Liquid treatment system, liquid treatment method, and biochemical analysis system

Abstract

A liquid treatment system, a liquid treatment method, and a biochemical analysis system. The liquid treatment system comprises a liquid storage assembly, a liquid path structural member, a gas path structural member and a driving assembly which are communicated with each other. The gas path structural member is only in gas path communication with the liquid path structural member. The driving assembly is used for driving a liquid in the liquid storage assembly to be transferred to a cavity, and is used separating a gas from the liquid in the cavity and discharging the separated gas to the outside; and / or the driving assembly is used for driving at least two different liquids in the liquid storage assembly to be separately transferred to the cavity, and allowing an external gas to enter the cavity to mix the different liquids in the cavity. The liquid treatment system of the present application has a simple structure and low cost, can achieve operations such as gas-liquid separation and liquid mixing, has high liquid treatment efficiency, and is not restricted by the flow amount of liquid.

Description

Liquid processing system, liquid processing method and biochemical substance analysis system TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of gas-liquid control, and in particular to a liquid processing system, a liquid processing method and a biochemical substance analysis system. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the fields of biology, chemistry or medicine, it is often necessary to pretreat the used biochemical reagents, including degassing, mixing, transferring, temperature rising and falling, etc. These pretreatment operations are crucial to detection accuracy and detection quality. For example, reagents are often prone to gas precipitation under the influence of factors such as their own component composition, low-temperature storage, transportation and normal-temperature thawing. If these gases enter the detection area in the form of bubbles, it may cause the detection instrument based on optical imaging to be out of focus. The surface tension between the gas and the liquid may also cause the biochemical sample in the detection area to be sheared and damaged, ultimately leading to detection failure. For another example, some reagents are diluted by expensive components of small volume and buffer solution of large volume, and the mixed diluent has a short shelf life. Therefore, the mixing operation can only be completed before detection, and this mixing operation is often completed manually by the user. If the operation is not proper, it may lead to uneven reagent concentration or insufficient effective concentration, affecting the reaction efficiency of the reagent.

[0003] The existing pretreatment operations such as reagent degassing or gas-liquid separation need to be performed in a separate operation system, and it is difficult to realize compatibility of two or more than two pretreatment operations in one system. The existing degassing system has a complex structure, a high cost and a poor degassing effect, and has low reliability. In addition, the degassing effect of the existing degassing system is limited by the liquid flow rate, and the liquid flow rate should not be too fast during the degassing process, which affects the degassing efficiency and the efficiency of biochemical reactions. The existing reagent mixing method, especially the mixing of large-volume and small-volume reagents, mostly adopts manual operation, needs additional equipment (such as a pipette), and the mixing effect is limited by different operators and operation methods. The mixing efficiency is difficult to predict, and the mixing efficiency is low. In addition, for the automatic mixing scheme, the structural design of the mixing system is complex, the cost is high, and the mixing effect between small-volume reagents and large-volume buffer solution is poor.

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] To solve the above problems in the prior art, it is necessary to provide a liquid processing system and a liquid processing method.

[0006] In addition, the present application also provides a biochemical substance analysis system using the liquid processing system.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a liquid processing system, which comprises:

[0008] A liquid storage assembly for storing liquid;

[0009] A liquid path structure having a cavity inside, the liquid storage assembly is arranged at a first end of the liquid path structure and communicates with the cavity;

[0010] A gas path structure sealingly connected to a second end of the liquid path structure away from the first end and only communicates with the cavity in a gas path;

[0011] A driving assembly communicating at an end of the gas path structure away from the liquid path structure, and the driving assembly further communicates with the outside,

[0012] Wherein, the driving assembly is used to transfer the liquid in the liquid storage assembly into the cavity, and is used to separate the gas in the liquid in the cavity and discharge the separated gas to the outside; and / or, the driving assembly is used to transfer at least two kinds of liquid in the liquid storage assembly into the cavity respectively, and is used to make the outside gas into the cavity to mix the at least two kinds of liquid in the cavity.

[0013] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a liquid processing method, the liquid processing method comprising:

[0014] Providing a first driving force to the cavity of the liquid path structure through the gas path structure by the driving assembly, wherein the gas path structure is sealingly connected to the second end of the liquid path structure, and the gas path structure only communicates with the cavity in a gas path;

[0015] Communicating the liquid storage assembly with the cavity, the first driving force drives the liquid in the liquid storage assembly to transfer into the cavity, wherein the liquid storage assembly is connected to the first end of the liquid path structure away from the second end; and

[0016] Disconnecting the liquid storage assembly from the cavity, the first driving force drives the gas in the liquid in the cavity to separate from the liquid, and drives the separated gas to discharge to the outside through the gas flow path.

[0017] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a biochemical substance analysis system, the biochemical substance analysis system comprises a liquid using structure and a liquid processing system as described above, the liquid using structure is arranged at the first end and communicates with the cavity, and the driving assembly is further used to provide a third driving force to transfer the liquid in which the gas is separated in the cavity to the liquid using structure.

