Stainless Steel DNA Container with Laser Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for preserving biological materials like DNA, such as those in capsules, face challenges in industrialization, reusability, and maintaining identification post-opening, as they are difficult to open without degrading the content and lack efficient traceability.
Innovation Solution
A cylindrical container made of impermeable, corrosion-resistant stainless steel with a glass insert, sealed using laser welding and marked permanently using a laser or RFID tag, allowing for controlled atmosphere preservation and easy reusability with a punchable access window.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a capsule of double hemisphere type is used for preserving DNA, then long-term preservation is achieved, but the container is difficult to open without degrading the content and cannot be reused
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into a body and a cap that can be separated. The cap can be removed to access the DNA sample through the opening, allowing reuse while maintaining preservation quality when closed. This segmentation enables both secure sealing for long-term preservation and easy access for repeated use.
2Reliability
If a capsule of double hemisphere type is used for preserving DNA, then long-term preservation is achieved, but industrialization is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The container consists of separate body and cap components that can be manufactured independently using standard industrial processes and then assembled. This modular approach enables scalable production and automation, making industrialization feasible while maintaining the sealed preservation capability.
3Loss of information
If identification is marked on the capsule, then traceability is achieved, but the identification degrades after opening the container
Solution Approach 1:
The identification marking is placed on the external surface of the container body or cap, separate from the sealed interior environment. This positioning in a different spatial dimension (external vs. internal) allows the identification to remain intact and readable even after the container is opened for access to the DNA sample.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If a sealed capsule is used for preserving DNA, then protection from contaminants is achieved, but reuse and aliquoting are difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The container's separable cap design allows the opening to be closed securely when not in use, maintaining contamination protection during storage and transport. When aliquoting or reuse is needed, the cap can be removed to access the sample, then replaced to restore the sealed protective state, enabling multiple cycles of use.
5Reliability
If laser welding is used to seal the container, then hermetic sealing is achieved, but the process requires precise control to avoid degrading the biological material
Solution Approach 1:
Laser welding replaces traditional mechanical welding or sealing methods. The laser provides precise, localized heating that can be tightly controlled in duration and intensity, creating hermetic seals without the need for complex mechanical pressure systems or fillers, thereby achieving both high sealing quality and controlled thermal exposure.
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 long-term preservation and multiple reuses of DNA at room temperature, maintaining identification and traceability, facilitating industrial-scale production and automation in biobanks and laboratories.
Implementation Method 1
A suitable means is a welding 20 of the cap on the envelope. This is where the container according to the invention still shows its interest. Indeed, the biological material being introduced prior to the realization of the welding and to avoid any degradation or any damage of this biological material, it is imperative to limit even to avoid any heating. In fact, the arrangement according to the invention provides for laser welding applied peripherally to the two edges of the casing and of the stopper.
Implementation Method 2
The marking of the container according to the present invention is obtained by making a mark 22. This mark itself can contain any type of reference numbers, letters or bar codes or even matrix codes of the Data Matrix type. Advantageously, the marking is obtained by changing the surface state of the material under the effect of a suitable laser beam.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The subject of the invention is a container for storing dehydrated biological material under a controlled atmosphere, especially at ambient temperature, and more particularly for storing DNA, comprising an envelope (12) made from a material that is impermeable to gases, characterized in that the envelope (12) is made from a metallic material and is of cylindrical shape sealed at one end and comprises a stopper (16) intended to be joined in an impermeable manner to said envelope.