US 6,582,912 B1Granted

Device, method and apparatus for implementing the method, for dosing at least a particular constituent in a product sample

AssigneeStago International

InventorsAlain Rousseau, Michel Canton

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Abstract

A device for dosing at least a particular constituent in a product sample has a receptacle and a cover assembled to form a closed container having a vertical axis. The receptacle and cover bear coaxial cylindrical walls defining concentric annular chambers inside the container, the walls separating chambers each having an opening, the cover and the container being rotatable relative to each other about the vertical axis, said openings being placed in a predetermined manner so that by relative displacement of the walls, the openings are positioned in a straight line or offset to communicate, or isolate said successive chambers. A method for using such a device and an apparatus for implementing said method are disclosed.

Claims32

Dependent claims

A device for qualitative and/or quantitative dosing of at least one particular component in a product sample by labeling and fixing, said device comprising a container and a cover which are connected to form a closed receptacle, wherein said closed receptacle has a vertical axis, the container and the cover carrying coaxial cylindrical walls which, while the container and cover are being connected, position themselves pairwise one against another thereby delimiting at least three concentric annular chambers inside the receptacle, namely from the axis an inlet chamber for receiving the sample and allowing labeling of the component, a chamber for fixing and reading said labeled component, and a discharge chamber, the coaxial cylindrical walls forming separations between successive annular chambers each having at least one opening, and the connected cover and container being relatively rotatable about the vertical axis, and the openings of the coaxial cylindrical walls of the container and of the cover being placed at predetermined angular positions in such a way that by displacement of one with respect to the other of the cylindrical walls of each pair, the openings of each pair of walls are able to be positioned opposite one another or in an angularly offset manner, so as to put into communication or isolate from one another the successive annular chambers.

A process for qualitative and/or quantitative dosing of at least one particular component in a product sample by labeling and fixing, wherein use is made of at least one device having a container, a cover mounted on the container to form a closed receptacle with a vertical axis and a plurality of pairs of coaxial apertured cylindrical walls defining an inlet chamber, a fixing and reading chamber, and a discharge chamber, the walls being relatively rotatable for selectively enabling and preventing communication between the chambers, said device containing specific receptors for the component to be dosed, which are fixed in each fixing and reading chamber and in which process,

a) the product sample containing the labeled component is placed in the inlet chamber isolated from the other annular chambers,
b) the cover is turned with respect to the container in such a way as to put the inlet chamber into communication with the fixing and reading chamber, the discharge chamber being isolated from the other annular chambers,
c) the device is rotated about its vertical axis in such a way as to disperse by centrifugation in each fixing and reading chamber the product sample containing the labeled component, the labeled component then binding by strong interaction to the fixed specific receptors in each fixing and reading chamber,
d) the cover is turned with respect to the container in such a way as to put the fixing and reading chamber into communication with the discharge chamber,
e) the device is rotated about its axis in such a way as to disperse by centrifugation a surplus sample into the discharge chamber,
f) the device is rinsed with a rinsing liquid which is circulated by centrifugation through the various annular chambers of said device while reproducing the preceding steps b), c), d) and e) in such a way as to retain in the fixing and reading chamber only the labeled component bound by strong interaction to the fixed receptors,
g) said labeled component is detected and dosed through the wall(s) of said devices.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.