# US 10,478,784 B2 · Device and method for observing and filter for capturing a minute substance

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- Number: US 10,478,784 B2
- Document ID: US10478784B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/682,715
- Filed: 2017-08-22
- Published: 2017-12-07
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2015-02-26
- Assignees: AGC Inc.
- Applicants: AGC Inc.
- Inventors: Shuji Yamazaki; Shuichiro Kimura; Kenji Kitaoka; Yu Hanawa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10478784B2

## CPC

- B01D 71/04: Glass
- B01D 69/02: characterised by their properties
- C03C 3/089: containing boron
- C03C 11/00: Multi-cellular glass {; Porous or hollow glass or glass particles}
- C03C 11/005: {obtained by leaching after a phase separation step}
- G01N 1/10: in the liquid or fluent state {(burettes, pipettes B01L3/02; sampling of ground water E02D1/06; metering by volume of fluids or fluent solid material G01F11/00, G01F13/00)}
- G01N 1/4077: {by other techniques involving separation of suspended solids}
- G02B 21/34: Microscope slides, e.g. mounting specimens on microscope slides
- G01N 2001/4088: {filtration}
- G02B 21/0076: {arrangements using fluorescence or luminescence}
- B01D: SEPARATION (separating solids from solids by wet methods B03B, B03D; by pneumatic jigs or tables B03B; by other dry methods B07; magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high-voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges, vortex apparatus B04; presses per se for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material B30B9/02; treatment of water C02F, e.g. softening by ion-exchange C02F1/42; {arrangements of air intake cleaners in gas turbine plants F02C7/05} ; arrangements or mounting of filters in air-conditioning, air-humidification or ventilation F24F13/28)
- C03C: CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES OR VITREOUS ENAMELS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS, MINERALS OR SLAGS; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS

## Abstract

There is provided a glass substrate for observing minute substance, made of porous glass and capable of separating and capturing a minute substance with a 10 to 500 nm average particle diameter contained in a solution or a suspension, comprising a porous glass substrate having a plurality of pores, wherein the plurality of pores has an average pore diameter ranging from 30 to 110% of the average particle diameter of the minute substance, each of the plurality of pores has a surface pore diameter on an uppermost surface of the glass substrate, a standard deviation of the surface pore diameter is 60% or less of the average particle diameter of the minute substance, and a pore with a pore diameter ranging from 60 to 140% of a pore diameter at peak top in a pore diameter distribution of the plurality of pores occupies 90% or more of total pore volume.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A filter for capturing a minute substance, comprising a porous glass substrate having a plurality of pores,
wherein
the porous glass substrate comprises phase-separated glass formed through a spinodal decomposition,
the plurality of pores has an average pore diameter ranging from 5 to 2500 nm and a pore diameter ranging from 60 to 140% of a pore diameter corresponding to a maximum value in a pore diameter distribution of the plurality of pores occupies 90% or more of total pore volume of the plurality of pores, and
the porous glass substrate satisfies the following formula (1):
S
D
·
log
10
⁢
d
≤
4.5
⁡
[
cm
2
/
mm
]
(
1
)
wherein S [cm2] is an area of main surface of the glass substrate,
D [mm] is a plate thickness of the porous glass substrate, and
d [nm] is the average pore diameter.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The filter for capturing a minute substance according to claim 1, wherein the porous glass substrate has a porosity ranging from 20 to 90%.

### Claim 3

A filter for capturing a minute substance, comprising a porous glass substrate having a plurality of pores,
wherein
the plurality of pores has an average pore diameter ranging from 5 to 2500 nm and a pore diameter ranging from 60 to 140% of a pore diameter corresponding to a maximum value in a pore diameter distribution of the plurality of pores occupies 90% or more of total pore volume of the plurality of pores, and
the porous glass substrate has a covering layer on a surface, the covering layer comprising a protein anti-adhesion agent.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

A minute substance observation device comprising:
a capturing unit including the filter according to claim 1 and being capable of separating and capturing a minute substance with an average particle diameter of 10 to 500 nm contained in a solution or a suspension; and
an observing unit for observing the minute substance captured on a surface of the glass substrate.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The minute substance observation device according to claim 4, wherein the observing unit is a fluorescence microscope.

### Claim 6

A minute substance capturing method comprising:
introducing a solution or a suspension comprising a minute substance with a 10 to 500 nm average particle diameter to a porous glass substrate having a plurality of pores; and
separating and capturing the minute substance by the glass substrate,
wherein
the porous glass substrate comprises phase-separated glass formed through a spinodal decomposition,
the plurality of pores has an average pore diameter ranging from 30 to 500% of the average particle diameter of the minute substance, and a pore diameter ranging from 60 to 140% of a pore diameter corresponding to a maximum value in a pore diameter distribution of the plurality of pores occupies 90% or more of total pore volume of the plurality of pores.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The minute substance capturing method according to claim 6, wherein the porous glass substrate satisfies the following formula (1):
S
D
·
log
10
⁢
d
≤
4.5
⁡
[
cm
2
/
mm
]
,
(
1
)
wherein
S [cm2] is an area of main surface of the glass substrate,
D [mm] is a plate thickness of the porous glass substrate, and
d [nm] is the average pore diameter.

### Claim 8

A minute substance observation method comprising:
introducing a solution or a suspension comprising a minute substance with a 10 to 500 nm average particle diameter to a porous glass substrate having a plurality of pores;
separating and capturing the minute substance by the glass substrate; and
observing the minute substance captured by the glass substrate,
wherein
an average pore diameter ranging from 30 to 110% of the average particle diameter of the minute substance,
each of the plurality of pores has a surface pore diameter on a main surface of the porous glass substrate, and a standard deviation of the surface pore diameter on an uppermost surface of the glass substrate is 60% or less of the average particle diameter of the minute substance, and
a pore with a pore diameter ranging from 60 to 140% of a pore diameter corresponding to a maximum value in a pore diameter distribution of the plurality of pores occupies 90% or more of total pore volume of the plurality of pores.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The minute substance observation method according to claim 8, wherein the average pore diameter is ranging from 30 to 100% of the average particle diameter of the minute substance.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

A minute substance observation method comprising:
separating and capturing a minute substance with a 10 to 500 nm average particle diameter by the filter according to claim 1, from a solution or a suspension comprising the minute substance; and
observing the minute substance captured on a surface of the glass substrate for observing minute substance.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The minute substance observation method according to claim 8, wherein a fluorescence microscope is used for the observation.