Patent Application
20230357749
The present invention relates to a portable device for isolating nucleic acid from blood, and more particularly, a portable device for isolating nucleic acid from the blood, which is capable of extracting and isolating nucleic acid from blood without separate preprocessing.
Blood contains various components, including cells such as white blood cells and red blood cells, cell-derived small particles such as platelets and exosomes, plasma proteins and lipids, nucleic acid fragments or metabolites, and the like.
When individual components of the blood are measured, health conditions and diseases may be diagnosed, and thus the blood is used as a useful biological sample for diagnosis. Among them, a genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of a blood sample may be used to diagnose human health conditions and the presence or absence of diseases. Therefore, extraction of nucleic acid from the blood in a laboratory is important for performing molecular research application programs.
For the extraction of the nucleic acid from the blood, it is essential to select a method suitable for the situation. In general, various devices and reagents are widely used to isolate nucleic acid components from the blood, but it is difficult to perform a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) directly using whole blood, and thus a laboratory-level processing procedure of isolating the blood components should be performed in advance. That is, the technique of separating blood into pure components and measuring them individually has limitations that require time and complex procedures requiring equipment and reagents.
However, for on-site diagnosis, it is essential to select an appropriate extraction method satisfying rapidity, cost-effectiveness, and technical requirements. Even in previous research, PCR analysis directly using the blood without experimental procedures such as DNA extraction and purification has been attempted. However, these experiment methods are still difficult due to PCR inhibitors induced by blood compounds.
Thus, it is necessary to develop a device that is portable for the on-site diagnosis and easily and conveniently isolates the nucleic acid from the whole blood.
Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2014-0026400 (published on Mar. 5, 2014) discloses the background technology of the present invention.
The present invention is directed to providing a portable device for isolating nucleic acid from blood capable of extracting and isolating nucleic acid from blood without separate preprocessing.
One aspect of the present invention provides a portable device for isolating nucleic acid from blood, the portable device including a body, a channel that is formed on an upper surface of the body in a groove shape with a set standard and provides a path for moving the blood, a pair of platinum wires of which ends are in contact with both ends of the channel, and a battery of which both electrodes are connected to the other ends of the pair of platinum wires and which provides an electrical force, wherein the blood dropped into the channel in contact with the platinum wire connected to a negative electrode of the battery is moved toward the channel in contact with the platinum wire connected to a positive electrode of the battery due to the electrical force provided by the battery so that the nucleic acid is isolated from the blood.
The channel may allow the battery to apply a voltage to the groove through the pair of platinum wires in contact with a buffer solution filling the groove so as to move non-preprocessed nucleic acid in the blood, and the nucleic acid may move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode due to electrical properties and thus may be separated from the blood when the voltage is applied to the nucleic acid.
The channel may be formed of a material and shape that allow the buffer solution to be introduced into the groove, and the buffer solution may be a physiological saline solution.
A substance moved toward the channel in contact with the platinum wire connected to the positive electrode within a set time when a certain voltage is applied to the channel through the battery may be determined to be the nucleic acid.
The ends of the pair of platinum wires may be in contact with the channel, which are immersed in the buffer solution and have a preset length and a preset thickness.
The channel may be implemented in any of various shapes and implemented such that a width, a length, and a depth of the channel are set to be smaller than those of the body.
The body may be an electrophoresis device implemented using a three-dimensional (3D) printer and made of a non-flammable material through which a current does not flow.
As described above, according to the present invention, a portable device can quickly isolate nucleic acid components from blood without separate preprocessing, which is useful in diagnosis, can be simple to use and portable, and secure on-site performance and effectiveness.
Further, according to the present invention, a process of isolating the nucleic acid from the whole blood using the electrophoresis device is not difficult, used buffers can be easily purchased in the market by ordinary people, and thus user satisfaction can be improved.
Further, according to the present invention, since the portable device can be easy to use without separate reagent preprocessing for the blood, PCR inhibitors generated when the whole blood is directly used can be removed and an influence on a diagnostic result using the nucleic acid can be minimized.
Further, according to the embodiment, the portable device is small and light and thus easily moves, has a simple structure that does not affect the diagnostic result due to damage to the portable device, and has a low price, high user convenience, and a short process time and thus has a high potential for commercialization.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, the thickness of lines or the size of components illustrated in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description.
Further, the terms described below are defined in consideration of functions in the present disclosure and may change according to the intention or custom of a user or an operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout the present specification.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
A portable device for isolating nucleic acid from blood according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
First, the body 10 is adapted to isolate the nucleic acid from the blood and may be implemented as a diagnostic kit having a portable size.
In this case, the body 10 may be an electrophoresis device implemented using a three-dimensional (3D) printer and made of a non-flammable material through which a current does not flow.
Further, the channel 11 is formed on an upper surface of the body 10 in a groove shape with a set standard and provides a path for moving the blood.
In this case, the channel 11 allows the battery 30 to apply a voltage to the groove through a pair of platinum wires 20 in contact with a buffer solution 12 filling the groove so as to move the non-preprocessed nucleic acid in the blood.
Thus, the channel 11 may be formed of a material and shape capable of introducing the buffer solution 12 into the groove.
