This invention relates to devices and methods for purifying, detecting and using biological cells. A variety of cell types including viable tumor, stem, immune and sperm cells can be purified from a complex biological sample using a column, including a pipette tip column. Methods of the invention can aid research, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Purified viable cells can be detected on the column or eluted from the column and detected. Cells on a column can be used as a stationary phase for liquid chromatography. Cells may be removed, recovered and analyzed.

A pipette tip supply mechanism includes: a pipette tip storage unit for storing a plurality of tapered shaped pipette tips; a belt for transporting a pipette tip supplied from an opening of the pipette tip storage unit; and a belt drive unit that drives the belt in a transport direction. The belt is inclined upwards toward the transport direction so that the pipette tip is rotatable around a longitudinal axis of the pipette tip on a surface of the belt and the pipette tip is rolled to orient the longitudinal axis of the pipette tip along the transport direction in conjunction with the drive of the belt in the transport direction.

The present invention provides an automatic analysis device and an automatic specimen processing system having a component-rack supply mechanism that, in a state where a plurality of component racks each having a disposable component mounted thereon are stacked, separates only a component rack at the leading stage of the stack from the other component racks, and supplies the separated component rack to the automatic analysis device or the automatic specimen processing system. Specifically, the automatic analysis device and the automatic specimen processing system have a supply mechanism including a separation mechanism that, in a state where a plurality of component racks are stacked, separates only a component rack at the leading stage of the stack from the other component racks, where the separation mechanism includes a movable mechanism having a pair of downward-movement prevention members that can separate the leading stage from the second stage of the stacked component racks; and a correction mechanism having a pair of correction members that correct a positional deviation of the component racks in order to avoid an influence of the positional deviation of the stacked component racks.

The present invention relates to a system for conducting the identification and quantification of micro-organisms, e.g., bacteria in biological samples. More particularly, the invention relates to a system comprising a cooling, heating and fan arrangement for maintaining a predetermined optimum temperature of the samples during testing; a visual, circumferential and axial alignment system for aligning the samples within the carousel; a transfer system for transferring the samples from the carousel to the centrifuge; a balancing system of minimizing the rotational vibrations of the centrifuge; a safety system and anti-tipping design for the sample containing system; liquid dispensing arms for dispensing the buffered saline solution; and discharge ports for discharging and disposing of the liquid removed from the samples to a location external of the system.

The present invention relates to a method for qualitative analysis of a sample protein, which method comprises the steps of providing a water swollen gel column bed comprising bound protease and a sample protein in liquid buffer, digesting the sample protein into polypeptides by contact with the gel bed and subjecting the polypeptides to mass spectrometry (MS). The method is advantageously performed using back and forth flow of the sample protein including two or more repeats, and may be performed at a temperature of less than about 37° C., such as a temperature of less than about 30° C.

The invention also includes an automated method as well as a device and a kit for performing mass-based analysis of proteins with higher speed than the prior art while maintaining conditions that are tolerable to the protease.

Uneven wear causes degradation of the individual parts of a syringe pump. Specifically, a seal piece composed of a soft material is easily damaged by uneven wear. To solve this problem, an automatic analysis device has a syringe pump that feeds and aspirates a liquid into and from a dispensing unit. The syringe pump has a syringe tube that stores a liquid, a plunger that moves up and down in the syringe tube, a plunger upper pressing component that contacts the plunger, a motive force transmitting part that transmits motive force to the plunger via the plunger upper pressing component, and a plunger lower pressing component that contacts the motive force transmitting part. The plunger upper pressing component and the motive force transmitting part make point contact with each other, and the motive force transmitting part and the plunger lower pressing component make point contact with each other.

Temperature adjustment with a pipette tip temperature adjustment unit (7) and a drive unit (54) for raising and lowering a pipette tip (51), an environment temperature sensor (10) for sensing temperature inside an analysis apparatus (1A), a pump (53) for drawing a liquid into pipette tip (51) and discharging liquid in the pipette tip (51), and a control unit (6a) for setting, in advance, temperature control target value during sample analysis for unit (7) based on environment temperature sensed by sensor (10), and during sample analysis, drive unit (54) lowers pipette tip (51), pump (53) performs pumping wherein intake and discharge are repeated in a state in which unit (7) blows air, and unit (6a) sets, in advance, the temperature value for use during sample analysis for the pipette tip temperature adjustment unit (7) on the basis of analysis reagent information and the environment temperature sensed by e sensor (10).

A sample measurement system according to an embodiment may include: sample measurement units that perform measurement on samples by using consumables; a consumable setting unit in which a consumable rack storing the consumables to be supplied to the sample measurement units is set; a sample setting unit in which a sample rack storing the samples to be supplied to the sample measurement units is set; a first transport path that transports the consumable rack from the consumable setting unit to at least one of the sample measurement units; and a second transport path that transports the sample rack from the sample setting unit to at least one of the sample measurement units.

A system for loading pipette tips. A system for accommodating pipette tips is provided, comprising a tray having openings for accommodating pipette tips in a plate, wherein the openings have at their upper end a surrounding contour which has curved surface area corresponding to a section of a spherical washer, and pipette tips having at their upper end an offset forming a contact surface for the surrounding contour of the tray's opening, wherein the shape of the contact surface corresponds to the section of a spherical washer so that the centers of both spheres of surrounding contour and contact surface are congruent

There is provided an automatic analysis device that can appropriately sort and discard expendable items. The automatic analysis device includes a common transport mechanism that transports a plurality of types of expendable items by common mechanism, a plurality of transport paths that is provided separately from the common transport mechanism, a type determination portion that determines the type of expendable item being transported by the common transport mechanism. The automatic analysis device controls to select one of a plurality of transport paths according to a determination result of the type determination portion and to transport the expendable items transported from the common transport mechanism via the selected transport path.