Apparatus for separating blood

Claim 2

Apparatus for separating blood in a centrifugal blood separation apparatus, comprising: a tube with a closed bottom end and a top end;

Claim 3

a thixotropic gel-like body of sealant having a specific gravity intermediate between the specific gravities of serum and clot phases of blood, said body of sealant extending transversely of said tube and being contained at the bottom end of said tube, said body of sealant having an upper surface spaced from the bottom of said tube; and a clot-promoting medium separated from said body of sealant and comprised of a carrier having a specific gravity higher than that of blood cells and holding finely divided clot-promoting particles, said clot-promoting medium being contained at an intermediate position in said tube between said top end and said closed bottom end of said tube and said clot-promoting medium being sufficiently rigid or elastic so as to be held in place in said tube by and between walls of said tube, so that blood collected in said tube contacts said clot-promoting medium to increase the speed of clotting of said blood in said tube, said clot-promoting medium also being sufficiently soft so as to be migratable to the clot layer in said blood by stress during centrifugal separation and being sufficiently small so as to be submergable in a blood cell layer in said tube; said body of sealant being movable in said tube to an intermediate position in said tube under the influence of forces applied to blood in said tube during centrifugal separation to thereby permit said body of sealant to move to an interface between serum and clot phases of said blood in said tube under the influence of said forces, thereby separating said serum and clot phases from each other.

Claim 4

a thixotropic gel-like body of sealant having a specific gravity intermediate between the specific gravities of serum and clot phases of blood, said body of sealant extending transversely of said tube and being contained at the bottom end of said tube, said body of sealant having an upper surface spaced from the bottom of said tube; and a clot-promoting medium separated from said body of sealant and comprised of a carrier having a specific gravity higher than that of blood cells and holding finely divided clot-promoting particles, said clot-promoting medium being contained at an intermediate position in said tube between said top end and said closed bottom end of said tube and said clot-promoting medium being sufficiently rigid or elastic so as to be held in place in said tube by and between walls of said tube, so that blood collected in said tube contacts said clot-promoting medium to increase the speed of clotting of said blood in said tube, said clot-promoting medium also being sufficiently soft so as to be migratable to the clot layer in said blood by stress during centrifugal separation and being sufficiently small so as to be submergable in a blood cell layer in said tube; said body of sealant being movable in said tube to an intermediate position in said tube under the influence of forces applied to blood in said tube during centrifugal separation to thereby permit said body of sealant to move to an interface between serum and clot phases of said blood in said tube under the influence of said forces, thereby separating said serum and clot phases from each other.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said thixotropic gel-like sealant contains an adjusting agent for viscosity and specific gravity to provide a specific gravity of said sealant between 1.035 and 1.055.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said sealant has as its principal component an α-olefin-dimaleate copolymer having a viscosity from 10,000 to 120,000 c.p. at 25° C.

Claim 7

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 3 wherein said α-olefin-dimaleate copolymer has the general formula ##STR2## wherein R 1 may be the same or different in one molecule and is hydrogen atom or an alkyl group containing from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, R 2 and R 3 are each straight or branched alkyl group containing from 1 to 15 carbon atoms or a branched alkyl group containing from 16 to 20 carbon atoms, provided that when R 1 is hydrogen atom, R 2 and R 3 are each a straight or branched alkyl group containing from 12 to 15 carbon atoms or a branched alkyl group containing from 16 to 20 carbon atoms, and when R 1 is alkyl group having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, the total numbers of carbon atoms in R 1 and R 2 groups and R 1 and R 3 groups are from 5 to 25, respectively, and n is an integer such that the viscosity of said copolymer is from 10,000 to 120,000 c.p. at 25° C.

Claim 8

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 4 wherein R 1 in the general formula for said copolymer is an alkyl group containing from 2 to 20 carbon atoms and R 2 and R 3 are each selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, butyl and 2-ethylhexyl groups.