In this case, the buffer solution 12 may be a physiological saline solution.
Further, the channel 11 may be implemented in any of various shapes and may be implemented such that the width, the length, and the depth thereof are set to be smaller than those of the body 10.
As illustrated in
Further, the platinum wires 20 are provided as a pair, so that ends 21 thereof are in contact with both ends of the channel 11, and the other ends thereof are connected to both electrodes of the battery 30.
In this case, a portion connected to the battery 30 may be a general cable such as a clamp cable, and only a material of each of the ends 21 in contact with both ends of the channel 11 may be platinum.
That is, as illustrated in
Further, the ends 21 of the pair of platinum wires 20 may have a preset length and a preset thickness.
In this case, the ends 21 of the platinum wires 20 immersed in the buffer solution 12 may be manufactured with a standard in which the length is 5 mm and the thickness (diameter) is 0.3 mm, but the present invention is not limited thereto,
Finally, the battery 30 is connected to the other ends of the pair of platinum wires 20 to provide an electrical force.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In detail, a substance moved toward the channel 11 in contact with the platinum wire 20 connected to the positive electrode within a set time when a certain voltage is applied to the channel 11 through the battery 30 is determined to be the nucleic acid.
In detail, when the collected blood is put into the buffer solution 12 filling the channel 11, components of the blood are broken, and when a current flows in the buffer solution 12, charged materials move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode. In this case, since the nucleic acid, which is the lightest among various substances in the blood, first moves toward the positive electrode, the substance that arrives first, that is, arrives at the fastest time, can be determined to be the nucleic acid.
In this case, since the nucleic acid has an electric charge, when the blood is dropped and the voltage is applied thereto, the nucleic acid moves from the negative electrode to the positive electrode due to electrical properties and thus is separated from the blood.
Meanwhile, the amount of the blood sample that may be applied to the portable device 100 according to the present embodiment may be about 1.0-3.0 ul, preferably, about 2 ul, and all blood samples that is preprocessed through a lysis buffer method and/or incubation may be adopted as the blood sample.
In more detail, the blood sample that may be applied to the portable device 100 according to the present embodiment may be a sample preprocessed by the lysis buffer method of mixing the whole blood and a lysis buffer and/or by incubating the whole blood at a predetermined temperature and during a predetermined time. For example, the blood sample may be a sample incubated at about 55-60° C. for about 8-20 minutes, preferably, about 56° C. for about 10 minutes.
The blood sample should be precisely dropped at a designated position in the channel 11 through a micro pallet. The designated position in the channel 11 may be a position in which the blood may be well mixed into the buffer solution 12 in the channel 11 and a position within a predetermined distance from an electrode. According to the present embodiment, the position may be a position in the channel 11 within a predetermined distance from the one end 21 of the platinum wire 20 with which the platinum wire 20 connected to the negative electrode is in contact and preferably may be a position in the channel 11 within about 0.5-1.5 mm, preferably 1 mm from the one end 21 of the platinum wire 20.
Meanwhile, a substance determined as the nucleic acid moved to the channel 11 with which the platinum wire 20 connected to the positive electrode is in contact within a set time may be collected in the form of a solution. The amount of the solution may be small, preferably, about 1 ul.
That is, after electricity flows, a small amount of solution containing the nucleic acid is collected from the designated position in the channel 11 on the positive electrode side and is used for genetic testing. In this case, the designated position may be a position in which the solution containing the nucleic acid may be collected and a position spaced a predetermined distance from the electrode. According to the present embodiment, the position may be a position in the channel 11 spaced a predetermined distance from the one end 21 of the platinum wire 20 with which the platinum wire 20 connected to the positive electrode is in contact and preferably, may be a position in the channel 11 spaced about 5 mm to 10 mm from the one end 21 of the platinum wire 20.
As described above, the portable device for isolating nucleic acid from blood according to the embodiment of the present invention can be usefully used for diagnosis by quickly isolating the nucleic acid from blood without separate preprocessing, and can secure on-site performance and effectiveness because the portable device is simple to use and is portable.
Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, a process of isolating the nucleic acid from the whole blood using the electrophoresis device is not difficult, the used buffers may be easily purchased in the market by ordinary people, and thus user satisfaction can be improved.
Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the portable device may be simply used without separate reagent preprocessing for the blood, PCR inhibitors generated when the whole blood is directly used can be removed and an influence on a diagnostic result using the nucleic acid can be minimized.
Further, according to the embodiment, the portable device is small and light and thus easily moves, has a simple structure that does not affect the diagnostic result due to damage to the portable device, and has a low price, high user convenience, and a short process time and thus has a high potential for commercialization.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to embodiments illustrated in the drawings, the description is merely illustrative, and those skilled in the art to which the technology belongs should understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments may be made. Thus, the true technical scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2022-0054714 | May 2022 | KR | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part application of PCT international application No. PCT/KR2022/017732, filed on Nov. 11, 2022, and claims priority to Korean patent application No. 10-2022-0054714, filed on May 3, 2022, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/KR2022/017732 | Nov 2022 | US |
| Child | 18222397 | US |
