquid is detachably attached, a plunger located inside the syringe, and a control unit that controls the position of the plunger. When the chip is attached to the syringe, the control unit discharges the liquid filled in the chip continuously in a plurality of divided times, and controls the position of the plunger so as to reduce the difference in the discharge amount in each time. By doing so, the accuracy of the discharge amount in each time when discharging the liquid continuously in a plurality of divided times can be improved.

[0007] In a dispensing device according to an embodiment, the control unit may calculate the filling amount of liquid to the chip such that, after discharging the liquid, an amount of liquid equal to or greater than the residual liquid amount determined based on the properties of the liquid filled in the chip or the characteristics of the chip remains in the chip. By doing so, the influence caused by the discharged liquid adhering to the wall surface of the chip can be reduced. As a result, when discharging multiple times, the difference between the discharge amount in the last discharge and the discharge amount in the previous discharges can be reduced.

[0008] In a dispensing device according to an embodiment, when filling the chip with liquid, the control unit may control the plunger such that the filling amount increases by a first liquid amount determined based on the lost motion of the plunger. The control unit may move the plunger by the amount of movement of the plunger corresponding to discharging the first liquid amount before discharging the liquid for the first time after filling the chip with liquid, or may move the plunger largely by the amount of movement of the plunger corresponding to discharging the first liquid amount when discharging the liquid for the first time after filling the chip with liquid. By doing so, the influence of the lost motion can be reduced. As a result, the variation in the discharge amount between the first discharge after filling and the second and subsequent discharges can be reduced. Also, the accuracy of the first discharge amount after filling can be improved.

[0009] In a dispensing device according to an embodiment, when discharging the liquid for the first time after filling the chip with liquid, the control unit may discharge the liquid with a discharge amount reduced by a second liquid amount determined based on the properties of the liquid. By doing so, the influence caused by the increase in the pressure inside the chip can be reduced. As a result, the variation in the discharge amount between the first discharge after filling and the second and subsequent discharges can be reduced. Also, the accuracy of the first discharge amount after filling can be improved.

[0010] In some embodiments, the dispensing method involves controlling the position of a plunger located inside the syringe so that when a chip configured to be filled with a liquid is attached to the syringe, the liquid filled in the chip is continuously discharged in multiple portions, and the difference in the discharge amount for each portion is reduced. By doing so, the accuracy of the discharge amount for each time when discharging the liquid in multiple continuous portions can be improved.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the dispensing device and dispensing method according to the present disclosure, the accuracy of the dispensed amount is improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3A

Figure 3B

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] (Comparative Example) First, a comparative example with respect to the dispensing device 20 (see FIG. 1) and the dispensing method according to the present disclosure will be described.

[0015] The device according to the comparative example includes a syringe pump, and controls the discharge amount of the liquid filled in the chip by moving the plunger of the syringe pump by a predetermined amount. The liquid may be a sealing agent or a reagent, but is not limited thereto.

[0016] In the device according to the comparative example, the following problems may occur. For example, when discharging the liquid from the chip, the liquid may adhere to the inner wall of the chip, resulting in a shortage of the final discharge amount compared to the assumed amount. Also, when discharging the liquid continuously in multiple times after filling it once, the lost motion of the plunger of the syringe pump may cause the first discharge amount to differ from the discharge amounts after the first time. Further, the pressure inside the chip due to evaporation etc. of the liquid in the chip filled with the liquid may cause the discharge amount to be large only for the first time. Due to these problems, the accuracy of the discharge amount in the device according to the comparative example may be lowered.

[0017] Hereinafter, the dispensing device 20 and the dispensing method according to the present disclosure will be described.

