Device for collecting and transferring particulate material

• US 4,263,144 A
• Filed: 12/10/1979
• Issued: 04/21/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: United States Department Of Agriculture
• Original Assignee: United States Department Of Agriculture
• Inventors: Platt, Steven G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Adee, John
• Application Number:
  US06/101,983
• Time in Patent Office: 498 Days
• Field of Search: 55/391, 55/417, 55/468, 55/97, 210/31 C, 210/198 C, 210/191, 210/406, 422/70, 137/596, 137/625.29, 137/625.69
• US Class Current: 210/658
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 30/95 Detectors specially adapted therefor; Signal analysis

Abstract

A device and method are described for collecting and transferring particulate material. The device includes a housing with a porous member and means for connecting the housing to a vacuum attached thereto. A plunger, slidably mounted in the housing, opens and closes fluid-flow communication between the vacuum source and the porous member. In operation the porous member with a vacuum applied to one side thereof is contacted with first a porous filamentary filter and then with the particulate material. The particulate material detachably adheres to the filter and can be transferred to a collection area. The device and method of the invention are specifically suited for collecting and transferring adsorbent chromatographic fractions.

Claims

1. A device for rapidly collecting and transferring a fraction of adsorbent chromatographic particulate material from a plurality of fractions obtained in thin-layer chromatography without cross contamination, which comprises in combination

(a) a housing, open at both ends,

(b) means affixed to said housing for connecting said housing to a vacuum source,

(c) an appending member affixed to and having fluid-flow communication with said housing,

(d) a porous member fitted into the non-affixed end of said appending member, the diameter of said appending member in (c) and said porous member being small enough to allow spot collection of a fraction of adsorbent chromatographic particulate material from a plurality of fractions obtained in thin-layer chromatography without cross contamination but large enough to minimize the number of collections necessary to collect and transfer all of said fraction,

(e) a plunger member slidably mounted in said housing, the slidable movement of which alternately opens and closes fluid-flow communication between the vacuum source and said porous member, and

(f) a porous filamentary filter having a diameter slightly greater than said porous member and detachably adhering to said porous member by means of said vacuum.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the combination of said plunger in said housing is a push-pull valve.

3. The device of claim 1 which further includes O-rings mounted on said plunger to provide non-fluid-flow seals between said O-rings and said housing.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said porous member is a fritted glass disk.

5. A method for rapidly collecting and transferring one fraction of adsorbent chromatographic particulate material from a plurality of fractions obtained in thin-layer chromatography without cross contamination, which comprises the steps of

(a) applying a vacuum to one side of a porous member,

(b) contacting the other side of the porous member with a porous filamentory filter causing the filter to adhere to the porous member,

(c) contacting the porous filamentary filter adhering to the porous member with a fraction of adsorbent chromatographic particulate material in a plurality of fractions obtained in thin-layer chromatography, causing the material to adhere to the porous filamentary filter,

(d) transferring the porous filamentary filter with the fraction of particulate material adhering thereto, and

(e) releasing the vacuum causing the fraction of particular material and the porous filamentary filter to be disengaged.