Integrated Toxicity Screening Analyzer With Real-Time Fraction Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toxicology analyzers face limitations such as requiring pre-treatment of samples outside the lab, experimental errors in component collection, independent results leading to false positives, inefficient module integration, and reliance on auxiliary instruments for complex system identification.
Innovation Solution
An integrated machine with modules for pretreatment, component separation, monitoring and identifying, component collection, and biological evaluation, along with data processing, enabling automated sample preparation, real-time monitoring, and sterile in vitro experiments, and alignment of spectrograms for accurate results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If samples are pretreated outside the lab before analysis, then the analyzer can process standardized samples, but sample preparation time and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the pretreatment module directly into the analyzer system, merging sample preparation and analysis functions into a single integrated device. This eliminates the need for separate external pretreatment steps, allowing samples to be processed automatically within the analyzer itself, thereby reducing preparation time and labor costs while maintaining processing capability.
2Ease of operation
If component collection methods are determined through pre-experiments, then the collection process can be planned in advance, but experimental errors from pre-experiments affect actual collection accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time monitoring of the separation process with automatic feedback control. The system continuously monitors component separation and dynamically adjusts collection parameters during the actual process, rather than relying solely on pre-determined methods from pre-experiments. This feedback mechanism eliminates errors from pre-experimental planning and ensures accurate component collection based on actual real-time conditions.
3Productivity
If the 96-well plate is manually removed after analysis for biological activity assay, then the analyzer can complete chemical analysis, but pollution risk from in vitro experiments increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the biological evaluation module directly into the analyzer system, merging chemical analysis and biological activity assay functions into a single automated system. The 96-well plate remains in the analyzer throughout the entire process, and the mechanical arm automatically transfers plates between modules without manual intervention. This integration eliminates pollution risks from manual handling while maintaining high throughput for both chemical and biological analyses.
4Device complexity
If the mechanical arm operates as standalone auxiliary equipment, then module independence is maintained, but overall experimental efficiency and throughput are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the mechanical arm as a universal multi-functional component that serves multiple integrated modules including pretreatment, separation, collection, and biological evaluation. Rather than being standalone auxiliary equipment, the mechanical arm is programmed to perform diverse operations across all modules, coordinating sample transfer, plate handling, and component collection. This multi-functionality increases experimental throughput while the modular architecture maintains operational independence of individual modules.
5Adaptability or versatility
If chemical analysis and biological detection results are mutually independent, then separate analysis can be performed, but false positive phenomenon cannot be eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements integrated data processing that combines chemical analysis results with biological detection results through a unified feedback control system. The system correlates data from both analysis types, using chemical identification to guide biological evaluation and vice versa. This integrated feedback mechanism eliminates false positives by requiring consistent results from both chemical and biological analyses, thereby improving test result accuracy while maintaining analytical flexibility.
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
Facilitates efficient, reliable, and high-throughput screening of toxic compounds with reduced labor costs and false positives, allowing in situ detection outside the lab.
Implementation Method 1
a solid phase extractor...for enriching, concentrating and purifying a sample to be analyzed
Implementation Method 2
a gel chromatograph...for enriching, concentrating and purifying a sample to be analyzed to provide a mother liquor to be analyzed
Implementation Method 3
a high-pressure liquid pump...for introducing the mother liquor to be analyzed into the component separation module
Implementation Method 4
an ultraviolet detector...for monitoring and collecting chromatographic signals of the separated liquid effluent in real-time
Implementation Method 5
a high-resolution mass spectrometer detector...for monitoring and collecting chromatographic signals of the separated liquid effluent in real-time, as well as quantitative detection of suspicious compounds
Implementation Method 6
a CO2 incubator...for cell culture and toxicological evaluation
Implementation Method 7
a CO2 incubator...for cell culture and toxicological evaluation
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to machines and methods for performing fully-automated biological evaluation and chemical analysis, which comprise: a pretreatment module used in the treatments of enriching, concentrating and purifying a sample to be analyzed; a component separation module used for carrying out the separation of multiple compounds in the mother liquor to be analyzed; a monitoring and identifying module for monitoring and collecting chromatographic signals of the separated liquid effluent in real time, as well as quantitative detection of suspicious compounds; a component collection module used in the operations of collecting, transferring and dissolving, redissolving, and pipetting the separated liquid effluent; a biological evaluation module for cell culture and detection of cytotoxic effect and toxic targets; a data processing and automated control module for acquisition, arrangement and analysis of the integrated data. The present invention provides an efficient, stable and normalized standard operation condition for the screening of toxicity of compounds in a complex system, improves the reliability of experimental data while reducing the labor cost required by detection, and is a technical method with stronger practicability in high-throughput screening work.