[0018] (Configuration example of the dispensing device 20 according to the present embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the dispensing device 20 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the dispensing device 20 includes a control unit 25, a drive unit 210, a chip rack 220, and a liquid rack 230. The dispensing device 20 is configured to discharge a liquid to a predetermined position of the storage device 10. The control unit 25 controls the operations of the respective components of the dispensing device 20. The chip rack 220 houses the chip 50 mounted on the dispensing device 20. The chip 50 is configured to be fillable with a liquid. The liquid rack 230 houses the unused liquid 231 which is the liquid to be filled in the chip 50. The drive unit 210 includes a syringe pump to which the chip 50 is detachably mounted.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a chip filled with a reagent. As shown in FIG. 2, the syringe pump includes a syringe 52 and a plunger 54. The syringe 52 is detachably attached to the chip 50. The plunger 54 is located inside the syringe 52 and is configured to be movable. By moving the plunger 54 inside the syringe 52 to change the volume inside the syringe 52, it becomes possible to suck and fill the chip 50 attached to the syringe 52 with a liquid or to push out and discharge the liquid. The syringe 52 may further include an O-ring 56 at the portion where the chip 50 is attached. The liquid discharged by the dispensing device 20 is also referred to as the discharged liquid 40. In FIG. 2, the chip 50 is filled with the discharged liquid 40.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the housing device 10 houses the cells S.

[0021] The dispensing device 20 discharges the discharged liquid 40 onto the cells S housed in the housing device 10. The discharged liquid 40 may be an encapsulant for facilitating observation of the cells S by the image acquisition device 30 described later. The discharged liquid 40 may be a reagent that reacts with the cells S. The encapsulant is a liquid different from the reagent. The discharged liquid 40 is not limited to these and may be various liquids.

[0022] The image acquisition device 30 acquires an image of the cells S housed in the housing device 10. The image acquisition device 30 outputs the acquired image to the information processing device. The information processing device may be communicably connected to the dispensing device 20 or the image acquisition device 30 and may be configured to be able to control the dispensing device 20 or the image acquisition device 30.

[0023] Details of each configuration will be described below.

[0024] (Dispensing Device 20) The control unit 25 of the dispensing device 20 controls the movement of the plunger 54 and the movement of the drive unit 210. The control unit 25 may be configured to include one or more processors. In one embodiment, the "processor" is a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited to these.

[0025] The drive unit 210 is equipped with a syringe pump on which the chip 50 is detachably mounted. The drive unit 210 may be equipped with a plurality of syringe pumps and a plurality of chips 50 may be detachably mounted thereon. The drive unit 210 moves the syringe pump to the chip rack 220 and mounts the chip 50 accommodated in the chip rack 220 on the syringe pump. After mounting the chip 50 on the syringe pump, the drive unit 210 moves the syringe pump to the liquid rack 230 and fills the chip 50 with the discharge liquid 40 accommodated in the liquid rack 230. After filling the chip 50 with the discharge liquid 40, the drive unit 210 moves the syringe pump to the storage device 10 and discharges the discharge liquid 40 filled in the chip 50 to a predetermined position of the storage device 10. The drive unit 210 causes the liquid to be sucked into or discharged from the chip 50 by displacing the plunger 54 of the syringe pump. The drive unit 210 may be configured to include various motors such as a stepping motor in order to move the plunger 54 of the syringe pump. The drive unit 210 may be configured to include various motors such as a linear motor in order to move the syringe pump to each component. The drive unit 210 may be configured to include various other drive mechanisms not limited to motors.

[0026] The chip rack 220 accommodates the unused chips 221 in accordance with the arrangement of the syringe pumps in the drive unit 210. The chip rack 220 may arrange the unused chips 221 in accordance with the number of chips 50 to be mounted on the syringe pump at one time. The dispensing device 20 may further be configured to arrange the unused chips 221 in the chip rack 220.

[0027] The liquid rack 230 is configured in accordance with the arrangement of the syringe pumps in the drive unit 210 so that the chip 50 mounted on the syringe pump can be filled with the discharge liquid 40 by sucking the unused liquid 231 into the chip 50. The dispensing device 20 may further be configured to replenish the unused liquid 231 in the liquid rack 230.

[0028] The dispensing device 20 may further include a waste rack for discarding the used chips 50.

[0029] (Storage device 10) The storage device 10 is not limited to the cells S and may store various other objects. The storage device 10 includes a microplate 110 that stores objects such as cells S in each of a plurality of wells. The storage device 10 is not limited to such a configuration and may include any other sample container capable of storing objects such as cells S instead of or in addition to the microplate 110. For example, the storage device 10 may include cell culture containers such as cell culture dishes, cover glass chambers, and petri dishes.

[0030] (Image acquisition device 30) The image acquisition device 30 may be configured as a microscope. The image acquisition device 30 may be configured as an imaging device installed in a microscope.

