Plasma or serum separation membrane and filter apparatus including the plasma or serum separation membrane

• US 20060029923A1
• Filed: 11/18/2003
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nittobo Medical Co., Ltd. (Nitto Boseki Company Limited), Sekisui Medical Company Limited (Sekisui), Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sekisui Chemical Company Limited (Sekisui)
• Inventors: Okamoto, Ryusuke, Isogawa, Hironobu, Togawa, Katsuya
• Granted Patent: US 7,927,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/2
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 61/18 Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 69/02 characterised by their properties
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/047 Additional chamber, reservoir
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0681 Filter
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502 with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures centrifugal-type cuvettes G01N21/07; analysis by separation into components G01N30/00; automatic analysers G01N35/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5082 Test tubes per se
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/491 by separating the blood components G01N15/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/11 Automated chemical analysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/25 including sample preparation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/25125 Digestion or removing interfering materials
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/25375 Liberation or purification of sample or separation of material from a sample [e.g., filtering, centrifuging, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/255 including use of a solid sorbent, semipermeable membrane, or liquid extraction

Abstract

A Plasma or serum separation membrane that enables omitting centrifugal separation, is free from hemolysis attributed to destruction of red blood cells and realizes easy and rapid separation of plasma or serum from blood; and a filter apparatus including the plasma or serum separation membrane. In particular, a plasma or serum separation membrane being a membrane for separation of plasma or serum from blood and having a void ratio of 30% or below; and a filter apparatus comprising a filter member capable of attaining movement of plasma swifter than movement of blood cells and a plasma or serum separation membrane connected in series with a rear side of the filter member.

Claims

1. A membrane for separating plasma or serum from blood, having a porosity of not more than 30%.

2. The plasma or serum separating membrane according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of through holes are provided so as to penetrate from one side to the other side of the membrane.

3. The plasma or serum separating membrane according to claim 2, wherein diameters of the through holes fall within the range of 0.05 to 2.0 μ

m.

4. The plasma or serum separating membrane according to claim 1, wherein mean surface roughness of the membrane is not more than 100 nm.

5. The plasma or serum separating membrane according to claim 1, used as a corpuscle blocking membrane for preventing contamination by corpuscles.

6. A filter apparatus comprising:

a first filter member through which plasma can move faster than corpuscles; and

a plasma or serum separating membrane according to claim 1, serially connected in subsequent stage with the first filter member.

7. The filter apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the filter member serves as a first filter member, the plasma or serum separating membrane serves as a second filter member, and a third filter member made of fiber having a mean fiber diameter of not less than 3.0 μ

m and a bulk density of not more than 0.3 g/cm³ is provided in precedent stage of the first filter member.

8. The filter apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first filter member is made of fiber, and mean fiber diameter is from 0.2 to 3.0 μ

m and filled density is from 0.1 to 0.5 g/cm³.

9. A filter apparatus comprising:

a container body having an opening at its one end;

a cylindrical member attached to the opening of the container body in liquid-tight manner;

a first filter member placed in the cylindrical member, through which plasma can move faster than corpuscles; and

a second filter member comprising the membrane for separating plasma or serum from blood according to claim 1, serially connected with the first filter member in subsequent stage in the cylindrical member;

wherein the first and the second filter members are disposed in a filter accommodation part, a blood accommodation part is formed in precedent stage of the filter accommodation part, and a plasma or serum storage part is formed on the downstream side of the filter accommodation part.

10. The filter apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a third filter member provided in precedent stage of the first filter member, made of fiber having a mean fiber diameter of not less than 3.0 μ

m and a bulk density of not more than 0.3 g/cm³.

11. The filter apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first filter member through which plasma can move faster than corpuscles has a property of adsorbing fibrinogen contained in blood, plasma or a fibrinogen solution.

12. The filter apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an anticoagulant component is stored in at least a part of the internal space of the filter apparatus.

13. The filter apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an accelerator for accelerating coagulation of blood is stored in at least a part of the internal space.

14. The filter apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an aqueous solution having an osmotic pressure of 200 to 300 mOsm/kg is added to at least a part of the section from the blood accommodation part to the first and the second filter members.

15. A blood testing container (The filter apparatus) according to claim 14, wherein the aqueous solution contains an internal standard substance.

16. The filter apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a volume ratio of the blood accommodation part, filter accommodation part and plasma or serum storage part is in the range of 0.5-2:

1;

1-10.

17. A blood testing container including the filter apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a strip of immunochromatographical diagnostic agent to be added to the separated plasma or serum is stored in the blood testing container.