[0018] The liquid processing system and the liquid processing method provided by the embodiments of the present application can realize automatic liquid degassing processing under the driving of a single driving assembly by means of simple liquid path structure matched with gas path structure, and can also realize mixing processing and liquid preheating processing of different liquids, and the whole liquid processing system has simple structure, is easy to manufacture, has low cost, is easy to operate, and has high reliability; the driving force of the driving assembly can be adjusted to control the speed of liquid flow, and degassing, mixing and other operations can be realized at a high flow rate, thereby saving liquid processing time and improving efficiency. In addition, the liquid processing system is particularly suitable for efficient and automatic mixing processing of two or more liquids with large volume difference. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly introduced as follows. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort on the basis of these drawings.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of a biochemical substance analysis system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a liquid processing system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a liquid processing system according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a liquid processing system according to still another embodiment of the present application.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a liquid processing system according to still another embodiment of the present application.

[0025] FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a biochemical substance analysis system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a biochemical substance analysis system according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a liquid processing method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] FIGS. 8A to 8D are schematic diagrams of the process of a liquid processing method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a liquid processing method according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIGS. 10A to 10H are schematic diagrams of the process of another liquid processing method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] The following detailed description will further describe the present application with reference to the above-mentioned drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all the other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative work under the premise that the present application falls within the scope of protection.

[0033] It should be noted that when one component is considered to be "disposed on" another component, it can be directly disposed on the other component or a middle component can exist simultaneously; when one component is considered to be "mounted on" another component, it can be directly mounted on the other component or a middle component can exist simultaneously. The term "and / or" used herein includes all and any combinations of one or more relevant listed items.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 1, the present application provides a biochemical substance analysis system 1000, which can be used in the analysis process of biochemical substances in the fields of biology, chemistry or medicine, such as reaction and detection, for example, can be used in the process of gene sequencing. The biochemical substance analysis system 1000 can include a liquid processing system 100 and a liquid using structure 200. Before biochemical substance analysis, the biochemical liquid used (such as various reagents, buffers, etc. required for biochemical reaction) usually needs to be pretreated, including degassing, mixing, transferring, temperature rising and falling, etc., and the liquid processing system 100 can realize at least one of the above pretreatment operations. The liquid processed by the liquid processing system 100 can directly enter the liquid using structure 200, and the liquid using structure 200 can realize the biochemical substance analysis process, for example, the liquid using structure 200 can be a reaction cavity, a flow cell, etc. used for biochemical reaction. It can be understood that the liquid processing system 100 can also be used alone, and the processed liquid does not directly enter the liquid using structure 200.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 2, a liquid processing system 100 is provided, which includes a liquid path structure 1, a liquid storage assembly 2, a gas path structure 3, and a driving assembly 4. The liquid storage assembly 2 can be used to store liquid, such as various reagents, buffers, etc. required for biochemical reactions. The liquid path structure 1 has a cavity 5 inside, the liquid storage assembly 2 is arranged at a first end 11 of the liquid path structure 1 and is in communication with the cavity 5. The gas path structure 3 is sealingly connected to a second end 12 of the liquid path structure 1 away from the first end 11 and is in gas path communication with the cavity 5, i.e., only gas is allowed to pass between the gas path structure 3 and the cavity 5. The driving assembly 4 is in communication with an end of the gas path structure 3 away from the liquid path structure 1, and the driving assembly 4 is also in communication with the outside. The driving assembly 4 is used to drive liquid and / or gas to move between different positions in the liquid processing system 100.

[0036] Specifically, the liquid processing system 100 can realize the degassing treatment of liquid, at this time, the driving assembly 4 can provide a first driving force (such as negative pressure), which is used to transfer the liquid in the liquid storage assembly 2 into the cavity 5, and is also used to separate the gas in the liquid in the cavity 5 and discharge the separated gas to the outside, thereby realizing the degassing process of the liquid to discharge the gas bubbles in the liquid.

[0037] In addition, the liquid processing system 100 can realize the mixing treatment of different liquids, at this time, the first driving force provided by the driving assembly 4 can make different liquids in the liquid storage assembly 2 be transferred into the cavity 5 respectively, and the first driving force is also used to make gas enter the cavity 5, and drive the gas to move in the liquid in the cavity 5 by the first driving force, thereby realizing the mixing of different liquids.

[0038] The liquid path structure 1 is generally a long strip structure, the first end 11 is provided with a first interface 13, the first interface 13 is connected to the liquid storage assembly 2, the second end 12 is provided with an opening 14, the opening 14 is connected to the gas path structure 3. In some embodiments, the liquid path structure 1 can include a side wall 15, the aforementioned first end 11 and the second end 12 are located at opposite ends of the side wall 15, the first end 11 of the side wall 15 is provided with a bottom 16, and the side wall 15 and the bottom 16 enclose the cavity 5. Specifically, the first interface 13 is opened on the side wall 15, the second end 12 of the side wall 15 is provided as an open end to form the opening 14, and the gas path structure 3 is sealingly connected to the side wall 15 and is in communication with the cavity 5 through the opening 14. The structure of the liquid path structure 1 is simple and the manufacturing cost is low.

