Storage box

Abstract

The present invention provides a storage box for preventing damage from occurring during transport, storage, or retrieval of capillaries to be used in a mass spectrometer. This storage box has: a base (101) provided with a groove-like storage part (110) in which to store a capillary (90); and a lid (102) that covers the base. The storage part comprises: a first region (110b) of a first groove width to secure a capillary holding part when the capillary is stored; and a second region (110a) having a groove width narrower than the first groove width, where a capillary body part is to be stored when the capillary is stored. The second region comprises a shallow groove region (213) where at least the other end of the capillary body part is to be stored when the capillary is stored. The region between the shallow groove region and the first region is made to be deeper than the shallow groove region.

Description

Storage box

[0001] The present invention relates to a storage box.

[0002] A mass spectrometer is a device that ionizes an analyte sample and analyzes the mass of the generated ions to identify the analyte sample, etc. In recent years, due to its high measurement accuracy, it has been utilized in fields such as clinical examinations and drug discovery research. Generally, a mass spectrometer includes an ion source that ionizes a sample, a mass analysis section that separates ions according to the mass-to-charge ratio, and a detection section that detects the amount of ions that have passed through the mass analysis section. The ion source includes a capillary that sprays the fed sample as fine droplets. Since the capillary has a small outer diameter compared to its length, it is easily bent or deformed and is a component vulnerable to impact, and it is necessary to prevent it from being affected by impact.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a storage box having a base and a lid provided with a groove-shaped storage portion on which a nozzle, which is a rod-shaped member such as a nozzle used in an automatic analyzer, is placed in order to prevent the rod-shaped member from being impacted. The storage box is configured to suppress the movement of the rod-shaped member due to vibration during the transfer of the rod-shaped member by bringing the rod-shaped member into contact with the bottom surface of the storage portion or bringing the protrusion provided on the lid close to it.

[0004] International Publication No. 2022 / 195966

[0005] In the case of a storage box for storing a capillary, countermeasures against vibration during transfer are also an important issue. However, since the capillary has a finer structure than the nozzle, in the storage box disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a risk that the capillary may be damaged instead when the capillary is stored or taken out. An object of the present invention is to provide a storage box that prevents damage to the capillary used in a mass spectrometer during transfer, storage, or removal.

[0006] A storage box according to one embodiment of the present invention is a storage box for storing a capillary, wherein the capillary comprises a capillary body portion which is a conductive tubular capillary, and a capillary holding portion provided on one end of the capillary body portion which is used for positioning when attached to the ion source of a mass spectrometer, and has a base provided with a groove-shaped storage portion for storing the capillary, and a lid that covers the base, wherein the storage portion comprises a first region with a first groove width for fixing the capillary holding portion when the capillary is stored, and a second region with a groove width narrower than the first region in which the capillary body portion is stored when the capillary is stored, wherein the second region comprises a shallow groove region in which at least the other end of the capillary body portion is stored when the capillary is stored, and the depth of the region between the shallow groove region and the first region is deeper than the shallow groove region.

[0007] This invention provides a storage box that prevents damage to capillaries used in mass spectrometers during transport, storage, or removal. Other challenges and novel features will become apparent from the description and accompanying drawings herein.

[0008] This is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a mass spectrometer. This is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a mass spectrometer unit. This is a diagram illustrating a capillary. This is a perspective view of the capillary case with the lid open from the base. This is a perspective view of the capillary case with the capillary inside. This is a plan view of the capillary case with the lid closed. This is a cross-sectional view of the capillary case illustrating the storage section. This is a cross-sectional view of the capillary case illustrating the fixing section. This is a diagram illustrating the length in the X direction of the deep groove region.

[0009] A preferred embodiment of the storage box according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. The storage box houses a capillary used in a mass spectrometer. First, the mass spectrometer will be described. A mass spectrometer is a device that ionizes a sample and analyzes the ions according to their mass-to-charge ratio.

