Patent Grant
7640769
1. Field of Invention
This invention is in the field of preservation, transportation, storage, and retrieval of temperature-sensitive materials, more specifically biochemical materials.
2. Background of Invention
The decomposition of organic matter, like most chemical and biochemical reactions, is normally accelerated by increased temperature. Refrigeration has long been used to slow such reactions, and today basically the same technology that is used to preserve foodstuffs is used to preserve biologicals. Thus, the background technology for preservation of biologicals is food preservation. Desirable improvements in the preservation of biochemical materials emerge in a discussion of the similarities and differences between that and the preservation of food.
To keep perishable food safe for a few days, it is generally necessary only to maintain its temperature ten to fifteen degrees Celsius below room temperature. Even under these conditions, however, some thermal degradation still occurs. Some complex organic molecules, such as those responsible for flavors, degrade into less savory substances, and larger structures such as sols and cellular matrices responsible for the desirable texture of food may also break down more or less rapidly depending on the temperature at which they are stored.
Freezing of aqueous organic materials can slow such reactions to a greater extent than mere cooling, but the processes of freezing and later thawing can themselves damage complex molecules, sols, and tissue structures. Thus, the more careful the regulation of temperature in a proper range below room temperature and also above freezing, the better food is preserved for later consumption.
Biochemical materials stored for later use generally require more precise temperature control. This is because, generally speaking, biochemical compounds are large molecules and/or mechanically complex mixtures, the utility of which is dependent on maintenance of the exact original structure. Drugs, vaccines, living organisms and tissue samples, for example, are useless, even sometimes dangerous, unless preserved in nearly pristine condition. Small or rapid changes in temperature can create undesirable chemical byproducts or damage desirable sol or crystal structures.
Up to now, temperature control of biologicals has been accomplished merely by placing a more sensitive thermostat on a conventional refrigerator box. Such units have been made “portable” by loading them onto trucks and powering them with portable generators or large battery modules. These are neither amenable to rapid deployment, because of their weight, nor to use in locations where power is at a premium. They also lack the aesthetic appearance desirable for use in a hospital or medical practice setting.
Prior art sample preservation units therefore generally comprise a single box, that is, only one temperature zone, typically one that is maintained at approximately 5 degrees Celsius. If freezing of samples is needed, a second complete unit has been required.
Another aspect of biochemical materials which distinguishes them from ordinary perishables is the need for careful segregation of samples (to prevent cross-contamination) and cleanliness, and for easy and rapid organization and retrieval. Current practice is merely to place marked containers on a shelf within the refrigerated space. This works, of course, but better organization within the box is needed to reduce the potential for spillage and cross-contamination and to make it easier to find a specific item rapidly and accurately.
The present invention is a storage apparatus for biologicals having the objects of improved versatility, portability, temperature stability, sample integrity, retrievability, and aesthetics. The improvement in versatility is provided by addition of a second cooled zone, e.g., a freezing zone. Improved portability is achieved by limiting the size and power requirements of the unit, which in turn is achieved by limiting the volume of air in the box to be temperature-controlled, which in turn is achieved by more compact arrangement of samples within the box. Optionally, a free-standing roller base is provided so that all of the contents may be made available within arm's reach in more than one room. Better temperature stability is achieved by minimization of surface area, an improved door seal, and by better isolation of the compressor from the box. This also reduces the power requirements by preventing compressor heat from getting back into the box. Digital external temperature set point control (high-low temperature lock) and door ajar annunciators provide additional stability.
Better sample integrity and retrievability is achieved by providing compartments specifically designed for alphanumeric or color-coded sequences of marked containers, such as vial boxes. One embodiment accomplishes this by utilizing a rectangular array of sliding trays, each tray of a width typical for individual vial boxes; another utilizes an array of bins arranged on a carousel, each bin of a width, depth, and height suitable for compact arrangement of individual vial boxes.
Referring now to the drawings, in which like features in each drawing are represented by like reference characters,
The cabinet 1 also contains a self-contained power supply (not visible). The cabinet 1 may (as shown), but is not required to, have slightly rounded sides to enable more insulation to be interposed between the cabinet and the refrigerated compartments. A main door 2 and a freezer door 3, with handles 4 and 5, respectively, provide access to main and freezer compartments, respectively. A pair of handles 6 (one visible) provides for manual lifting of the entire invention.
Both the freezer compartment 21 and the chilled compartment 22 contain one or more tray support racks 28. (In the depicted embodiment, the freezer compartment 21 contains two such racks, and the chilled compartment 22 contains four such racks). Each rack 28 supports a plurality of elongate trays 201 (in the depicted embodiment, five) extending from the front of the box to the back. The trays 201 are of a width to accommodate the long dimension of a standard vial box 203 (shown in dashed lines to indicate environmental structure).
Sixteen bins are depicted here, each having a capacity of six vial boxes (three horizontally and two vertically). This allows the chilled compartment in this depiction of the second embodiment to store up to 16×6=96 vial boxes. Each bin may be appropriately labeled to provide rapid access to a particular vial.
The carousel arrangement of the second embodiment creates more void space in the chilled compartment. Some of this space 82 may be utilized to provide additional battery capacity.
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