MICROORGANISM TESTING DEVICE

• US 20080153153A1
• Filed: 12/26/2007
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Engineering & Services Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Engineering & Services Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sasaki, Yasuhiko, Takenaka, Kei, Miyake, Ryo
• Granted Patent: US 8,409,850 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/287.5
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1484 microstructural devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/1486 Counting the particles
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6428 Measuring fluorescence of fluorescent products of reactions or of fluorochrome labelled reactive substances, e.g. measuring quenching effects, using measuring "optrodes" in vivo A61B5/00; immunoassay G01N33/53

Abstract

Pretreatment of residual food removal and bacteria dyeing, and measurement of the number of bacteria using the fluorescence flow cytometry method, are stably performed by easy operations.

A measurement chip 10 includes: a specimen container 151; a reaction container 170 for mixing a specimen and a dyeing reagent into a liquid mixture; a bacteria detection portion 18 being irradiated with excitation light; a detection liquid waste container 163 into which liquid mixture which has passed the bacteria detection portion enters; a solution flow path 157 which connects the specimen container, the reaction container and the bacteria detection portion, and ventilation ports 1631 through 1633 which are connected to the specimen container, the reaction container and the detection liquid waste container, through a air flow path and is connected to a chip connecting tube. Bacteria are detected in the bacteria detection portion 18 by switching of the states of the specimen container, the reaction container, and the detection liquid waste container between a sealed state and a state open to the atmospheric pressure, by moving the specimen to the reaction container 170 to mix and stir the specimen and the dyeing reagent, and by moving of the liquid mixture to the detection liquid waste container 163.

Claims

1. A microorganism testing device comprising a measurement chip for holding a specimen including bacteria and a dyeing reagent in said chip, a holder for holding said measurement chip and controlling the temperature of said chip, and a delivery device for delivering said specimen and said dyeing reagent through a chip connecting tube connected to said measurement chip, which testing device irradiates a specimen in said measurement chip with excitation light to detect said bacteria as an electric signal, wherein

said measurement chip includes:

a specimen container for holding said specimen;

a reaction container for mixing said specimen and a dyeing reagent for reaction into a liquid mixture;

a bacteria detection portion being irradiated with said excitation light;

a detection liquid waste container into which said liquid mixture which has passed said bacteria detection portion enters;

a solution flow path which connects said specimen container, said reaction container, and said bacteria detection portion, and in which said specimen and said liquid mixture flow; and

a ventilation port which is connected to said specimen container, said reaction container, and said detection liquid waste container through a air flow path and is connected to said chip connecting tube, wherein

bacteria are detected in said bacteria detection portion by applying pressure to said specimen container, said reaction container, and said detection liquid waste container from said delivery device through said ventilation port, by switching of the states of said specimen container, said reaction container, and said detection liquid waste container between a sealed state and a state open to the atmospheric pressure, by moving said specimen to said reaction container to mix and stir said specimen and said dyeing reagent in said reaction container, and by moving of said liquid mixture to said detection liquid waste container through said bacteria detection portion.

2. The microorganism testing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

a reagent container including a dyeing reagent, wherein

said specimen in said specimen container and said dyeing reagent flow into said reaction container.

3. The microorganism testing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of said reaction containers, wherein

one of said reaction containers is used as a killed bacteria dyeing reagent holding container for holding a killed bacteria dyeing pigment, and other containers are used as a viable-and-killed bacteria dyeing reagent holding container for holding viable-and-killed bacteria dyeing pigment.

4. The microorganism testing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

a residual food removing portion which is located between said specimen container and said reaction container, and removes residual foods.

5. The microorganism testing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of said reaction containers, wherein one of said reaction containers is used as a killed bacteria dyeing reagent holding container for holding a killed bacteria dyeing pigment, and other containers are used as a viable-and-killed bacteria dyeing reagent holding container for holding viable-and-killed bacteria dyeing pigment, and

a residual food removing portion which is located at the exit side of said specimen container and removes residual foods.

6. The microorganism testing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

an eluent holding container for holding eluent;

a bacteria capturing portion into which said liquid mixture flows; and

a filtrate waste container into which a specimen has passed through said bacteria capturing portion enters.

7. The microorganism testing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

a plural set of said specimen containers and said reaction containers, wherein

said liquid mixture in each of said reaction containers flows into said bacteria detection portion.

8. The microorganism testing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising:

temperature control means for controlling the temperature of said measurement chip.