Device for providing disposable laboratory articles while maintaining cleanliness for laboratory work

Abstract

Device for providing disposable laboratory articles while maintaining cleanliness for laboratory work, comprising • a tray made of a microbially impervious material comprising o a bottom wall, o first lateral walls which extend upward from the bottom wall, o a first opening which is surrounded by the upper edges of the first lateral walls, o a first edge flange which is connected to the upper edges of the first lateral walls and runs around the first opening, and o support structures within the first lateral walls at a distance from the bottom wall, • a planar carrier comprising o a multiplicity of holes oriented perpendicularly to the base of the carrier o that is inserted into the first opening and is supported on the support structures, • a multiplicity of disposable laboratory articles which are inserted into the holes of the carrier, • a cover made of a microbially impervious material which covers the carrier and the disposable laboratory articles inserted therein and has a peripheral outer edge that rests on the first edge flange, and • a releasable connection by means of which the outer edge of the cover is peripherally sealingly connected to the first edge flange.

Description

[0001] Device for providing disposable laboratory items while maintaining a level of cleanliness for laboratory work

[0002] The invention relates to a device for providing disposable laboratory items while maintaining a level of purity for laboratory work.

[0003] Pipette tips, reaction vessels and other single-use laboratory items (also called “disposables”) are used primarily in scientific and industrial laboratories with medical, biological, chemical, biochemical, pharmaceutical or forensic applications for processing samples. Pipette tips are small plastic tubes used for dispensing liquid samples, preferably in the range from 0.1 pl to 100 ml. They have a lower opening for liquid and an upper opening for air, with the cross-section of the pipette tips generally increasing from the lower to the upper opening. At a distance from the upper end, they have a circumferential shoulder, protruding axial ribs or other support structures on the outer circumference for bracing against the edge of an opening in a carrier.Microcentrifuge tubes are closed-bottom tubes with a clamp-on, snap-on, or screw-on plastic cap for small sample volumes in the microliter range. Microcentrifuge tubes are available in various sizes, preferably in the range from 0.1 ml to 5.0 ml, and are also referred to as "microcentrifuge tubes" or "capped tubes."

[0004] To attach pipette tips to the pipette seat, pipette tips are provided on pipette tip provision devices (hereinafter also referred to as "devices"). These devices comprise a plate-shaped plastic carrier (also called a "perforated plate," "tray," or "wafer") with a multitude of holes arranged in a matrix. Carriers with 96 holes in eight rows and twelve columns are particularly common. Pipette tips are inserted into the holes from above, preventing them from falling through due to their diameter, which widens towards the top, or a support element on the outer circumference.

[0005] The devices also feature a holder for holding the carrier, which can be designed as a closed tray (also called a "box") or an open frame (also called a "rack"). The carrier, equipped with pipette tips, can be placed onto the holder from above, so that the pipette tips protrude into the holder.

[0006] Devices for providing pipette tips with a lid are also known. The lid is placed on top of the holder or carrier and covers the pipette tips to protect them from contamination. The lid can be designed, for example, as a slip-on lid or a hinged lid.

[0007] The pipette tips can be removed from the device individually or in groups at the same time by pressing the seat of a single-channel pipette or several seats of a multi-channel pipette into the upper ends of the pipette tips.

[0008] Depending on the application, pipette tips with appropriate purity levels are required. Sterile pipette tips are often needed. These are sterilized by the manufacturer, for example, by irradiation. To ensure the level of purity, the pipette tips in the pipette tip dispensers are additionally protected by foil, sealing tape, or an additional protective cover (also called "containment"). The dispensers are often placed in tightly sealed sterile bags. This results in large packaging dimensions and high packaging costs. After opening the additional containment and partial removal of pipette tips, there is an increased risk of contamination of the remaining pipette tips. Pipette tips with a lower purity level that are delivered without additional containment can generally be autoclaved by the user.However, maintenance of the sterile purity state until use cannot be guaranteed.