[0010] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of the mass spectrometer 1. The mass spectrometer 1 mainly consists of a sample loading unit 10, a pre-processing unit 20, a separation unit 30, and a mass spectrometry unit 40. The sample to be analyzed is contained in a sample container, which is mounted on a sample rack 16 and loaded into the mass spectrometer 1 from the sample loading unit 10.

[0011] The sample input unit 10 includes a sample loading / unloading section 11 and a buffer section 14. Sample racks 16 loaded into the sample loading / unloading section 11 are transported to the pre-processing unit 20 by a rack transport mechanism 12. In the pre-processing unit 20, the sample racks 16 are transported to a rack transport mechanism 15, where the required amount of sample is dispensed from the sample containers into the reaction vessel on the incubator 23 at the dispensing position on the rack transport mechanism 15. Once dispensing to all the samples contained in the multiple sample containers mounted on the sample rack 16 is complete, the sample rack 16 is transported from the rack transport mechanism 15 to a rack transport mechanism 13, returned to the sample loading / unloading section 11 by the rack transport mechanism 13, and then collected by the operator. The buffer section 14 is used to temporarily move the sample racks 16 to the rack transport mechanism 12 to prevent them from accumulating on the rack transport mechanism 12 when there are too many sample racks 16 loaded into the sample loading / unloading section 11 and the analysis processing of the mass spectrometer 1 cannot keep up. In the example shown in Figure 1, a belt conveyor type conveying mechanism is used as an example of a rack transport mechanism, but the system is not limited to this method.

[0012] The pre-processing unit 20 is a unit that performs pre-processing for mass spectrometry. The content of the pre-processing is not limited. For example, the pre-processing unit 20 performs processing to amplify the analyte component in the sample. The pre-processing unit 20 includes a reagent refrigerator 21 for storing reagents necessary for pre-processing, an incubator 23 for maintaining a constant temperature of the reagent-sample mixture to promote the reaction, a reaction vessel supply mechanism 24 for storing reaction vessels for mixing reagents and samples and supplying reaction vessels to the incubator 23, a reagent dispensing mechanism 25 for dispensing reagents from reagent containers stored in the reagent refrigerator 21 to the reaction vessels on the incubator 23, a sample dispensing mechanism 26 for dispensing samples from sample containers on the sample rack 16 to the reaction vessels on the incubator 23, and a sample extraction unit 27 for removing components unnecessary for subsequent analysis from the reaction solution of reagents and samples after the reaction in the incubator 23 has finished.

[0013] The separation unit 30 separates the sample, which has been pre-treated in the pre-treatment unit 20, into multiple components, and the mass spectrometry unit 40 is a unit (mass spectrometer) that performs mass spectrometry on the multiple components separated by the separation unit 30. The analytical method that uses a liquid chromatograph as the separation unit 30 and a mass spectrometer as the detector of the liquid chromatograph is known as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

[0014] As described above, in the mass spectrometer 1, the sample input unit 10, pre-processing unit 20, separation unit 30, and mass spectrometry unit 40 are all modularized, and the device is configured by combining these modules. As a result, the entire device is compactly configured, and by adding modules, the processing capacity of the device can be customized according to how the device is used. For example, in the example in Figure 1, the device is configured by combining one of each module, but the LC-MS analysis capability can be enhanced by combining another set of separation unit 30 and mass spectrometry unit 40 to configure the device.

[0015] Figure 2 shows an example of the arrangement of units constituting the mass spectrometry unit 40. The mass spectrometry unit 40 is composed of multiple units, and the main units are shown here. In the example configuration shown in Figure 2, the mass spectrometry unit 40 is equipped with an ion source 50, a mass spectrometry unit 60, and a mass detection unit 70 in a housing 80. The ion source 50 is a unit that ionizes the sample to be analyzed. In the LC-MS method, the sample separated by liquid chromatography is used as the sample to be analyzed. The ions generated in the ion source 50 are introduced into the mass spectrometry unit 60. The mass spectrometry unit 60 allows ions with a predetermined mass-to-charge ratio (m / z) to pass through and guides them to the mass detection unit 70. The mass detection unit 70 detects and counts the introduced ions.