[0039] In some embodiments, the first end 11 is further provided with a second interface 17, through which the liquid processing system 100 can be connected to the liquid using structure 200, and the driving assembly 4 is further configured to provide a third driving force (e.g. positive pressure) to transfer the processed liquid in the cavity 5 to the liquid using structure 200 through the second interface 17. In this case, the distance between the first interface 13 and the second end 12 is less than the distance between the second interface 17 and the second end 12, so that the liquid level in the cavity 5 corresponding to the second interface 17 is lower than the liquid level corresponding to the first interface 13, which is beneficial to the discharge of the liquid in the cavity 5. Specifically, in order to completely transfer the liquid in the cavity 5 to the liquid using structure 200, the second interface 17 can be arranged on the bottom 16.

[0040] In some embodiments, the cavity 5 comprises a first cavity 51 and a second cavity 52 which are in communication with each other. Specifically, the first cavity 51 is arranged corresponding to the side wall 15, and the second cavity 52 is arranged corresponding to the bottom 16. In this case, from the second end 12 to the first end 11, the inner diameter L1 of the first cavity 51 is substantially the same, and the inner diameter L2 of the second cavity 52 decreases in turn, so that the cavity 5 forms a stepped conical cavity structure, and the second interface 17 can be arranged at the bottom end of the second cavity 52. The liquid is gathered in the second cavity 52, and then flows out of the cavity 5 through the second interface 17, so that the liquid in the cavity 5 can be completely discharged, which is convenient for volume control and discharge of the liquid.

[0041] In some embodiments, the second end 12 is provided with a boss 18, and the gas path structure 3 is connected to the boss 18. In some embodiments, the surface of the boss 18 away from the first end 11 is recessed to form a groove 19 toward the first end 11, and the sealing ring 6 can be arranged in the groove 19. In this case, the sealing ring 6 slightly protrudes from the surface of the boss 18, and when the gas path structure 3 is connected to the boss 18, the sealing ring 6 can be pressed, so as to realize the sealed connection between the liquid path structure 1 and the gas path structure 3. This connection structure is simple and convenient to assemble, and has good sealing effect.

[0042] Please refer to Fig. 2 again, the gas path structure 3 can include a body part 32, the gas flow path 31 is formed in the body part 32, and the gas flow path 31 has a first end 33 and a second end 34, wherein the first end 33 is in communication with the opening 14 of the liquid path structure 1, and the second end 34 is in communication with the driving assembly 4. Specifically, the first end 33 and the second end 34 can be arranged adjacently, so that the gas flow path 31 forms a substantially L-shaped structure. Alternatively, the first end 33 and the second end 34 can be arranged oppositely, so that the gas flow path 31 forms a straight line structure. In order to achieve the gas path communication between the gas flow path 31 and the cavity 5, a gas-permeable diaphragm (not shown in the figure) that allows only gas to pass through but not liquid can be arranged at the connection between the liquid path structure 1 and the gas path structure 3. Specifically, the gas-permeable diaphragm can be arranged between the opening 14 and the first end 33. It can be understood that other ways of achieving only gas path communication can also be used, such as by bending the corner of the flow channel, changing the cross-sectional geometry or size of the flow channel, etc.

[0043] The liquid storage assembly 2 can be in communication with the cavity 5 of the liquid path structure 1 through a control assembly 61 and a pipeline 71. Specifically, the liquid storage assembly 2 is connected to the first interface 13 through the pipeline 71 and the control assembly 61. The gas path structure 3 and the driving assembly 4 can be in communication through a pipeline 72, and the liquid path structure 1 and the liquid use structure 200 can be in communication through a control assembly 63 and a pipeline 73. The control assemblies 61 and 63 can be control valves, such as solenoid valves, rotary valves, slide valves, pinch valves, etc., or a combination of two or more types of valves.