[0031] (Information processing device) The information processing device includes a storage unit 60, an input unit 70, an output unit 80, and an information processing unit 90. The information processing device may be configured to be able to control the dispensing device 20 or the image acquisition device 30. The information processing device may be configured to include any general-purpose electronic device such as a PC (Personal Computer) communicably connected to the dispensing device 20 or the image acquisition device 30, for example. The information processing device may be configured integrally with the dispensing device 20 or the image acquisition device 30, or separately. The information processing device may be configured as one or a plurality of server devices communicable with each other. The storage unit 60, the input unit 70, the output unit 80, and the information processing unit 90 may each be configured as a separate device.

[0032] The storage unit 60 includes any storage module including an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a ROM (Read-Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 60 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 60 stores any information used for the operation of the analysis device 1. For example, the storage unit 60 may store a system program, an application program, and various information received by communication. The storage unit 60 is not limited to being built into the information processing device, and may be an external database or an external storage module connected by a digital input / output port such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

[0033] The input unit 70 includes one or more input interfaces that receive a user's input operation and acquire input information based on the user's operation. For example, the input unit 70 includes, but is not limited to, physical keys, capacitive keys, a touch screen provided integrally with the display of the output unit 80, and a microphone that receives voice input.

[0034] The output unit 80 includes one or more output interfaces that output information to the user. For example, the output unit 80 is, but is not limited to, a display that outputs information as an image, or a speaker that outputs information as voice. Note that at least one of the input unit 70 or the output unit 80 may be configured integrally with the information processing device or may be configured separately.

[0035] The information processing unit 90 includes one or more processors. In one embodiment, the "processor" is a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited thereto. The information processing unit 90 may be communicably connected to each component of the information processing device and to the dispensing device 20 or the image acquisition device 30.

[0036] (Operation example of the dispensing device 20) FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts showing an example of the procedure of a dispensing method according to an embodiment. The control unit 25 of the dispensing device 20 may execute a dispensing method including the procedures of the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

[0037] The control unit 25 moves the syringe pump to the chip rack 220 and attaches the chip 50 to the syringe 52 (step S1). The control unit 25 moves the syringe pump to the preparation position of the liquid rack 230 (step S2). The preparation position corresponds to the position above the portion where the discharge liquid 40 of the liquid rack 230 is accommodated. The control unit 25 drives the syringe pump at the preparation position and sucks a predetermined amount of air into the chip 50 (step S3).

[0038] The control unit 25 determines whether it is necessary to fill the discharge liquid 40 (step S4). The control unit 25 determines that it is not necessary to fill the discharge liquid 40 when the syringe pump has already moved to the discharge position described later and the remaining amount of the discharge liquid 40 is equal to or more than a predetermined amount. The predetermined amount may be set to the minimum amount necessary to discharge the discharge liquid 40 in the procedures from step S5 onwards. When it is not necessary to fill the discharge liquid 40 (step S4: NO), the control unit 25 drives the syringe pump and discharges the discharge liquid 40 by the set discharge amount (step S5). When discharging, the syringe pump is driven so as to push the plunger 54 towards the side where the chip 50 is attached. The discharge amount is assumed to be set in advance. The discharge amount is controlled by the pushing distance of the plunger 54. The control unit 25 may set the discharge amount based on information from, for example, an information processing device.

[0039] When it is necessary to fill the discharge liquid 40 (step S4: YES), the control unit 25 moves the syringe pump to the filling position (step S6). The filling position corresponds to the position where the tip of the chip 50 is inserted into the portion where the discharge liquid 40 of the liquid rack 230 is accommodated.

[0040] The control unit 25 drives the syringe pump at the filling position to fill the chip 50 with the discharged liquid 40 (step S7). The control unit 25 drives the syringe pump based on the set filling volume. In the case of filling, the syringe pump is driven to pull the plunger 54 from the side where the chip 50 is mounted. The filling volume is set based on the discharge volume. Specifically, the control unit 25 calculates the filling volume as the product of the discharge volume per time and the number of discharges. The control unit 25 may calculate the filling volume in consideration of the amount of the discharged liquid 40 remaining in the chip 50 as will be described later.

