METHOD AND DEVICE FOR IMPROVED HYGIENIC MONITORING IN IVC SYSTEMS

• US 20170118949A1
• Filed: 10/28/2016
• Published: 05/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für. Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Tecniplast S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für. Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Tecniplast S.p.A.
• Inventors: BRIELMEIER, Markus, NAGEL, Wolfgang, ZORN, Julia, CAMPIOTTI, II, Alfredo, MILITE, Gianpaolo, DI MARTINO, Carmelo
• Granted Patent: US 10,412,927 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 1/031 Cages for laboratory animals; Cages for measuring metabolism of animals
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 29/00 Other apparatus for animal husbandry
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6806 Preparing nucleic acids for analysis, e.g. for polymerase chain reaction [PCR] assay C12Q1/6804 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/2208 with impactors
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/2247 Sampling from a flowing stream of gas

Abstract

The present invention concerns a device for improved hygienic monitoring of individually ventilated caging (IVC) rack systems for laboratory animals and method for contamination-free removal of biological samples from unwanted organisms from the IVC-rack system. The device allows the performance of sampling operations on a ventilated shelving system in a safe and effective manner, without interfering with the ventilation air flow. The method of the invention allows the removal and transfer of the biological sample from inside the IVC-rack in a contamination-free manner by enabling a safe transfer of the sample from inside the IVC-rack system to any further processing procedure for analysis of the biological sample outside the IVC-rack system. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device which is adapted to be used also on existing ventilated shelving systems, allowing the refitting of existing IVC-rack systems.

Claims

1. A device for contamination-free removal of biological samples from a ventilated shelving storage system for laboratory animals containment cages, comprising

a support frame, and

sampling means, in turn comprising a capturing scaffold and capturing means arranged within a capturing portion of said capturing scaffold, said sampling means comprising a sheath, said capturing scaffold being associated to said sheath, wherein said capturing scaffold is inserted into the sheath and is movable in a sliding manner with respect to the sheath to a capturing position located in an aperture, between a closed position in which said capturing portion containing the capturing means is completely inserted into the sheath and, an open position in which said capturing portion containing the capturing means is completely exposed to the air flow, comprising the area of the aperture not covered by the capturing portion and the flow passage area of the ventilated shelving storage system.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said sampling means is associated in a removable manner with the support frame.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said support frame comprises one or more seats for receiving one or more of said sampling means, said aperture being adjacent to said one or more seats.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein said support frame comprises one or more seats for receiving one or more of said sampling means, said aperture being adjacent to said one or more seats.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein said one or more seats for receiving said sampling means are delimited by guiding means, so that each sampling means can be slidingly inserted into a dedicated seat.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein said guiding means comprise straight and elongated guides, each seat being delimited by a couple of straight and elongated guides.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein said support frame comprises a substantially planar plate with a substantially rectangular profile comprising a first short edge, a second short edge, a first long edge and a second long edge connecting said short edges.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein said support frame further comprises at least one flow passage area.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein said sheath and said capturing scaffold are made of disposable material.

10. A ventilated shelving storage system for laboratory animals containment cages comprising a load-bearing structure for supporting a plurality of cages and an air guidance means comprising a filtering unit, wherein the ventilated shelving storage system further comprises a device according to claim 1.

11. The ventilated shelving storage system according to claim 10, wherein the device is associated in a removable manner to said filtering unit.

12. The ventilated shelving storage system according to claim 11, wherein said filtering unit comprises a containment case and in that said support frame system of said sampling collection device is configured to be inserted in a sliding manner into said containment case.

13. The ventilated shelving storage system according to claim 10, wherein said filtering unit comprises a pre-filter and in that said device is inserted into said filtering unit underneath said pre-filter.

14. A method for contamination-free removal of biological samples from a ventilated shelving storage system for laboratory animals containment cages by means of a device according to claim 1, said method comprising the following steps:

providing a sampling means for said device;

positioning the sampling means of said device from the closed position to the open position;

collecting biological samples from unwanted organisms;

positioning the sampling means of said device from the open position to the closed position;

pulling off the sampling means from the filtering unit;

transferring the sampling means to a ventilated hood;

shifting the capturing scaffold, comprising the capturing means to the open position; and

transferring the capturing means to a reaction vessel for analysis of biological samples of unwanted organisms, preferably by PCR.