[0044] The liquid storage assembly 2 can include one or more storage tanks to achieve the degassing process of one or more liquids. When multiple storage tanks need to be connected to the first interface 13, a control valve group can be used to control the multiple storage tanks individually. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 2, the liquid storage assembly 2 can include at least one storage tank, such as a first storage tank 21 for storing a first liquid 10. The first storage tank 21 is in communication with the cavity 5. When the first liquid 10 needs to be degassed, a first driving force (such as negative pressure) can be provided by the driving assembly 4 to transfer the first liquid 10 in the first storage tank 21 to the cavity 5. When the first liquid 10 reaches a preset liquid level position in the cavity 5, the cavity 5 and the first storage tank 21 can be disconnected, and the first driving force is maintained to separate the gas in the first liquid 10 from the first liquid 10, and further discharge the gas to the outside through the gas path structure 3, thereby achieving the degassing process of the first liquid 10. After that, the degassed first liquid 10 can be further transferred to the liquid use structure 200 under the driving of the driving assembly 4.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 3, in another embodiment, in addition to the degassing operation, the liquid processing system 100 can also implement a mixing operation of different liquids. At this time, the liquid storage assembly 2 can include at least two reservoirs, for example, can include a first reservoir 21 and a second reservoir 22, both of which are in communication with the cavity 5, the first reservoir 21 can be used to store the first liquid 10, and the second reservoir 22 can be used to store the second liquid 20. Specifically, the first reservoir 21 and the second reservoir 22 can both be in communication with the cavity 5 through the control assembly 61 and the pipeline 71, and the control assembly 61 can be a control valve group or a control valve that can switch the flow direction of the liquid. In other embodiments, referring to FIG. 10A, the first reservoir 21 can be in communication with the cavity 5 through the control assembly 61 and the pipeline 71, and the second reservoir 22 can be in communication with the cavity 5 through the control assembly 62 and the pipeline 71. When it is necessary to mix the first liquid 10 and the second liquid 20, the first driving force (for example, negative pressure) can be provided by the driving assembly 4 to transfer the first liquid 10 and the second liquid 20 into the cavity 5, respectively, and then the cavity 5 is communicated with the outside, and the gas in the outside enters the liquid processing system 100 and enters the cavity 5 under the action of the first driving force. The movement of the gas will mix the first liquid 10 and the second liquid 20. It can be understood that the required volume of the first liquid 10 and the required volume of the second liquid 20 can be mixed, for example, part or all of the liquid in the first reservoir 21 and part or all of the liquid in the second reservoir 22 can be mixed to realize the mixing operation of the two liquids of the required volume.

[0046] In some embodiments, the second reservoir 22 is also in communication with the outside, and the gas in the outside enters the second reservoir 22 and then enters the cavity 5 through the second reservoir 22. Specifically, the first driving force provided by the driving assembly 4 is also used to transfer part or all of the first liquid 10 located in the first reservoir 21 into the cavity 5 and to transfer all of the second liquid 20 located in the second reservoir 22 into the cavity 5, at this time, the second reservoir 22 is empty and filled with gas, and the first driving force is also used to make the gas in the second reservoir 22 enter the cavity 5 to mix the first liquid 10 and the second liquid 20 located in the cavity 5 to form the first mixed liquid 30. It can be understood that after the first mixed liquid 30 is formed, the second driving force (for example, positive pressure) can be provided by the driving assembly 4 to transfer the first mixed liquid 30 in the cavity 5 into the first reservoir 21 to further mix with the remaining first liquid 10 to form the second mixed liquid 40, and if the second mixed liquid 40 needs to be further mixed, the first driving force (for example, negative pressure) and the second driving force (for example, positive pressure) can be alternately provided by the driving assembly 4 to make the second mixed liquid 40 reciprocate between the first reservoir 21 and the cavity 5 to realize further mixing.

[0047] The above liquid mixing method is particularly suitable for mixing a small volume of liquid with a large volume of liquid (e.g. diluting a small volume of reagent with a large volume of buffer), in which case the volume of the second liquid 20 can be smaller than, or even much smaller than, the volume of the first liquid 10, and the volume of the second liquid 20 is also smaller than the volume of the cavity 5. In this case, part of the first liquid 10 can be transferred into the cavity 5, and the second liquid 20 can be completely transferred into the cavity 5. Then, under the action of the first driving force, the gas in the second reservoir 22 can enter the cavity 5, so as to realize the mixing of the first liquid 10 and the second liquid 20.

[0048] It can be understood that, in other embodiments, an interface for communicating with the outside can also be arranged at the first end 11 (i.e. the bottom end) of the cavity 5, and the outside gas can be drawn into the cavity 5 by the negative pressure of the driving assembly 4. A reservoir for communicating with the outside can also be reserved in the liquid storage assembly 2, and the reservoir is filled with gas. When multiple liquid mixing steps are required, the reservoir can be communicated with the cavity 5, so that the gas enters the cavity 5.

[0049] It can also be understood that the second mixed liquid 40 after mixing can be stored in the first reservoir 21, and when needed, the second mixed liquid 40 can be subjected to a degassing operation. The specific degassing operation is described above. Finally, the degassed second mixed liquid 40 is transferred to the liquid use structure 200.

[0050] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the driving assembly 4 can be a mechanism capable of providing positive pressure and negative pressure, and providing driving force for liquid processing. It can be understood that the driving assembly 4 can be a quantitative driving mechanism, which can realize the quantitative transfer of liquid between the liquid storage assembly 2 and the cavity 5, and between the cavity 5 and the liquid use structure 200.