[0041] The control unit 25 may calculate the filling volume in consideration of the lost motion of the syringe pump. Specifically, due to the lost motion of the syringe pump, the actual moving distance of the plunger 54 may be shorter than the moving distance instructed by the control unit 25. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the error due to the lost motion in the filling operation. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 as before the filling operation, when the control unit 25 instructs the filling operation, the syringe pump is controlled so that the plunger 54 before the operation moves to the position of the plunger 54A represented by the broken line, which is L above the plunger 54 before the operation. In FIG. 4, the direction of pulling from the side where the chip 50 is mounted corresponds to the upward direction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4 as after the filling operation, the actual position of the plunger 54B after the operation has only moved upward by L - LB from the plunger 54 before the operation. That is, the moving amount is less by LB than the instruction of the control unit 25. Due to the moving amount being less by LB, the filling volume decreases by the volume of the portion A represented by the broken line compared to the case where the plunger 54 moves as instructed by the control unit 25. Therefore, the control unit 25 may calculate the filling volume as a value increased by the volume of the portion A. The amount of the discharged liquid 40 corresponding to the volume of the portion A is also referred to as the first liquid amount. By increasing the filling volume by the first liquid amount, the influence of the lost motion can be reduced.

[0042] Returning to the procedure of the flowchart in FIG. 3A, when the control unit 25 fills the discharge liquid 40 with a filling amount that is greater than the first liquid volume by the first liquid volume in the procedure of step S7, the control unit 25 returns the first liquid volume at the filling position (step S8). Similar to the filling operation, the discharge amount decreases due to the lost motion of the syringe pump during the discharge operation. Therefore, by the control unit 25 discharging the volume of the portion A (the first liquid volume) after filling, the plunger 54 can be moved in advance by an amount corresponding to the lost motion. By doing so, when the discharge operation is executed in the storage device 10, the amount of movement of the plunger 54 is less likely to be affected by the lost motion. As a result, the accuracy of the discharge amount in the storage device 10 can be improved. The first liquid volume is determined by mechanical characteristics such as the motor or pump used in the syringe pump.

[0043] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the error due to lost motion during the discharge operation. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 before the discharge operation, when the control unit 25 instructs the discharge operation, the control unit 25 controls the syringe pump so that the plunger 54 before the operation moves to the position of the plunger 54A represented by the broken line, which is L lower. In FIG. 5, the direction of pushing on the side where the chip 50 is mounted corresponds to the downward direction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5 after the discharge operation, the actual position of the plunger 54B after the operation has only moved downward by L - LB from the plunger 54 before the operation. That is, the amount of movement is less by LB than the instruction from the control unit 25. Due to the amount of movement being less by LB, the discharge amount decreases by the volume of the portion A (the first liquid volume) represented by the broken line compared to the case where the plunger 54 moves as instructed by the control unit 25. The control unit 25 may move the plunger 54 by the amount of movement of the plunger 54 corresponding to discharging the first liquid volume before discharging the liquid for the first time after filling the chip 50 with the liquid. Also, the control unit 25 may move the plunger 54 significantly by the amount of movement of the plunger 54 corresponding to discharging the first liquid volume when discharging the liquid for the first time after filling the chip 50 with the liquid. By doing so, the error due to lost motion can be reduced.

[0044] Here, in the procedure of step S7 of the flowchart in FIG. 3A, the control unit 25 may calculate the filling amount in consideration of the volume of the discharged liquid 40 adhering to the wall surface of the chip 50. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an error due to the adhesion of the reagent to the tip of the chip. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, in a state where almost no discharged liquid 40 is discharged from the chip 50, the discharged liquid 40 adhering to the wall surface of the chip 50 may remain. The discharge amount decreases by the amount of the discharged liquid 40 adhering to the wall surface of the chip 50. By avoiding a state where the discharged liquid 40 adheres to the wall surface of the chip 50 and the air passage is opened and only air is pushed out, a decrease in the discharge amount can be avoided. Here, for example, if the range indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 6 is filled with the discharged liquid 40, a state where the air passage is opened can be avoided. At this time, the amount of the discharged liquid 40 required to fill the range indicated by the dashed line is represented by B and is also referred to as the residual liquid amount. By filling at least the residual liquid amount more with the discharged liquid 40, when the remaining amount of the discharged liquid 40 filled in the chip 50 decreases, a decrease in the discharge amount due to the opening of the air passage is less likely to occur. The control unit 25 may calculate the filling amount of the discharged liquid 40 in the procedure of step S7 as an amount increased by only the residual liquid amount. In other words, the control unit 25 may calculate the filling amount of the discharged liquid 40 so that the discharged liquid 40 more than the residual liquid amount remains in the chip 50. As a result, the accuracy of the discharge amount can be improved. The residual liquid amount is determined based on the properties of the discharged liquid 40. For example, the residual liquid amount is determined based on the viscosity or surface tension of the discharged liquid 40. Also, the residual liquid amount is determined based on the characteristics of the chip 50. For example, the residual liquid amount is determined based on the contact angle of the inner wall of the chip 50 or the shape of the tip of the chip 50.

