An apparatus for separating an interlocked cap and receptacle comprises a top wall and a cap removal station. The cap removal station comprises an opening, a raised collar for engaging and releasing interlocking elements of the cap and receptacle, and tabs on a side of the top wall opposite the raised collar for retaining the receptacle within the opening when the cap is separated from the receptacle. A method for separating an interlocked cap and receptacle comprises moving the cap and receptacle in a first direction into a cap removal station, contacting interlocking elements of the cap and receptacle with a raised collar to thereby release the interlocking elements, retaining the receptacle within the cap removal station; and with the interlocking elements released and the receptacle retained within the cap removal station, moving the cap in a second direction opposite the first direction to separate the cap from the receptacle.

A receiving container comprising a body and a lid. The body has an open end and a closed end. The lid is introduceable at least partially into the open end of the body in order to seal the body. The lid comprises at least one plastic component which is designed such that the lid can be perforated by a canula and is fluid-tight after the canula has been removed. The receiving container is designed such that the lid can assume at least first and second closing positions. In the first closing position, a chamber of the body can be filled, via a cannula, through the lid and gas can escape from the chamber via at least one ventilation path. In the second closing position, the at least one ventilation path is closed.

A method for reconstituting a lyophilized reagent contained within a reagent well comprises the steps of drawing a diluent into a pipette tip attached to an automated pipettor and dispensing the diluent into the reagent well containing the lyophilized reagent. The reagent well has an internal side wall, a bottom wall, and an open upper end and includes one or more retention features disposed about the periphery of the internal side wall and defining a central opening into the well that permits passage of the pipette tip into the reagent well. The one or more retention features are integrally formed with the internal side wall, and each of the one or more retention features extends over a portion of the lyophilized reagent, thereby retaining the lyophilized reagent within the reagent well.

A reclosable container for fluid products is provided. The reclosable container has a containment body provided with a neck ending in a dispensing mouth, and a closure member having a gripping element beneath which lies a stopper tip for closing the dispensing mouth and a removable collar associated with the gripping element along a preestablished break area and rigidly attachable to the neck. In a closed configuration, the dispensing mouth is completely covered by the closure member so that it is not possible for a user's fingers to come into contact with the dispensing mouth when opening the container, avoiding contamination of calibrated drops of the fluid products.

Embodiments of a device for protecting and sealing the opening of a container. This device is a one-piece made plug for a flask or container, comprising at least one passing channel, and at least one structural flow regulator barrier, allowing the passing of solid elements. The structural regulator barrier comprises at least a gate to regulate the passing and connection between the inside space and the outside space of the container in a unidirectional and/or bidirectional way. An embodiment includes a method and a mold for manufacturing such a device.

A stopper has a head part and a stopper part. The stopper part extends from the head part to a lower end and has flanges, between the head part and the lower end, that have different diameters that increase from the head part to the lower end of the stopper part. A container has a mouth and neck and shoulder inner surfaces. The stopper part is inserted into the container through the mouth, the head part remains outside the mouth, at least one of the flanges proximate neck sealingly engages the neck inner surface, and at least one of the flanges proximate to the shoulder sealing engages the shoulder inner surface. A fluid tube is retained by the stopper. The fluid tube extends from an inlet within the container outwardly through the mouth to an outlet outside the container.

System, apparatuses, and methods for performing automated reagent-based analysis are provided. Also provided are methods for automated attachment of a cap to a reaction receptacle, and automated removal of a cap from a capped reaction receptacle.

A container system for liquids includes a container body with a mouth, a resilient stopper and a cap. The stopper has a body portion closely received within the mouth, and an annular flange projecting radially outward from the body. A resilient annular spring element is located between the flange of the stopper and the cap, and biases the flange against the mouth of the container when the container is assembled and maintains a seal between the flange and cap. In one embodiment, the spring element has a unitary, tear-drop shaped geometry in cross-section with a rounded bulbous body portion smoothly tapering to a curved, radially-inwardly projecting lip, although the spring element could have other asymmetrical configurations such as a cone, helical, V, S or C shape in cross-section. The spring element defines at least two separate points of contact between the flange of the stopper and cap.

A polypropylene or polyethylene cap composition comprising at least 94% by weight of polypropylene or polyethylene, 0.05 to 1% by weight of a slip and/or antiblocking agent comprising a mixture of linear saturated fatty amide(s) and glycerol monostearate in the ratio ranging from 1:3 to 3:1 by weight with % torque release of the cap comparable to the unsaturated fatty amide erucamide.

A stopper has a head part and a stopper part. The stopper part extends from the head part to a lower end and has flanges, between the head part and the lower end, that have different diameters that increase from the head part to the lower end of the stopper part. A container has a mouth and neck and shoulder inner surfaces. The stopper part is inserted into the container through the mouth, the head part remains outside the mouth, at least one of the flanges proximate neck sealingly engages the neck inner surface, and at least one of the flanges proximate to the shoulder sealing engages the shoulder inner surface. A fluid tube is retained by the stopper. The fluid tube extends from an inlet within the container outwardly through the mouth to an outlet outside the container.