[0051] In some embodiments, the driving assembly 4 can be a vacuum pump, a gear pump, a plunger pump, a syringe pump, a diaphragm pump, etc.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 4, the liquid processing system 100 can also include a detection module 8 arranged on the liquid path structure 1, for detecting the liquid level position of the liquid in the cavity 5. In some embodiments, the cavity 5 is provided with a first liquid level position A near the second end 12, and the detection module 8 can include a first sensing assembly 81 arranged near the second end 12, for detecting whether the liquid in the cavity 5 reaches the first liquid level position A, and transmitting a signal to a controller (not shown in the figure), so as to control the driving assembly 4 and the corresponding pipeline.

[0053] In some embodiments, the detection module 8 can further comprise a second sensing component 82 arranged near the first end 11, and a second liquid level position B is arranged near the first end 11, and the second sensing component 82 is configured to sense whether the liquid in the cavity 5 reaches the second liquid level position B, wherein the volume of the liquid in the cavity 5 when reaching the second liquid level position B is less than the volume of the liquid when reaching the first liquid level position A. By arranging the first sensing component 81 and the second sensing component 82, the change of the liquid in the cavity 5 can be sensed, so as to achieve the purpose of precisely controlling the volume of the liquid.

[0054] In some embodiments, the first sensing component 81 and the second sensing component 82 can both be photoelectric sensors.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 5, the liquid processing system 100 can further comprise a temperature control module 9 arranged on the liquid path structure 1, and the temperature control module 9 is configured to adjust the temperature in the cavity 5, so as to achieve the purpose of heating or cooling the liquid in the cavity 5, i.e., changing the first temperature of the liquid in the liquid storage component 2 to the second temperature in the cavity 5. For example, the liquid processing system 100 can achieve the purpose of preheating the reagent.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 6A again, the biochemical substance analysis system 1000 can further comprise a waste liquid collection device 400 in communication with the liquid use structure 200, and the third driving force provided by the driving assembly 4 is further configured to drive the liquid in the liquid use structure 200 to be transferred to the waste liquid collection device 400.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 6B, the biochemical substance analysis system 1000 can further comprise a quantitative driving device 300 in communication with the liquid use structure 200, and the quantitative driving device 300 is configured to drive the liquid separated from the gas in the cavity 5 to be quantitatively transferred to the liquid use structure 200. By arranging the quantitative driving device 300, the accuracy of the liquid transferred to the liquid use structure 200 can be improved, and the second sensing component 82 arranged on the liquid path structure 1 can be omitted, so as to simplify the structure of the liquid processing system 100.

[0058] The liquid processing system 100 provided by the embodiments of the present application can realize an automatic liquid processing process, such as liquid degassing processing, mixing processing of different liquids, and liquid preheating processing, by means of the simple liquid path structure 1 and the gas path structure 3 under the driving of the single driving assembly 4. The whole liquid processing system 100 has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture, has a low cost, is easy to operate, and has a high reliability. The speed of the liquid flow can be controlled by adjusting the driving force of the driving assembly 4, so as to realize the degassing and mixing operations at a high flow rate, save the liquid processing time, and improve the efficiency. In addition, the liquid processing system 100 is particularly suitable for high-efficiency automatic mixing processing of two or more liquids with a large volume difference.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 7, and in combination with FIGS. 8A-8D, the liquid treatment method based on the liquid treatment system 100 for degassing liquid includes the following steps:

[0060] At step S11, as shown in FIG. 8A, the driving assembly 4 provides a first driving force to the cavity 5 of the liquid channel structure 1 through the gas channel structure 1. Specifically, the first driving force can be negative pressure.

[0061] At step S12, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the liquid storage assembly 2 is connected to the cavity 5, and the first driving force drives the liquid in the liquid storage assembly 2 to be transferred into the cavity 5.

[0062] Specifically, the control assembly 61 between the first storage 21 in the liquid storage assembly 2 and the cavity 5 is opened, and the control assembly 63 between the cavity 5 and the liquid use structure 200 is closed, and under the driving of the negative pressure, the first liquid in the first storage 21 will enter the cavity 5 through the first interface 13.

[0063] At step S13, as shown in FIG. 8B, the connection between the liquid storage assembly 2 and the cavity 5 is disconnected, the first driving force drives the gas in the liquid in the cavity 5 to be separated from the liquid to achieve degassing, and drives the separated gas to be discharged to the outside through the gas channel structure 3.

[0064] Specifically, when the liquid level reaches the first liquid level position A, the control assembly 61 between the liquid storage assembly 2 and the cavity 5 is closed, so that the liquid in the liquid storage assembly 2 will not continue to enter the cavity 5. And keep the first driving force for a period of time, so that the air in the liquid in the cavity 5 rises to the liquid level under the action of negative pressure, and is further discharged from the gas flow path 31 of the gas channel structure 3 to achieve degassing.

[0065] The foregoing degassing operation process can be performed on various liquids, and at this time the liquid storage assembly 2 includes a plurality of storage assemblies. After one kind of liquid is degassed, another kind of liquid is switched to perform the degassing operation. It can be understood that between the degassing operations of the two adjacent liquids, a cleaning liquid can be input into the cavity 5 to clean the cavity 5 and the pipeline to prevent cross contamination.