[0009] Another disadvantage of known devices for providing pipette tips is that they can easily tip over when pipette tips are removed using a multi-channel pipette in which the seats are only partially equipped with pipette tips due to the asymmetrical introduction of force.

[0010] The provision of other disposable laboratory items with a required level of purity poses similar problems.

[0011] Based on this, the object of the invention is to provide a device for providing sterile disposable laboratory items for work in the laboratory, which, with a space-saving design and less use of packaging material, facilitates the provision of the disposable laboratory items while maintaining sterility or another degree of purity and the removal of pipette tips while partially loading the attachments of a multi-channel pipette.

[0012] The object is achieved by a device according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the device are specified in the subclaims and in the following description.

[0013] The device according to the invention for providing disposable laboratory items while maintaining a level of cleanliness for work in the laboratory comprises: a tray made of a germ-impermeable material comprising o a bottom wall, o first side walls projecting upwards from the bottom wall, o a first opening defined by the upper edges of the first side walls, o a first edge flange connected to the upper edges of the first side walls and extending around the first opening, and o support structures within the first side walls at a distance from the bottom wall,

[0014] • a plate-shaped support with o a plurality of holes aligned perpendicular to the base of the support, o which is inserted into the first opening and rests on the support structures,

[0015] • a variety of disposable laboratory items that are inserted into the holes of the carrier,

[0016] • a cover made of a germ-impermeable material, which covers the carrier and the disposable laboratory items inserted therein and rests with a circumferential outer edge on the first edge flange and

[0017] • a detachable connection by means of which the outer edge of the cover is connected to the first edge flange in a sealing manner.

[0018] In the device according to the invention, the pipette tips or other disposable laboratory items inserted into the plate-shaped carrier are covered at the bottom by the tray made of a germ-impermeable material and at the top by the cover made of a germ-impermeable material. Furthermore, the circumferential sealing connection between the outer edge of the cover and the first edge flange prevents germs from entering the disposable laboratory items. This ensures that the disposable laboratory items arranged in the device are not contaminated and retain their degree of purity. The degree of purity can be achieved by the manufacturer through the process for manufacturing the disposable laboratory items or through post-treatment of the manufactured disposable laboratory items. Sterilization of the disposable laboratory items at the manufacturer's site can be achieved, in particular, by irradiation with UV, X-ray, beta, or gamma radiation.The device requires comparatively little packaging material, as the cover only covers the carrier and the disposable laboratory items inserted therein, and is sealed at the outer edge to the first edge flange of the tray. Compared to a foil bag or other protective cover that encloses the entire device, including tray, carrier, and lid, considerable packaging material savings can be achieved.

[0019] The degree of purity can in particular be the “sterile” level of purity, which is achieved by adhering to the conditions specified in ISO 11137 or ISO 11135. Furthermore, it can be the “PCR-clean” level of purity used by the applicant for its products, which describes disposable laboratory items that are free of DNase and RNase, PCR inhibitors, and human DNA. This level of purity is essentially achieved by manufacturing the disposable laboratory items under conditions comparable to a clean room. Furthermore, it can be the “protein-free” level of purity used by the applicant, which describes disposable laboratory items that are free of proteins. A colorimetric assay that can detect up to 1 ng / pL is used to test for protein contamination.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the invention, the cover and / or the tray are at least partially made of a water vapor-permeable and germ-impermeable material. This enables autoclaving of the disposable laboratory items in the closed device. The closed device can be placed in an autoclave, and the water vapor can penetrate the at least partially water vapor-permeable cover and / or tray into the device and reach the disposable laboratory items, sterilizing them. The fact that the tray and the cover are made of a germ-impermeable material ensures that the sterilized disposable laboratory items are not contaminated as long as the device is not opened. Contaminants can only reach the disposable laboratory items after the cover has been opened.With this design, the sterilization of disposable laboratory items can be performed by the device manufacturer and / or the user. In this design, the tray, carrier, pipette tips, cover, and detachable connector are made of autoclavable material.

