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US 5,350,458 AGranted
Method for cleaning a diagnostic analyzer
AssigneeBoehringer Mannheim GmbH
InventorsJudith Pinsl-Ober, Roland Schenk
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides a cleaning solution and a method of using the cleaning solution for cleaning diagnostic analyzers. The solution contains a rapidly wetting surfactant and an inorganic or organic acid. The invention provides rapid and effective cleaning of proteins from all types of materials used for components of automatic analyzers.
Claims14
A method for cleaning an immunological or clinical chemistry diagnostic analyzer of proteins or other biological materials comprising
- i) providing a diagnostic analyzer having a receptacle adapted to contain a liquid sample and requiring cleaning;
- and
- ii) contacting said receptacle with an aliquot of an aqueous cleaning solution consisting of a rapidly wetting surfactant and an inorganic or organic acid, for a time sufficient that, when the aqueous cleaning solution is removed, the proteins or biological materials are also removed.
A method for cleaning a diagnostic analyzer comprising
- i) providing a diagnostic analyzer having a receptacle adapted to contain a liquid sample;
- ii) filing said receptacle with an aliquot of an aqueous cleaning solution consisting of a rapidly wetting surfactant chosen from the group consisting of sulfosuccinic acid ester, fluorosurfactants and secondary alkanesulfonates, said surfactant having a wetting time (according to the Draves Test) of less than 20 seconds at a concentration of 0.3% by weight at 25.degree. C., said surfactant being present in an amount from 0.05 to 1.0% by weight of said cleaning solution and an amount of an inorganic or organic acid with a pk.sub.s value of more than 2.5 which is effective to impart a maximum pH value of 4.0 to said cleaning solution.
A method for cleaning a diagnostic analyzer comprising
- i) providing a diagnostic analyzer having a receptacle adapted to contain a liquid sample;
- ii) filling said receptacle with an aliquot of an aqueous cleaning solution consisting of a rapidly wetting surfactant selected from the group consisting of sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinate (DHSS), sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (DOSS) and tetraethylammonium perfluorooctane sulfonate (TAPS), said surfactant being present in an amount from 0.05 to 1.0% by weight in relation to the cleaning solution, and an acid selected from the group consisting of citric acid, tartaric acid and succinic acid, said acid being present in an amount of from the minimum amount which is effective to impart a maximum pH value of 4.0 to said cleaning solution up to 0.5 mol/l of cleaning solution;
- iii) allowing said aqueous cleaning solution to contact surfaces of said receptacle for a sufficient amount of time to allow cleaning of said receptacle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.