[0066] In some embodiments, after the degassing at step S13 is completed, the degassed liquid can also be discharged into the liquid use structure 200 for biochemical reaction, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0067] At step S14, as shown in FIGS. 8C and 8D, the cavity 5 is connected to the liquid use structure 200, and the driving assembly 4 provides a third driving force to transfer the degassed liquid in the cavity 5 to the liquid use structure 200.

[0068] Specifically, the quantitative transfer of the liquid can be achieved by the cooperation of the driving assembly 4 and the detection module 8, or the quantitative transfer of the liquid can be achieved by connecting the quantitative driving device 300 at the liquid using structure 200 (as shown in FIG. 6B).

[0069] Step S15, after the reaction of the liquid using structure 200 ends, the waste liquid in the liquid using structure 200 can also be driven by the driving assembly 4 to be discharged into the waste liquid collection device 400.

[0070] In another embodiment, please refer to FIG. 9, and also refer to FIGS. 10A-10H, the liquid processing method for mixing different liquids based on the aforementioned liquid processing system 100 specifically includes the following steps:

[0071] Step S21, as shown in FIG. 10A, connect the first reservoir 21 and the cavity 5, and provide a first driving force by the driving assembly 4 to drive part or all of the first liquid 10 in the first reservoir 21 to be transferred into the cavity 5. Specifically, the first driving force can be negative pressure.

[0072] Wherein, the liquid path structure 1 is provided with a detection module 8, and a first sensing assembly 81 and a second sensing assembly 82 are provided corresponding to the first liquid level position A and the second liquid level position B. At the beginning, the first sensing assembly 81 and the second sensing assembly 82 of the detection module 8 do not detect the liquid level position signal.

[0073] Step S22, as shown in FIG. 10B, disconnect the connection between the first reservoir 21 and the cavity 5, and connect the second reservoir 22 and the cavity 5.

[0074] When the first liquid 10 enters the cavity 5 to reach the second liquid level position B and triggers the first sensing assembly 81, the controller will control the control assembly 61 between the first reservoir 21 and the cavity 5 to be disconnected, and the control assembly 62 between the second reservoir 22 and the cavity 5 to be connected.

[0075] Step S23, as shown in FIGS. 10C and 10D, the first driving force drives all the second liquid 20 in the second reservoir 22 to be transferred into the cavity 5. At this time, the second reservoir 22 is filled with gas.

[0076] Step S24, as shown in FIGS. 10D and 10E, the gas in the second reservoir 22 is driven by the first driving force to enter the cavity 5, so that the first liquid 10 and the second liquid 20 in the cavity 5 are mixed to form the first mixed liquid 30.

[0077] In some embodiments, after part of the first liquid 10 is transferred into the cavity 5 and the first mixed liquid 30 is formed, the liquid processing method further includes:

[0078] Step S25, as shown in FIG. 10F, the second driving force (e.g. positive pressure) is provided into the cavity 5 by the driving assembly 4, the second driving force drives the first mixed liquid 30 to transfer into the first reservoir 21 to mix with the remaining first liquid 10 to form the second mixed liquid 40.

[0079] In some embodiments, when the second mixed liquid 40 is not mixed well, further mixing of the second mixed liquid 40 is needed, the liquid processing method further comprises the following steps:

[0080] Step S26, as shown in FIG. 10G, the first reservoir 21 is kept in communication with the cavity 5, and the first driving force (e.g. negative pressure) and the second driving force (e.g. positive pressure) are alternately provided by the driving assembly 4 to make the second mixed liquid 40 reciprocate between the first reservoir 21 and the cavity 5 to further mix the second mixed liquid 40.

[0081] The mixed second mixed liquid 40 is kept in the first reservoir 21, when it is needed to be used, the second mixed liquid 40 needs to be degassed, the specific degassing process is described above, which is not repeated here.

[0082] Step S27, as shown in FIG. 10H, the finally degassed second mixed liquid 40 in the cavity 5 can be further transferred into the liquid using structure 200 for use, the specific process of transferring liquid into the liquid using structure 200 is described above, which is not repeated here.

[0083] The liquid processing method of the embodiment is particularly suitable for mixing operation of large volume liquid and small volume liquid, for example, in the biochemical reaction process, small volume of expensive reagent is needed, when the reagent is used, the reagent needs to be diluted, at this time, large volume of buffer will be used.

[0084] The specific process of using small volume reagent for biochemical reaction is described below taking the liquid using structure 200 as a reaction flow channel pool as an example, wherein the reaction flow channel pool contains a biochemical sample to be measured, such as a DNA fragment, the first reservoir 21 contains a large volume of first liquid 10 (e.g. buffer), and the second reservoir 22 contains a second liquid 20 (e.g. small volume of active ingredient reagent). In some embodiments, once the buffer and the reagent are mixed, the shelf life will be greatly reduced, so the mixing operation needs to be performed before use, and cannot be pre-mixed before leaving the factory. Further, the first reservoir 21 and the second reservoir 22 are respectively in communication with the control assembly 61 and the control assembly 62. The liquid processing method mainly comprises the following steps:

[0085] In the first step, the initial state, the state of the first sensing component 81 and the second sensing component 82 are both FALSE, i.e. no liquid level is detected. When the driving component 4 generates negative pressure, the control component 62 and the control component 63 are closed, and the control component 61 is opened, the flow direction of the fluid is shown by the arrows in FIG. 10A, and the buffer solution flows into the cavity 5.