[0045] Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 3A, the control unit 25 moves the syringe pump to the discharge position (step S9). The discharge position corresponds to the position of the well of the housing device 10 where the tip of the chip 50 is accommodated.

[0046] The control unit 25 drives the syringe pump at the ejection position and ejects the ejection liquid 40 in an amount that is reduced by the second liquid amount from the set ejection amount to the chip 50 (step S10). Here, the second liquid amount is the amount reduced from the set ejection amount in the first ejection after the filling of the ejection liquid 40. The procedure of step S10 is executed only once after the filling of the ejection liquid 40. Therefore, unlike the procedure of step S5 corresponding to the ejection after the second time and later after the filling of the ejection liquid 40, the ejection amount in the procedure of step S10 is reduced by only the second liquid amount.

[0047] The reason why the discharge amount is reduced by the second liquid amount in the first discharge after the filling of the discharge liquid 40 will be specifically explained as follows. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the influence of the increase in the internal pressure after filling the reagent in the chip. As shown in FIG. 7, in the interior of the chip 50 after filling the discharge liquid 40 (the region on the side connected to the syringe pump rather than the liquid level of the filled discharge liquid 40), the pressure can increase due to the volatilization of the discharge liquid 40 or the like. When the internal pressure of the chip 50 increases, the discharge liquid 40 is pushed out to the outside at the tip of the chip 50. In FIG. 7, the liquid level at the tip of the chip 50 when the internal pressure of the chip 50 is equal to the atmospheric pressure is represented by the broken line (N). On the other hand, the liquid level at the tip of the chip 50 when the internal pressure of the chip 50 becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure is represented by the solid line (M). When discharge is executed in the state shown in FIG. 7, the discharge liquid 40 in the range from the solid line (M) to the broken line (N) is discharged additionally. That is, due to the increase in the internal pressure of the chip 50, the discharge amount increases only in the first time. The amount of the discharge liquid 40 in the range from the solid line (M) to the broken line (N) can be represented as the increase amount of the internal space of the chip 50. In FIG. 7, the increase amount of the internal space of the chip 50 is represented by the broken-line rectangle (C). The increase amount of the internal space of the chip 50 (the volume of the C part) is also referred to as the second liquid amount. The control unit 25 can reduce the influence of the increase in the internal pressure of the chip 50 by reducing and discharging by the second liquid amount. As a result, the accuracy of the discharge amount can be improved. The second liquid amount is determined based on the properties of the discharge liquid 40. The properties of the discharge liquid 40 include, for example, the vapor pressure of the discharge liquid 40 and the like. In other words, when the control unit 25 discharges the liquid for the first time after filling the chip 50 with the liquid, the control unit 25 may control the plunger 54 so as to discharge the liquid with a discharge amount reduced by the second liquid amount determined based on the properties of the liquid.

[0048] Subsequent to step S10 in FIG. 3A, in the flowchart of FIG. 3B, the control unit 25 determines whether the discharge of the discharge liquid 40 has been completed (step S11). Specifically, the control unit 25 may determine that the discharge is completed when the preset number of discharges is reached. When the discharge of the discharge liquid 40 has not been completed (step S11: NO), the control unit 25 returns to the procedure of step S4 in FIG. 3A. When the discharge of the discharge liquid 40 has been completed (step S11: YES), the control unit 25 moves the syringe pump to the filling position and returns the excess discharge liquid 40 to the liquid rack 230 (step S12). After executing the procedure of step S12, the control unit 25 ends the execution of the procedures of the flowcharts in FIGS. 3A and 3B. After the procedure of step S12, the control unit 25 may execute a procedure for discarding the used chip 50.