[0021] According to another embodiment, the shell is made of a plastic. According to another embodiment, the shell is made of a rigid plastic. A shell made of a rigid plastic can withstand the forces when pressing pipette tips onto a pipette better than a shell made of a soft material. Furthermore, the rigid shell facilitates stacking multiple devices on top of one another. For example, the shell is made of propylene or polyethylene. According to another embodiment, the shell is injection-molded. According to another embodiment, the shell is injection-molded in one piece.

[0022] According to a further embodiment, the tray has a base area corresponding to a standardized microplate and / or the support has an arrangement of holes corresponding to the arrangement of wells of a standardized microplate. In the present application, a "standardized microplate" refers to microplates (microtiter plates) that are standardized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) according to the recommendations of the "Society for Biomolecular Screening (SBS)" (ANSI SLAS, 1 to 4 - 2004 and ANSI SLAS, 6 - 2012). A tray with a base area corresponding to a standardized microplate has the particular advantage of being positionable on the workstations of laboratory automation systems adapted to the base area of ​​standardized microplates.The arrangement of holes corresponding to the arrangement of wells in a standardized microplate has the particular advantage of facilitating the handling of disposable laboratory items using laboratory equipment adapted to a standardized microplate. For example, pipette tips can be picked up and dispensed from an arrangement of holes that corresponds to the arrangement of wells in a standardized microplate using a multichannel pipette in which the spacing of the channels is adapted to the wells of the standardized microplate.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the disposable laboratory items are pipette tips. According to another embodiment, the disposable laboratory items are reaction vessels.

[0024] According to one embodiment, the upper surface of the support is arranged substantially in the same plane as the upper surface of the first edge flange or higher.

[0025] Because the plate-shaped support is arranged with its upper side essentially in the same plane as the upper side of the edge flange or higher, a multi-channel pipette can be pressed onto pipette tips near an edge of the support, even with part of its seats, without the device tipping over due to the lateral force introduction. This facilitates the safe and economical picking up of a reduced number of pipette tips that are currently required. According to a further embodiment, the disposable laboratory articles have head sections protruding from the upper side of the support, and the cover has a central region that protrudes upwards with respect to the outer edge of the cover and covers the head sections of the disposable laboratory articles.The head section of the disposable laboratory items is, for example, a head section of a pipette tip with a shoulder at the lower edge for placing on the edge of a hole or it is a collar at the upper edge of a laboratory vessel with a hinged lid attached via a film hinge.

[0026] According to a further embodiment, the cover comprises: o a top wall, o second side walls which project downwards from the lateral edges of the top wall, o a second opening which is bordered by the lower edges of the second side walls and o a second edge flange which is connected to the lower edges of the second side walls and runs around the second opening, wherein o the second edge flange rests on the first edge flange and is connected to it in a circumferentially sealing manner via the detachable connection.

[0027] In this embodiment, the cover is designed as a hood. The head sections of disposable laboratory items can engage through the second opening of the cover into the hood-like cover and are received by it. According to a further embodiment, the second edge flange is connected at the outer edge to an outwardly projecting tear tab. To open the cover, the tear tab can be grasped, thereby facilitating opening. Preferably, the tear tab protrudes outward beyond the outer edge of the first edge flange, thereby facilitating gripping of the tear tab.

[0028] According to another embodiment, the cover is a film that rests against the upper ends of the head sections of the disposable laboratory articles and is sealed circumferentially to the first edge flange at its outer edge. The film is, for example, stretched over the head sections and secured to the first edge flange by its outer edge.

[0029] According to another design, the disposable laboratory items do not protrude from the top of the carrier. In this design, the disposable laboratory items can have head sections that are completely positioned and held in holes in the carrier. For this purpose, the disposable laboratory items can be supported on circumferential shoulders of the carrier located at the bottom edge of the holes.

