Biological Sample Collector With Reagent Cap And Segmented Wick
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for collecting biological samples, such as saliva, face challenges in maintaining and securing the soft wick collector element within the housing, making it difficult to efficiently collect and analyze samples for nucleic acid amplification and detection methods like PCR, RPA, and LAMP.
Innovation Solution
A device with a collector element made of materials like cotton-based or plastic matrices, designed to absorb and pass liquid, combined with a cap element containing a reagent and reaction chamber, allowing for on-site analysis by releasing the reagent to interact with the sample, indicated by pH changes or fluorescence, securely held by shape-fit or press-fit features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a soft wick collector element is used to collect biological samples, then the collection capability is improved, but the ease of maintaining and fastening the collector element into the housing deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate modular components: a housing, a collector element, and a cap element. The collector element can be independently removed and replaced by detaching the cap element, allowing easy maintenance without affecting other components. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling simple replacement of the soft wick collector while maintaining its collection effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap element is designed to be movable relative to the housing, allowing it to be detached and reattached. This dynamic design enables easy maintenance of the collector element by simply removing the cap, replacing the collector, and reattaching the cap, thus improving ease of operation while preserving the soft wick's collection capability.
2Ease of operation
If a collector element allows liquid passage to wash out biological samples, then the ease of analyzing samples is improved, but the absorption capacity of the collector element deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates the collection function (collector element) from the analysis function (cap element with reaction chamber). Liquid can be introduced through the channel to wash out samples from the collector into the cap's reaction chamber, enabling easy analysis while the collector maintains its absorption capacity through its porous structure.
Solution Approach 2:
A channel acts as an intermediary pathway, allowing liquid to flow from the collection area through the collector element to the analysis area in the cap. This intermediary structure enables sample transfer without requiring the collector to release all absorbed material at once, preserving absorption capacity while facilitating analysis.
3Productivity
If on-site testing capability is added to the device, then the productivity of sample analysis is improved, but the device complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device merges collection, storage, and analysis functions into a single integrated system. The cap element contains a reaction chamber with reagents that mix with washed-out samples to perform on-site testing, eliminating the need for separate laboratory analysis and improving productivity while maintaining manageable complexity through functional integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap element serves multiple functions: it seals the housing, contains the reaction chamber for on-site testing, and receives washed-out samples through the channel. This multi-functionality improves productivity by enabling immediate analysis while avoiding additional separate components that would increase device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easier collection and analysis of biological samples by ensuring the collector element can absorb and drain samples effectively, facilitating on-site testing and reducing the complexity of maintaining the device's components.
Implementation Method 1
the collector element may be made of a combination of PE and PP, wherein the PP may be the core portion and the PE may be the outer coating, due to its particular properties on absorption of liquid via its capillary structure
Implementation Method 2
When the mixture of liquid from the container and of the at least one biological sample reaches a reaction chamber of the cap, the reagent is released to the mixture for testing/analyzing the one or more samples on site
Data Source
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Figure 4a~6
Figure 7a~8c
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a device for collecting one or more biological samples comprising a housing and a collector element, wherein the collector element is designed to collect one or more biological samples. The device comprises a cap element which can be mounted on the housing, wherein the cap element comprises a reagent or an element comprising a reagent.