[0086] In the second step, when the first sensing component 81 corresponding to the first liquid level position A is still FALSE, but the second sensing component 82 corresponding to the second liquid level position B changes to TRUE, the control component 61 is closed to stop the flow of the buffer solution, as shown in FIG. 10B.

[0087] In the third step, the driving component 4 generates negative pressure, the control component 63 and the control component 61 are closed, and the control component 62 is opened, and the reagent will flow into the cavity 5, as shown in FIG. 10C. In this embodiment, the volume of the reagent is set such that even if the reagent completely enters the cavity 5, the state of the first sensing component 81 corresponding to the first liquid level position A will not change.

[0088] In the fourth step, after the reagent completely flows into the cavity 5, only air is left in the second reservoir 22. Under the condition that the driving component 4 maintains negative pressure and the control component 62 is opened, the air will enter the cavity 5 and disturb the mixed solution therein, achieving mixing of the buffer solution and the reagent, as shown in FIG. 10D and FIG. 10E.

[0089] In the fifth step, the driving component 4 generates positive pressure, the control component 63 and the control component 62 are closed, and the control component 61 is opened, so that the mixed solution in the cavity 5 flows to the first reservoir 21 upstream, as shown in FIG. 10F, so that the effective reagent component is further diluted by the buffer solution.

[0090] In the sixth step, the driving component 4 generates negative pressure, the control component 63 and the control component 62 are closed, and the control component 61 is opened, so that the mixed solution in the first reservoir 21 reflows into the cavity 5 until the state of the first sensing component 81 corresponding to the first liquid level position A changes to TRUE, as shown in FIG. 10G. In some embodiments, the operations of FIG. 10F and FIG. 10G need to be repeated multiple times, so that the liquid in the first reservoir 21 is sufficiently mixed.

[0091] In the seventh step, the driving component 4 generates positive pressure, the control component 63 is opened, and the control component 61 and the control component 62 are closed, so that the mixed solution in the cavity 5 flows to the liquid using structure 200 (i.e. the reaction flow cell), as shown by the arrows in FIG. 10H, and finally reaches the waste liquid collection device 400.

[0092] Finally, it should be noted that the above examples are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application and are not limiting. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present application can be modified or equivalently replaced without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present application.

Claims

1. A liquid handling system, characterized in that, include: Liquid storage components for storing liquids; A liquid circuit structure has an internal cavity, and a liquid storage component is disposed at the first end of the liquid circuit structure and communicates with the cavity; A gas passage structure is sealed to the second end of the liquid passage structure away from the first end, and is only in gas passage communication with the cavity; A drive assembly is connected to the end of the gas passage structure furthest from the liquid passage structure, and the drive assembly is also connected to the outside environment. The drive assembly is used to transfer liquid located in the liquid storage assembly into the cavity, and to separate gas from the liquid in the cavity and discharge the separated gas to the outside. And / or, The drive assembly is used to transfer at least two liquids located in the liquid storage assembly to the cavity respectively, and to allow external gas to enter the cavity to mix the at least two liquids located in the cavity.

2. The liquid handling system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The liquid storage assembly includes at least a first memory and a second memory. Both the first memory and the second memory are in communication with the cavity. The second memory is also in communication with the outside. The first memory is used to store a first liquid, and the second memory is used to store a second liquid. The drive assembly is further configured to transfer part or all of the first liquid located in the first memory to the cavity, and to transfer all of the second liquid located in the second memory to the cavity. The drive assembly is also configured to allow outside air to enter the cavity through the second memory, so that the first liquid and the second liquid located in the cavity mix to form a first mixture.

3. The liquid handling system as described in claim 2, characterized in that, When a portion of the first liquid is transferred into the cavity, the drive assembly is also configured to transfer the first mixture into the first memory to mix with the remaining first liquid to form a second mixture.

4. The liquid handling system as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The volume of the second liquid is smaller than the volume of the cavity, and the volume of the second liquid is smaller than the volume of the first liquid.

5. The liquid handling system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a sensing module disposed on the liquid circuit structure, the sensing module including a first sensing component, the first sensing component being disposed near the second end, the first sensing component being used to sense the first liquid level position of the liquid in the cavity.

6. The liquid handling system as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The sensing module further includes a second sensing component, which is disposed close to the first end. The second sensing component is used to sense the second liquid level position of the liquid in the cavity, wherein the volume of the liquid when it reaches the second liquid level position is smaller than the volume of the liquid when it reaches the first liquid level position.