[0030] According to one embodiment, the carrier is made of a plastic. According to another embodiment, the carrier is made of a rigid plastic. According to another embodiment, the carrier is made of polypropylene. According to another embodiment, the carrier is injection-molded. According to another embodiment, the carrier is injection-molded in one piece.

[0031] According to another design, the cover is made entirely of a water vapor-permeable and germ-impermeable material. This allows for a particularly simple design and allows for rapid autoclaving of disposable laboratory items.

[0032] According to a further embodiment, the tray and / or cover comprises a base body made of a rigid plastic with at least one window and at least one water vapor-permeable and germ-impermeable cover element that covers the at least one window and is sealed to the base body at the edges surrounding the window. This facilitates the use of films, nonwovens, or other flexible flat materials as water vapor-permeable and germ-impermeable cover elements while maintaining a stable device design. The stable design is particularly advantageous for stacking multiple devices on top of one another and for transport using the gripper of a laboratory machine.

[0033] According to a further embodiment, the second edge flange comprises a film hinge parallel to a lower edge of one of the two second side walls. In this embodiment, the cover can be folded up to make the disposable laboratory items accessible for use. If only some of the disposable laboratory items are removed from the device, the remaining disposable laboratory items can be closed by folding the cover shut. To open and close the cover, the detachable connection between the first edge flange and the second edge flange must be released. The part of the connection between the first edge flange and the second edge flange that runs outside the film hinge is not released in order to connect the cover and the tray via the film hinge.To prevent accidental loosening of this part of the connection, the connection there can be made stronger than in the other parts or can be made non-separable, so that the cover can only be completely separated with increased force or with partial destruction of the cover or the shell.

[0034] According to another embodiment, the connection between the second edge flange and the first edge flange runs exclusively outside the film hinge. In principle, it is also possible for the connection to also run inside the film hinge, in which case this part of the connection must be detachable in order to allow the cover to be opened along the film hinge.

[0035] According to a further embodiment, the outer edge is connected to the first edge flange by a detachable welded connection, sealed connection or adhesive connection and / or the cover element is connected to the base body by a welded connection, sealed connection or adhesive connection. In a welded connection, the parts to be joined are melted or softened in the connection area and connected to one another under the application of pressure. In a sealed connection, at least one of the two parts to be joined has a film or coating on one side, which is melted or softened on the surface in the connection area and connected to the connection area of ​​the other part to be joined. In an adhesive connection, the connection is created using an adhesive that is introduced between the two parts to be joined.

[0036] According to a further embodiment, the tear tab protrudes outwardly from the outer edge of a portion of the second edge flange opposite the portion of the second edge flange that encompasses the film hinge. This facilitates the removal of the cover from the tear tab to the film hinge.

[0037] According to a further embodiment, the shell is an injection-molded part (also called a “plastic injection-molded part”) or a deep-drawn part or a folded part or a combination of one of the aforementioned parts with a flexible cover element and / or the carrier is an injection-molded part or a stamped part and / or the cover is an injection-molded part or a deep-drawn part or a folded part or a combination of one of the aforementioned parts with a flexible cover element.

[0038] According to another embodiment, the water vapor-permeable and germ-permeable material is a nonwoven fabric made of plastic fibers or a paper.

[0039] According to a further embodiment, the cover consists of a water vapor-permeable and germ-impermeable nonwoven made of plastic fibers or of paper. According to a further embodiment, the nonwoven is an autoclavable nonwoven or the paper is an autoclavable paper. According to a further embodiment, the paper is sterilization paper or medical paper. According to a further embodiment, the nonwoven or the paper has pores with a pore size of a maximum of 1 μm, preferably a maximum of 0.6 μm, particularly preferably a maximum of 0.2 μm. According to a further embodiment, the flexible flat material is a polyethylene nonwoven. According to a further embodiment, the flexible flat material is a high-density polyethylene nonwoven. According to a further embodiment, the flexible flat material is a polyethylene spunbonded nonwoven.According to a further embodiment, the flexible flat material is a high-density polyethylene nonwoven marketed by DuPont under the brand name "Tyvek®". According to a further embodiment, the flat material is sealed, welded, or glued to the first edge flange along a germ-impermeable sealing seam, weld seam, or adhesive seam. Finally, the invention relates to the use of the device according to one of claims 1 to 14 or one of the previously described embodiments, in which the device is sterilized by the manufacturer and delivered to the user in a sterile state with the disposable laboratory articles and / or in which the device is sterilized by the user with the disposable laboratory articles arranged therein. Sterilization by the manufacturer can be carried out in particular by irradiation. Sterilization by the user can be carried out in particular by autoclaving.