Claim 9

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 5 wherein R 1 is an alkyl group containing from 4 to 20 carbon atoms and R 2 and R 3 are each methyl.

Claim 10

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 6 wherein R 1 is a combination of alkyl groups containing 10 and 12 carbon atoms.

Claim 11

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 6 wherein R 1 is a combination of alkyl groups containing 4 and 6 carbon atoms.

Claim 12

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 6 wherein from 0.04 to 0.6 parts by weight of a gelling agent is contained per 100 parts by weight of an α-olefin-dimaleate copolymer.

Claim 13

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 6 wherein from 1.0 to 3.0 parts by weight of a wax consisting of an α-olefin-dimaleate copolymer containing in the α-olefin component from 30 to 60 carbon atoms is further added to the principal component.

Claim 14

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 2 wherein said adjusting agent for viscosity and specific gravity is at least one member selected from the group consisting of C 8 -C 24 aliphatic amine derivatives of smectite clay and inorganic fine powders.

Claim 15

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 11 wherein said adjusting agent is a quaternary ammonium derivative of smectite clay.

Claim 16

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 11 wherein said adjusting agent for viscosity and specific gravity is inorganic fine powders of fumed silica or precipitated silica.

Claim 17

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1 wherein said clot-promoting particles are at least one member selected from the group consisting of silica, crystalline silica fine powders, diatomaceous earth, glass fine powders, kaolin and bentonite.

Claim 18

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 14, wherein said clot-promoting particles are present in an amount from 0.3 to 10.0 mg. per 10 ml. of blood.

Claim 19

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1 wherein said clot-promoting particles are present in an amount from 0.3 to 10.0 mg. per 10 ml. of blood capacity of said apparatus.

Claim 20

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1 wherein said carrier is cloth, filter paper, nonwoven cloth or cotton.

Claim 21

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1, wherein said tube has a closed top end, said clot-promoting medium being contained between said bottom end and said closed top end.

Claim 22

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1, wherein said clot-promoting medium is located spaced above the upper surface of said sealant.

Claim 23

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1, wherein said top end of said tube is closed.

Claim 24

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1, wherein said clot-promoting particles are applied on said carrier with a binder which is soluable in blood serum.

Claim 25

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1, wherein said clot-promoting medium is arranged in said tube at a position wherein blood introduced into said tube forces dispersion of said clot-promoting particles throughout the blood.

Claim 26

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1, wherein said carrier of said clot-promoting medium is a porous structure having continuous pores.

Claim 27

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 1, wherein said carrier is of sufficient rigidity so as to be held between walls of said tube and also being sufficiently soft so as to be migrated to the clot layer of said blood by stress during centrifugal separation of said blood, and is sufficiently small to be submerged in the blood cell layer within said tube.

Claim 28

Apparatus for separating blood in a centrifugal blood separation apparatus, comprising: a tube with a closed bottom end and a top end; a gel-like body of sealant contained at the bottom end of said tube and extending transversely of said tube, said body of sealant having an upper surface spaced from the bottom of said tube; and a clot-promoting medium separated from said body of sealant and comprised of a carrier having a specific gravity higher than blood cells and holding finely divided clot-promoting particles, said clot-promoting medium being contained at an intermediate position in said tube between said top end and said closed bottom end of said tube and said clot-promoting medium being sufficiently rigid or elastic so as to be held in place in said tube by and between walls of said tube, so that blood collected in said tube contacts said clot-promoting medium to increase the speed of clotting of said blood in said tube, said clot-promoting medium also being sufficiently soft so as to be migratable to the clot layer in said blood by stress during centrifugal separation and being sufficiently small so as to be submergable in a blood cell layer in said tube.