7. The liquid handling system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a temperature control module disposed on the liquid circuit structure, the temperature control module being used to regulate the temperature inside the cavity.

8. The liquid handling system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The first end is also used to connect to the liquid use structure and to communicate the cavity with the liquid use structure. The drive assembly is also used to provide a third driving force for transferring the liquid located in the cavity to the liquid use structure.

9. The liquid handling system as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that, The first end is provided with a first interface and a second interface. The first interface is connected to the liquid storage component, and the second interface is used to connect to the liquid use structure. The distance between the first interface and the second end is less than the distance between the second interface and the second end.

10. The liquid handling system as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that, The liquid passage structure includes a sidewall and a bottom located at one end of the sidewall. The sidewall and the bottom form the cavity. The first end is the end of the sidewall near the bottom, and the second end is the end of the sidewall away from the bottom. The sidewall is provided with the first interface, and the bottom is provided with the second interface. The sidewall is provided with an opening near the second end. The gas passage structure is sealed to the sidewall and connected to the cavity through the opening.

11. The liquid handling system as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that, The cavity includes a first cavity and a second cavity that are interconnected. From the second end to the first end, the inner diameter of the first cavity is the same, and the inner diameter of the second cavity decreases sequentially, so that the cavity forms a stepped conical cavity structure, and the second interface is located at the bottom end of the second cavity.

12. A liquid treatment method, characterized in that, include: A first driving force is provided to the cavity of the liquid passage structure via a driving component through a gas passage structure, wherein the gas passage structure is sealed to the second end of the liquid passage structure, and the gas passage structure is only in gas passage communication with the cavity. A liquid storage assembly is connected to the cavity, and a first driving force drives liquid located in the liquid storage assembly to transfer into the cavity, wherein the liquid storage assembly is connected to the first end of the liquid passage structure away from the second end; and Disconnect the liquid storage assembly from the cavity, and the first driving force drives the cavity. Gas in the body fluid is separated from the liquid and driven to the outside through the gas flow path.

13. The liquid treatment method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The liquid storage component includes at least a first memory and a second memory, wherein the first memory is used to store a first liquid, the second memory is used to store a second liquid, and the second memory is connected to the outside. The liquid processing method further includes: The first memory and the cavity are connected, and part or all of the first liquid located in the first memory is transferred to the cavity by the first driving force; Disconnect the first memory and the cavity, and connect the second memory and the cavity; The first driving force drives the complete transfer of the second liquid located in the second memory into the cavity, and the cavity is connected to the outside through the second memory; and The first driving force drives external gas into the cavity through the second memory, so that the first liquid and the second liquid located in the cavity are mixed to form a first mixture.

14. The liquid treatment method as described in claim 13, characterized in that, When a portion of the first liquid is transferred into the cavity, after the first mixture is formed, the liquid treatment method further includes: The driving component provides a second driving force to the cavity, which drives the first mixture to transfer to the first memory to mix with the remaining first liquid to form a second mixture.

15. The liquid treatment method as described in claim 14, characterized in that, The volume of the second liquid is smaller than the volume of the cavity, and the volume of the second liquid is smaller than the volume of the first liquid.

16. The liquid treatment method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The liquid circuit structure is equipped with a sensing module, which includes a first sensing component disposed near the second end. In the step where the first driving force drives the liquid located in the liquid storage component to transfer into the cavity, the liquid processing method further includes: The first sensing component senses whether the liquid in the cavity has reached the first liquid level position. When the liquid reaches the first liquid level position, the liquid storage component is disconnected from the cavity, wherein the first liquid level position is close to the second end.

17. The liquid treatment method as described in claim 16, characterized in that, The sensing module further includes a second sensing component, which is disposed near the first end. The liquid handling method further includes: A third driving force is provided by the driving component, which drives the liquid, after gas separation within the cavity, to transfer from the first end to the liquid use structure; and The second sensing component senses whether the liquid in the cavity has reached the second liquid level position. When the liquid reaches the second liquid level position, the cavity is disconnected from the liquid-using structure, wherein the second liquid level position is close to the first end.

18. The liquid treatment method as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The liquid treatment method further includes: The temperature inside the cavity is adjusted by a temperature control module to bring the liquid inside the cavity to a preset temperature.

19. A biochemical substance analysis system, characterized in that, The system includes a liquid use structure and a liquid handling system as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the liquid use structure is located at the first end and communicates with the cavity, and the drive assembly is further configured to provide a third driving force to transfer liquid containing gas separated within the cavity to the liquid use structure.

20. The biochemical substance analysis system as described in claim 19, characterized in that, It also includes a metering drive device connected to the liquid use structure, the metering drive device being used to drive the liquid in which gas has been separated in the cavity to be meteredly transferred to the liquid use structure.

21. The biochemical substance analysis system as described in claim 19, characterized in that, It also includes a waste liquid collection device connected to the liquid use structure, and the third driving force is also used to drive the liquid located in the liquid use structure to transfer to the waste liquid collection device.

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