[0016] The ion source 50 employs, for example, the electrospray ionization (ESI) method as the ionization method. The ion source 50 is equipped with a capillary. When a high voltage is applied to the downstream end of the capillary and the sample from the separation unit 30 is introduced from the upstream end of the capillary, a liquid cone is formed at the downstream end due to the high electric field, and charged, uniform, and fine droplets are separated. These droplets are sprayed, and ions are generated by evaporating the solvent.

[0017] Figure 3 illustrates the capillary 90 used in the mass spectrometer. The capillary 90 has a capillary body 91, a capillary holder 92, and a protective cap 93. The capillary body 91 is, for example, a cylindrical tubular tube made of stainless steel. It is made of a conductive metal to which a high voltage is applied, and its diameter is extremely narrow, about 0.3 mm, in order to deliver a minute flow rate of sample to form a stable liquid cone. For this reason, the capillary body 91 is prone to bending and breaking. Bending and breaking of the capillary body 91 adversely affect ionization due to poor sample delivery and deviation in the direction of delivery, so a capillary that has bent or broken cannot be used. The capillary holder 92 holds the capillary body 91 and plays a role in positioning when attaching the capillary 90 to the ion source 50. The capillary holder 92 is a cylindrical metal part. The protective cap 93 is a component attached to the capillary body 91 to prevent dust and other debris from adhering to the connection part of the sample flow path, and is made of materials such as PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride).

[0018] The capillary tube 90 is transported in a storage box (capillary case), removed from the storage box at the destination, and attached to the mass spectrometer. As mentioned above, the capillary tube 90 is a delicate component, and it is important to prevent damage to the capillary tube 90 during transport and before and after transport.

[0019] Using Figure 4, the capillary case 100 in which the capillary is housed will be described. The capillary case 100 consists of a base 101 and a lid 102 that are separated separately. The material used for the capillary case 100 is a material that suppresses deformation due to temperature changes during transport, for example, a resin material PS (Poly Styrene) with a heat resistance temperature of 70 to 90°C. For example, vacuum forming is used to mold the case.

[0020] The base 101 is provided with a groove-shaped storage section 110 in which the capillaries 90 are stored. Since the capillaries 90 are consumables and require periodic replacement, it is desirable that multiple capillaries 90 can be transported in a single storage box. This allows the user of the mass spectrometer to store unused capillaries in the storage box until the next replacement time. In the example in Figure 4, the base 101 of the capillary case 100 is provided with two storage sections 110. Figure 5 shows the state in which capillaries 90 are stored in each of the storage sections 110. Figure 6 shows the capillary case 100 with capillaries 90 stored in the storage sections 110 and the lid 102 closed. The size of the storage section 110 in the Y direction is denoted as width, and the size in the Z direction is denoted as depth.

[0021] The storage section 110 includes a narrow section 110a corresponding to the capillary body 91 and a wide section 110b corresponding to the capillary holding section 92. In other words, the storage section 110 has a shape in which its width changes discontinuously by an inner wall 110w parallel to the YZ plane. The wide section 110b of the storage section 110 is connected to a base recess 120 that has a width that allows a finger to be inserted when removing the capillary 90. By making the base recess 120 a common structure for multiple storage sections 110, it is possible to make the capillary case 100 compact. Each storage section 110 is provided with a component retaining section 122 in the base recess 120 to prevent the storage section 110 from shifting in the longitudinal direction (X direction) due to vibration during transport of the capillary 90 when the capillary 90 is stored inside. In other words, the component retaining portion 122 is provided at a position opposite to the connection between the wide portion 110b of the storage portion 110 and the base recess portion 120.