Claim 29

Apparatus for separating blood in a centrifugal blood separation apparatus, comprising: a tube with a closed bottom end and a top end; a gel-like body of sealant contained at the bottom end of said tube and extending transversely of said tube, said body of sealant having an upper surface spaced from the bottom of said tube; and a clot-promoting medium separated from said body of sealant and comprised of a carrier having a specific gravity higher than blood cells and holding finely divided clot-promoting particles, said clot-promoting medium being contained at an intermediate position in said tube between said top end and said closed bottom end of said tube and said clot-promoting medium being sufficiently rigid or elastic so as to be held in place in said tube by and between walls of said tube, so that blood collected in said tube contacts said clot-promoting medium to increase the speed of clotting of said blood in said tube, said clot-promoting medium also being sufficiently soft so as to be migratable to the clot layer in said blood by stress during centrifugal separation and being sufficiently small so as to be submergable in a blood cell layer in said tube.

Claim 30

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 25, wherein said clot-promoting particles are applied on said carrier with a binder which is soluable in blood serum.

Claim 31

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 25, wherein said clot-promoting medium is arranged in said tube at a position wherein blood introduced into said tube forces dispersion of said clot-promoting particles throughout the blood.

Claim 32

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 25, wherein said carrier of said clot-promoting medium is a porous structure having continuous pores.

Claim 33

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 25, wherein said carrier is of sufficient rigidity so as to be held between wall of said tube and also being sufficiently soft so as to be migrated to the clot layer of said blood by stress during centrifugal separation of said blood, and is sufficiently small to be submerged in the blood cell layer within said tube.

Claim 34

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 25, wherein said clot-promoting particles are present in an amount from 0.3 to 10.0 mg. per 10 ml. of blood.

Claim 35

Apparatus for separating blood in a centrifugal blood separation apparatus, comprising: a tube with a closed bottom end and a top end; and a clot-promoting medium in said tube and being comprised of a carrier having a specific gravity higher than blood cells, said carrier holding finely divided clot-promoting particles; said clot-promoting medium being contained at a position in said tube between said top end and said closed bottom end of said tube and said clot-promoting medium being sufficiently rigid or elastic so as to be held in place in said tube by and between walls of said tube, so that blood collected in said tube contacts said clot-promoting medium to increase the speed of clotting of said blood in said tube, said clot-promoting medium also being sufficiently soft so as to be migratable to the clot layer in said blood by stress during centrifugal separation and being sufficiently small so as to be submergable in a blood cell layer in said tube, said clot-promoting particles of said clot-promoting medium being present in an amount of from 0.3 to 10.0 mg. per 10 ml. of blood.

Claim 36

Apparatus for separating blood in a centrifugal blood separation apparatus, comprising: a tube with a closed bottom end and a top end; and a clot-promoting medium in said tube and being comprised of a carrier having a specific gravity higher than blood cells, said carrier holding finely divided clot-promoting particles; said clot-promoting medium being contained at a position in said tube between said top end and said closed bottom end of said tube and said clot-promoting medium being sufficiently rigid or elastic so as to be held in place in said tube by and between walls of said tube, so that blood collected in said tube contacts said clot-promoting medium to increase the speed of clotting of said blood in said tube, said clot-promoting medium also being sufficiently soft so as to be migratable to the clot layer in said blood by stress during centrifugal separation and being sufficiently small so as to be submergable in a blood cell layer in said tube, said clot-promoting particles of said clot-promoting medium being present in an amount of from 0.3 to 10.0 mg. per 10 ml. of blood.

Claim 37

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 31, wherein said clot-promoting particles are applied on said carrier with a binder which is soluable in blood serum.

Claim 38

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 31, wherein said clot-promoting medium is arranged in said tube at a position wherein blood introduced into said tube forces dispersion of said clot-promoting particles throughout the blood.

Claim 39

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 31, wherein said carrier of said clot-promoting medium is a porous structure having continuous pores.

Claim 40

Apparatus for separating blood according to claim 31, wherein said carrier is of sufficient rigidity so as to be held between walls of said tube and also being sufficiently soft so as to be migrated to the clot layer of said blood by stress during centrifugal separation of said blood, and is sufficiently small to be submerged in the blood cell layer within said tube.