[0049] As described above, according to the dispensing device 20 and the dispensing method according to the present embodiment, the accuracy of the discharge amount can be improved. In particular, the accuracy of each discharge amount can be improved when the discharge liquid 40 is discharged continuously and in multiple portions. The influence caused by the adhesion of the discharge liquid 40 to the wall surface of the chip 50 can be reduced. As a result, when discharging multiple times, the difference between the discharge amount in the last discharge and the discharge amount in the previous discharges can be reduced. Further, when a syringe pump is used, the influence of lost motion can be reduced. In addition, the influence caused by the increase in the pressure inside the chip 50 can be reduced. As a result, the variation in the discharge amount between the first discharge after filling and the second and subsequent discharges can be reduced. Further, the accuracy of the first discharge amount after filling can be improved.

[0050] The present disclosure is not limited to the configurations specified in the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the disclosure described in the claims. For example, the functions included in each step can be reconfigured so as not to be logically contradictory. Also, it is possible to combine a plurality of steps into one or divide one step.

[0051] In the present disclosure, descriptions such as "first" and "second" are identifiers for distinguishing the relevant configurations. The configurations distinguished by descriptions such as "first" and "second" in the present disclosure can have their numbers in the configuration exchanged. For example, the first liquid volume can have the identifiers "first" and "second" exchanged with the second liquid volume. The exchange of the identifiers is performed simultaneously. Even after the exchange of the identifiers, the configurations are still distinguishable. The identifiers may be deleted. The configurations with the identifiers deleted are distinguished by symbols. Based only on the descriptions of the identifiers such as "first" and "second" in the present disclosure, the order of the configurations should not be interpreted or used as a basis for the existence of an identifier with a smaller number.

Explanation of symbols

[0052] 10 Containment device (110: microtray, S: cell) 20 Dispensing device (25: control unit, 210: drive unit, 220: chip rack, 221: unused chip, 230: liquid rack, 231: unused liquid) 30 Image acquisition device 40 Discharged liquid 50 Chip 52 Syringe 54 Plunger 56 O-ring 60 Storage unit 70 Input unit 80 Output unit 90 Information processing unit

Claims

1. A syringe to which a chip configured to be fillable with a liquid is detachably attached, a plunger located inside the syringe, and a control unit that controls the position of the plunger are provided, wherein when the chip is attached to the syringe, the control unit calculates the filling amount of the liquid into the chip so that a liquid amount equal to or greater than the residual liquid amount determined based on the property of the liquid filled in the chip or the characteristics of the chip remains in the chip after discharge, fills the chip with the liquid, and controls the position of the plunger so that the liquid filled in the chip is continuously discharged in a plurality of divided times. A dispensing device.

2. A syringe to which a chip configured to be fillable with a liquid is detachably attached, a plunger located inside the syringe, and a control unit that controls the position of the plunger are provided, wherein when the chip is attached to the syringe, the control unit controls the position of the plunger so that when the liquid filled in the chip is continuously discharged in a plurality of divided times and the liquid is discharged for the first time after the chip is filled with the liquid, the liquid is discharged with a discharge amount reduced by a liquid amount determined based on the property of the liquid. A dispensing device.

3. The control unit controls the plunger so that the filling amount increases by a first liquid amount determined based on the lost motion of the plunger when filling the chip with the liquid, moves the plunger by the moving amount of the plunger corresponding to discharging the first liquid amount before discharging the liquid for the first time after filling the chip with the liquid, or moves the plunger greatly by the moving amount of the plunger corresponding to discharging the first liquid amount when discharging the liquid for the first time after filling the chip with the liquid. The dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. Calculating the filling amount of the liquid into the chip so that a liquid amount equal to or greater than the residual liquid amount determined based on the property of the liquid filled in the chip or the characteristics of the chip remains in the chip after discharge, and filling the chip with the liquid when the chip configured to be fillable with the liquid is attached to the syringe; Controlling the position of a plunger located inside the syringe so that the liquid filled in the chip is continuously discharged in a plurality of divided times is included. A dispensing method.

5. When a chip configured to be fillable with a liquid is attached to a syringe, when discharging the liquid filled in the chip in multiple consecutive portions, in the case of discharging the liquid for the first time after filling the chip with the liquid, controlling the position of a plunger located inside the syringe so as to discharge the liquid with a discharge amount reduced by an amount of liquid determined based on the properties of the liquid. A dispensing method including this.

Images