[0022] The storage section 110 and the base recess 120 are surrounded by the base protrusion 130. The base protrusion 130 is the tallest structural element of the base 101. When the lid 102 is closed, the base protrusion 130 and the lid recess 131 provided in the lid 102 fit together, preventing dust and other debris from entering from the outside.

[0023] Furthermore, an opening / closing interlocking recess 140 is provided on the outer casing of the base 101 (outside the base protrusion 130). When the lid 102 is closed, it interlocks with the opening / closing interlocking protrusion 141 provided on the lid 102, preventing the base 101 and lid 102 from coming apart due to minor impacts. The opening / closing interlocking recess 140 and the opening / closing interlocking protrusion 141 are collectively referred to as the opening / closing interlocking part. It is not limited whether the recess and protrusion of the opening / closing interlocking part are provided on the base 101 side or the lid 102 side. Also, in order to maintain appropriate locking strength, it is desirable to provide the opening / closing interlocking parts corresponding to the four corners of the storage box. In this example, one opening / closing interlocking part is provided on each side of the long edge of the capillary case.

[0024] Furthermore, the lid 102 has a lid projection 121 that fits into the base recess 120 of the base 101 when placed on top of the base 101. When the lid 102 is closed, the lid projection 121 contacts or is positioned close to the protective cap 93 of the capillary 90 stored in the storage section 110, thereby preventing vertical displacement (Z direction) of the capillary 90 due to vibration during transport when the capillary 90 is stored inside.

[0025] The structure of the storage section 110 will be explained in detail using Figure 7. Note that Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 6. The storage section 110 is divided along its longitudinal direction into a capillary fixing area 211, a deep groove area 212, and a shallow groove area 213. In relation to the planar shape of the storage section 110 (see Figure 4), the capillary fixing area 211 corresponds to the wide section 110b, and the deep groove area 212 and shallow groove area 213 correspond to the narrow section 110a.

[0026] The capillary fixing area 211 is provided with fixing parts 214 on its side (XZ plane) for fixing the capillary holder 92. Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional view along line B-B in Figure 6. The fixing part 214 is, for example, an arc-shaped projection. The capillary holder 92 is fitted into the fixing part 214, and the capillary holder 92 is fixed by the fixing part 214 and the bottom surface 211b of the capillary fixing area 211, thereby storing the capillary 90 in the storage section 110. At this time, the capillary body 91 is not in contact with the side or bottom surface of the storage section 110, and no load other than its own weight is applied to the capillary body 91, so that the capillary body 91 does not break or bend when stored in the capillary case 100.

[0027] In addition, the following structure is provided to prevent the capillary 90, which is fixed in the capillary fixing area 211, from shifting due to vibrations during transport of the capillary 90. Firstly, the inner wall 110w of the storage section 110 and the component holding section 122 hold the capillary holding section 92 and the protective cap 93 from both sides in the X direction. This suppresses displacement of the capillary 90 in the longitudinal direction (X direction) due to vibrations during transport. Secondly, in addition to the fixing section 214, the lid projection 121 is positioned in contact with or close to the protective cap 93 of the capillary 90, thereby preventing displacement of the capillary 90 in the vertical direction (Z direction) due to vibrations during transport when the capillary 90 is stored.

[0028] Furthermore, even if the capillary 90 is properly fixed within the storage section 110 with the above configuration, if the tip of the capillary body 91 (in this embodiment, the tip on the side where the capillary holding section 92 and protective cap 93 are not provided) vibrates continuously and repeatedly during transport of the capillary 90, fatigue may accumulate in the capillary body 91, potentially accelerating its deterioration. For this reason, it is desirable that the side and bottom surfaces of the groove in which the capillary body 91 is housed be close to the capillary body 91, especially near the tip of the capillary body 91, in order to suppress vibration of the tip of the capillary body 91. In this embodiment, the Y-direction vibration is suppressed by housing the capillary body 91 in the narrow section 110a of the storage section 110. In addition, the Z-direction vibration is suppressed by housing at least the tip of the capillary body 91 in the shallow groove region 213 of the storage section 110.