[0040] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings of exemplary embodiments. In the drawings:

[0041] Fig. 1 shows a device for providing pipette tips with a hood-like cover with cover element and sterilization paper in a perspective view obliquely from above;

[0042] Fig. 2 the same device with the cover partially detached and folded up in a perspective view obliquely from the side;

[0043] Fig. 3 the same device in a view from the opposite side;

[0044] Fig. 4 the same device in an enlarged detailed view;

[0045] Fig. 5 the same device in a perspective exploded view;

[0046] Fig. 6a, b a pipette tip in a side view (Fig. 6a) and in a

[0047] Longitudinal section (Fig. 6b);

[0048] Fig. 7 shows another device for providing pipette tips with a plastic tray and a cover made of folded nonwoven fabric in a perspective view obliquely from above;

[0049] Fig. 8 shows the same device with the cover detached and partially removed, in a perspective view obliquely from above. In this application, the terms "top" and "bottom" as well as "vertical" and "horizontal" refer to the device with the cover closed, the underside of which is placed on a horizontal surface.

[0050] According to Fig. 1 to 3, the device 1 according to the invention for providing pipette tips (box) comprises a substantially box-shaped tray 2. This tray has a substantially rectangular bottom wall 3 from which side walls 4, 5, 6, 7 protrude upwards.

[0051] The bottom wall 3 protrudes slightly outwards with respect to the first side walls 4, 5, 6, 7.

[0052] A first opening 8 is defined by the upper edges of the first side walls 4, 5, 6, 7. A first edge flange 9 is connected to the upper edges of the first side walls 4, 5, 6, 7 and extends continuously and smoothly around the first opening 8. The upper side of the first edge flange 9 is arranged in a horizontal plane.

[0053] According to Fig. 5, support structures 10 are arranged within the first side walls 4, 5, 6, 7 at a distance from the bottom wall 2. These are, for example, vertical ribs 11 that protrude from the inside of the first side walls. At the upper edge of the support structures 12, support edges 11 are located at a distance below the horizontal plane that coincides with the top side of the first edge flange 9.

[0054] The tray 2 is injection-molded in one piece from a plastic material, for example, polypropylene or polycarbonate. Furthermore, the device 1 comprises a substantially plate-shaped and substantially rectangular support 13. The support 13 has a total of 96 circular holes 14 that are vertically aligned. The holes 14 are arranged in eight rows and twelve columns. They are dimensioned so that pipette tips 15 of a specific size and shape can be inserted therein and rest on the edge of a hole 14 with a shoulder on the underside of a cutout of the head without falling through.

[0055] The support 13 can, for example, be solid or material-saving, with a top wall 16 and a circumferential skirt 17 connected to the lateral edges of the top wall and projecting vertically downward. Furthermore, sleeves can project vertically downward from the holes 14 on the underside of the top wall 16, extending the holes 14 downward and guiding the pipette tips 15 laterally below the holes 14 in a short vertical section.

[0056] The base area of ​​the carrier 13 essentially corresponds to the base area of ​​a standardized 96-well microplate. Consequently, a group of pipette tips 15, which is removed from the carrier 13 by a multi-channel pipette adapted to the standardized microplate, can be inserted into a group of wells of a standardized microplate by means of the multi-channel pipette.

