Liquid flow management means
AssigneeGlaxo Group Limited
InventorsChristopher David Bevan, Ian Martin Mutton
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing liquid flow through small bore tubing (1,2,3) or channels (13) by freezing the liquid or thawing the frozen liquid in a small segment of the tube or channel.
Claims20
In a method which comprises micro analytical or micro preparative capillary electrophoresis, capillary liquid chromatography or capillary electrochromatography in which material to be separated is applied through capillary tubing or channels to a column filled with a suitable chromatographic or electrophoretic medium, passed through said column to separate components of said material, and the separated components are passed through capillary tubing or channels to a detector downstream of said column, wherein the improvement comprises managing the flow of liquid through said capillary tubing by freezing the liquid and optionally thawing the frozen liquid in a small segment of the tube or channel wherein the liquid is frozen by means of a jet of cold gas provided from a liquified source of the gas under pressure which is directed onto the required segment of the tube or channel.
In an apparatus for micro analytical or micropreparative capillary electrophoresis, capillary liquid chromatography or capillary electrochromatography which comprises capillary tubing or channels and one or more columns filled with a suitable chromatographic or electrophoretic medium, wherein the capillary tubing or channels comprise one or more inlet pathways in fluid connection with one or more outlet pathways and with said one or more columns, wherein the improvement comprises a liquefied source of gas under pressure and means for directing cold gas from the source onto a segment of said tubing or channels to freeze liquid therein, so as to manage the flow of liquid in a pathway.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.