[0029] If the entire narrow section 110a of the storage section 110 were to have the same depth as the shallow groove area 213, when removing the capillary 90 from the storage section 110, the capillary body 91 would be pressed against the bottom surface of the storage section 110, potentially causing the capillary body 91 to break or bend. For this reason, a deep groove area 212 is provided between the capillary fixing area 211 and the shallow groove area 213, with the storage section 110 being deeper than the shallow groove area 213. By creating a structure in which the capillary body 91 can escape into the deep groove of the deep groove area 212, it is possible to prevent the capillary body 91 from being pressed against the bottom surface of the base 101 when removing the capillary 90 from the storage section 110, thus preventing stress from being placed on the base of the capillary body 91.

[0030] Using Figure 9, the threshold length in the X direction of the deep groove region 212 will be explained. When removing the capillary 90 from the capillary case 100, insert your fingers into the space of the base recess 120 and pinch and lift the protective cap 93. Figure 9 shows the state in which the protective cap 93 is lifted, the capillary holding part 92 is tilted, and the capillary body part 91 is bent. The capillary body part 91 bends with the contact point with the step difference between the shallow groove region 213 and the deep groove region 212 and the capillary holding part 92 as pivot points.

[0031] Figure 9 shows the bending of the capillary body 91 when the maximum allowable stress is applied to the capillary body 91. The stress here is the stress that causes plastic deformation of the capillary body 91 that would be problematic in use (for example, yield stress, proof strength, tensile strength), and the maximum allowable value differs depending on the material of the capillary body 91. In Figure 9, the positions of the shallow groove region 213 and the deep groove region 212, where the maximum allowable stress is applied to the capillary body 91 when the capillary 90 is removed, are shown by dotted lines. Let the length of the deep groove region 212 shown by this dotted line in the X direction be lmin. If the length l of the deep groove region 212 is shorter than lmin, there is a risk of plastic deformation occurring in the capillary body 91. Therefore, by making the length l of the deep groove region 212 l to be lmin or more, a stress exceeding the maximum allowable stress is not applied when the capillary 90 is removed, and plastic deformation of the capillary body 91 can be prevented.

[0032] Here, let d be the outer diameter of the capillary body 91. The strain ε at the outer diameter of the capillary body 91 when the capillary body 91 is bent with radius of curvature R can be expressed by (Equation 1). ε = d / 2R ... (Equation 1) Also, the relationship between stress σ and strain ε can be expressed by (Equation 2) using Young's modulus E. σ = εE ... (Equation 2) From (Equation 1) and (Equation 2), the relationship between stress σ and radius of curvature R, (Equation 3), can be obtained. σ = dE / 2R ... (Equation 3) By substituting the maximum allowable stress σmax for stress σ in (Equation 3), the radius of curvature Rm when the maximum allowable stress is applied can be found.

[0033] As shown in Figure 9, when the capillary 90 is removed from the storage section 110, the position of the connection point between the capillary holding section 92 and the capillary body section 91 is defined as position P1, and the position of the step difference between the shallow groove region 213 and the deep groove region 212 is defined as P2. If position P1 is fixed and position P2 is gradually moved away from position P1 in the X direction, the radius of curvature R of the capillary body section 91 at position P2 increases monotonically as position P2 moves away from position P1. Therefore, when the length l of the deep groove region 212 is lmin and the radius of curvature R of the capillary body section 91 at position P2 is Rm, setting the length l of the deep groove region 212 to be lmin or more prevents the capillary body section 91 from bending when the capillary 90 is removed.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications. For example, the embodiments and modifications described above are explained in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace parts of the configuration of one embodiment or modification with the configuration of another embodiment or modification, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment or modification to the configuration of one embodiment or modification. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace parts of the configuration of each embodiment or modification with other configurations.