[0057] The support 13 is inserted into the first opening 8 of the shell 2 and supported by the lower edge of the skirt 17 on the supporting edges 12 of the support structures 10. The position of the supporting edges 12 and the height of the support 13 in the edge region are selected such that the upper side of the support 13 is in the same plane as the upper side of the first edge flange 9 or slightly above it. The support 13 is preferably injection-molded from plastic. In particular, the plastics polypropylene, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers (ABS), and polystyrene (PS) can be used.

[0058] According to Fig. 6, the pipette tips 15 each have an elongated, tubular body 18, which has a lower opening 19 at the bottom end and an upper opening 20 at the top end. The lower opening 19 is smaller than the upper opening 20.

[0059] In general, the inner and outer diameters of the tubular body 18 increase from the lower opening 19 to the upper opening 20. The tubular body 18 has, for example, a conical initial section 21 at the bottom, above this a middle section 22 with a smaller cone angle than the initial section 21, and above this a cylindrical head section 23 with a larger outer diameter than at the upper end of the middle section 22. Adjacent to the middle section 22, a downwardly directed shoulder 24 runs around the underside of the head section 23 on the outer circumference of the tubular body 18.

[0060] In addition to the upper opening 20, the tubular body 18 has a substantially conical or cylindrical seating area 25 on its inner circumference for a conical or cylindrical pipette attachment. The seating area 25 extends into the head section 23 and has a cone angle of, for example, 2° to 6°.

[0061] The tubular body 18 has one or more sealing structures 26 in the form of closed, circumferential sealing beads on its inner circumference in the seat area 25 for sealing the attachment. Below the sealing structures 26, on the inner circumference of the head cutout 23, there is a guide structure 27 for guiding the attachment during insertion into the pipette tip 15.

[0062] The pipette tips 15 are inserted with their tubular body 18 into the holes 14 of the carrier 13 according to Fig. 1 and are supported with the shoulder 24 on the edge of the holes 14 on the upper side of the carrier 13.

[0063] With the head section 23, the pipette tips 15 protrude upwards from the top of the carrier 13.

[0064] Finally, the device comprises a cover 28. This has a substantially rectangular top wall 29. Second side walls 30, 31, 32, 33 project downward from the lateral edges of the top wall 29. Furthermore, the cover 28 has a second opening 34, which is defined by the lower edges of the second side walls 30, 31, 32, 33. An outer edge 35 in the form of a second edge flange 36 is connected to the lower edges of the second side walls 30, 31, 32, 33 and extends around the second opening 34. The underside of the second edge flange 36 is arranged in a horizontal plane.

[0065] On one long side of the cover 28, the second edge flange 36 has a straight wall thickness reduction 37 on the top side parallel to this side.

[0066] The second edge flange 36 rests on the first edge flange 9 and is connected thereto in a circumferentially sealing manner. The second edge flange 36 and the first edge flange 9 are essentially congruent. The head sections 23 of the pipette tips 14 protrude through the second opening 34 into the hood-like cover 28. The second edge flange 36 is detachably connected to the first edge flange 9 via a detachable connection 38, preferably by a detachable welded connection. The second edge flange 35 is detachably connected to the first edge flange 9 between the wall thickness reduction 37 and the carrier 12. On the side of the wall thickness reduction 37 facing away from the support 12, the second edge flange 36 is connected to the first edge flange 9 in a non-detachable manner or can only be detachably connected with a significantly increased effort of force.

[0067] On the side opposite the wall thickness reduction 37, the second edge flange 36 has a tear tab 39 projecting outwards with respect to the first edge flange 9.

[0068] The cover 28 is injection-molded in one piece from plastic, preferably from the same plastic as the shell 2 or from a plastic that can be easily welded to the plastic of the shell 2.

[0069] The cover 28 has a window 40 in the top wall 29. The window is covered with a cover element 41 made of a water vapor-permeable and germ-impermeable material. The cover element 41 is connected to the top wall 29 at the edges, forming a seal around the window.

[0070] There is essentially no need for complex printing on the plastic surfaces of the device.

[0071] For the cover element 41, for example, the nonwoven material Tyvek® or a sterilization paper is used. The cover element 41 is easily printable. An imprint 42 containing information about the product (manufacturer, product name, nominal volume, expiration time) is applied to the cover element 41.

[0072] All components of device 1 are made of autoclavable materials.

[0073] Due to the closed surfaces of tray 2 and cover 28 and the tight connections between cover 28 and tray 2 as well as the cover element 41 and cover 28, the pipette tips 14 are protected from the penetration of germs from the environment within the device 1. The device 1 can be inserted into an autoclave, and due to the water vapor permeability of the cover element 41, the pipette tips 14 are autoclavable in the device 1.

[0074] To remove pipette tips 14, the detachable connection 38 between the first edge flange 9 and the second edge flange 36 is released. To do so, the tray 2 can be held with one hand and the tear-off tab 39 can be pulled off with the other hand. The connection between the first edge flange 9 and the second edge flange 36, located outside the wall thickness reduction 37, cannot be released due to its increased strength and remains intact. As a result, a film hinge 43 is created in the area of ​​the wall thickness reduction 37, around which the cover 28 can be opened or closed. To remove pipette tips 14, the cover 28 is folded open around the film hinge 41. Because the head sections 23 are positioned above the plane of the first edge flange 9, pipette tips 14 located at the edge can be removed from the device 1 without the risk of the bowl 2 tipping over.To protect the remaining pipette tips 14 from contamination, the cover 28 is closed again. The flat contact of the second edge flange 36 with the first edge flange 9 largely prevents the penetration of contamination.

[0075] The embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5 differs from the previously described in that the cover 28 is made of a punched and folded nonwoven material or sterilization paper. The cover 28 can be formed from a single blank. Tyvek® or another sterilization paper can be used for this.

[0076] To fold the second side walls 30, 31, 32, 33 in a vertical alignment with the top wall 29, the second side walls 30, 31, 32, 33 are connected to the top wall 29 via fold lines. To fold the second edge flange 36 in a horizontal alignment, sections of the second edge flange 36 are connected to the second side walls 30, 31, 32, 33 via further fold lines. The second side walls 30, 31, 32, 33 are connected at their lateral edges via further fold lines to dust flaps 44, 45, 46, 47, which each rest against the inner sides of the adjacent second side walls 30, 31, 32, 33 and are firmly connected to them in order to seal the cover at the corners. For the same reason, the adjacent sections of the second edge flange 36 overlap each other at the corners and are firmly connected there.

[0077] The connections between the superimposed sections of the nonwoven or sterilization paper made of synthetic fibers can be formed, for example, as welds. The second edge flange 36 is sealingly connected to the first edge flange 9 by a weld. The weld is a detachable connection 38 for removing pipette tips 14 from the device 1.

[0078] Due to the complete formation of the cover 28 from germ-impermeable and water vapor-permeable material, this device 1 is particularly suitable for autoclaving the inserted pipette tips 14.

[0079] List of reference symbols

[0080] 1 device

[0081] 2 bowls

[0082] 3 floor wall

[0083] 4-7 side wall

[0084] 8 first opening

[0085] 9 first edge flange

[0086] 10 Support structure

[0087] 11 rib

[0088] 12 Support edge

[0089] 13 carriers

[0090] 14 holes

[0091] 15 pipette tip

[0092] 16 Cover wall

[0093] 17 Apron

[0094] 18 tubular body

[0095] 19 lower opening

[0096] 20 upper opening

[0097] 21 conical initial section

[0098] 22 medium cut

[0099] 23 Head section

[0100] 24 Shoulder

[0101] 25 seating area

[0102] 26 Sealing structure

[0103] 27 Management structure

[0104] 28 Cover

[0105] 29 Top wall -33 second side wall second opening outer edge second edge flange

[0106] Wall thickness reduction detachable connection tear tab

[0107] Window

[0108] Cover element

[0109] imprint

[0110] Film hinge -47 dust flap

Claims

Claims:

1. Device for providing disposable laboratory items while maintaining a level of cleanliness for laboratory work with • a tray (2) made of a germ-impermeable material comprising o a bottom wall (3), o first side walls (4 to 7) projecting upwards from the bottom wall (3), o a first opening (8) defined by the upper edges of the first side walls (4 to 7), o a first edge flange (9) connected to the upper edges of the first side walls (4 to 7) and extending around the first opening (8) and o support structures (10) within the first side walls at a distance from the bottom wall, • a plate-shaped support (13) with o a plurality of holes (14) aligned perpendicular to the base surface of the support (13), o which is inserted into the first opening (8) and is supported on the support structures (10), • a plurality of disposable laboratory articles (15) which are inserted into the holes (14) of the carrier (13), • a cover (28) made of a germ-impermeable material, which covers the carrier (12) and the disposable laboratory articles (15) inserted therein and rests with a circumferential outer edge (35) on the first edge flange (9) and • a detachable connection (38) via which the outer edge (35) of the cover (28) is connected in a circumferentially sealing manner to the first edge flange (9).

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the cover (28) and / or the shell (2) consists at least partially of a water vapor permeable and germ-impermeable material.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shell (2) consists of a rigid plastic.

4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tray (2) has a base area corresponding to a standardized microplate and / or wherein the carrier (13) has an arrangement of holes (14) corresponding to the arrangement of wells of a standardized microplate.

5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the disposable laboratory articles are pipette tips (15) and / or laboratory vessels.

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the upper side of the support (12) is arranged substantially in the same plane as the upper side of the first edge flange (9) or higher.

7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the disposable laboratory articles (15) have head sections (23) projecting from the top of the carrier (13) and the cover (28) has a central region which projects upwards with respect to the outer edge (35) of the cover (28) and covers the head sections (23) of the disposable laboratory articles (15).

8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cover (28) comprises the following features: o a cover wall (29), o second side walls (30 to 33) which project downwards from the lateral edges of the cover wall (29), o a second opening (34) which is delimited by the lower edges of the second side walls (30 to 33) and o a second edge flange (36) which is connected to the lower edges of the second side walls (30 to 33) and runs around the second opening (34), wherein o the second edge flange (36) rests on the first edge flange (9) and is connected to it in a circumferentially sealing manner via the detachable connection (38).

9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cover (28) consists entirely of a water vapor permeable and germ-impermeable material.

10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9, in which the shell (2) and / or the cover (28) comprises a base body made of a rigid plastic with at least one window (40) and at least one water vapor permeable and germ-impermeable cover element (41) that covers the at least one window (40) and is connected to the base body in a sealing manner around the edge of the window (40).

11. Device according to one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the second edge flange (36) comprises a film hinge (43) parallel to a lower edge of one of the second side walls (30 to 33).

12. Device according to claim 11, wherein the connection of the second edge flange (36) to the first edge flange (9) runs exclusively outside the film hinge (43).

13. Device according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the outer edge (35) is connected to the first edge flange (9) by a detachable welded connection (38), sealed connection or adhesive connection and / or wherein the cover element (41) is connected to the base body by a welded connection, sealed connection or adhesive connection.

14. Device according to one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the shell (2) is an injection-molded part or a deep-drawn part or a folded part or a combination of one of the aforementioned parts with a flexible cover element (41) and / or wherein the carrier (12) is an injection-molded part or a stamped part and / or wherein the cover (28) is an injection-molded part or a deep-drawn part or a folded part or a combination of one of the aforementioned parts with a flexible cover element (41).

15. Device according to one of claims 2 to 14, wherein the water vapor permeable and germ-impermeable material is a nonwoven fabric made of plastic fibers or a paper.

16. Use of the device according to one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the device (1) is sterilized by the manufacturer and delivered to the user in a sterile state with the disposable laboratory articles (15) and / or wherein the device (1) with the disposable laboratory articles (15) arranged therein is sterilized by the user.

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