[0035] 1: Mass spectrometer, 10: Sample input unit, 11: Sample loading / unloading unit, 12: Rack transport mechanism, 13: Rack transport mechanism, 14: Buffer unit, 15: Rack transport mechanism, 16: Sample rack, 20: Pre-processing unit, 21: Reagent refrigerator, 23: Incubator, 24: Reaction vessel supply mechanism, 25: Reagent dispensing mechanism, 26: Sample dispensing mechanism, 27: Sample extraction unit, 30: Separation unit, 40: Mass spectrometer unit, 50: Ion source, 60: Mass spectrometer unit, 70: Mass detection unit, 80: Housing, 90: Capacitor Lari, 91: Capillary body, 92: Capillary holding part, 93: Protective cap, 100: Capillary case, 101: Base, 102: Lid, 110: Storage part, 110a: Narrow part, 110b: Wide part, 110w: Inner wall, 120: Base recess, 121: Lid projection, 122: Parts retaining part, 130: Base protrusion, 131: Lid recess, 140: Opening / closing interlocking recess, 141: Opening / closing interlocking protrusion, 211: Capillary fixing area, 211b: Bottom surface, 212: Deep groove area, 213: Shallow groove area, 214: Fixing part.

Claims

1. A storage box for a capillary, wherein the capillary comprises a capillary body portion which is a conductive tubular tube, and a capillary holding portion provided on one end of the capillary body portion and used for positioning when attached to the ion source of a mass spectrometer, the storage box comprising a base provided with a groove-shaped storage portion for storing the capillary, and a lid that covers the base, wherein the storage portion comprises a first region with a first groove width for fixing the capillary holding portion when the capillary is stored, and a second region with a groove width narrower than the first groove width for storing the capillary body portion when the capillary is stored, the second region comprising a shallow groove region for storing at least the other end of the capillary body portion when the capillary is stored, and the depth of the region between the shallow groove region and the first region is deeper than the shallow groove region.

2. The storage box according to claim 1, wherein the region between the shallow groove region and the first region is defined as a deep groove region, and the distance between the step formed by the deep groove region and the shallow groove region and the first region along the longitudinal direction of the storage portion is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance, and the predetermined distance is determined from the material and outer diameter of the capillary body.

3. The storage box according to claim 1, wherein the region between the shallow groove region and the first region is defined as a deep groove region, the distance along the longitudinal direction of the storage portion between the step formed by the deep groove region and the shallow groove region and the first region is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance, the predetermined distance being such that the step is at the predetermined distance and the radius of curvature of the bend of the capillary body when the capillary body comes into contact with the step and bends occur when the capillary is removed from the storage portion is the radius of curvature of the bend when the maximum stress that the capillary body can tolerate is applied.

4. The storage box according to claim 1, wherein the first region is provided with a projection on its side surface, and the capillary holding portion is fixed by the bottom surface of the first region and the projection.

5. The storage box according to claim 1, wherein the capillary is provided with a protective cap on one end of the capillary body, the base is provided with a base recess connected to the first area of ​​the storage section, the protective cap is stored in the base recess when the capillary is stored, and the base recess is a storage box having a width that allows a finger to be inserted when removing the capillary.

6. The storage box according to claim 5, wherein the base recess has a component retaining portion that contacts the protective cap when the capillary is housed, opposite to the connection portion with the first region.

7. The storage box according to claim 5, wherein the first regions of a plurality of storage units are connected to the base recess.

8. The storage box according to claim 5, wherein the lid has a lid projection that fits into a recess in the base when the lid is placed on the base.

9. The storage box according to claim 8, wherein when the capillary is stored in the storage compartment and the lid is placed over the base, the lid projection is in contact with or positioned close to the protective cap.

10. The storage box according to claim 1, wherein the base comprises a base projection surrounding the storage section, and the lid comprises a lid recess that fits into the base projection.

Images