Method of isolating cell or sample to be analyzed in cell

Abstract

There is disclosed a method of irradiating a specimen which is laid on a substrate and which includes a cell with a laser beam to remove an unnecessary specimen portion other than a cell portion from the substrate, next inserting the cell portion into one opening in a cylindrical member to dispose the cylindrical member onto the substrate, next injecting a stripping agent into a container formed by the substrate and cylindrical member to strip the cell portion from the substrate, and sampling the cell portion which floats in the stripping agent.

1 . A cell isolating method comprising:
 irradiating a specimen which is laid on a substrate and which includes cells with an ultraviolet light to change properties of an unnecessary specimen portion other than a cell portion;   using a cylindrical member including openings in opposite ends, and inserting the cell portion into one opening in the cylindrical member to dispose the cylindrical member onto the substrate;   injecting a stripping agent into a container formed by the substrate and cylindrical member to strip the cell portion from the substrate; and   sampling the cell portion which floats in the stripping agent.   
     
     
         2 . A method of isolating cells or samples to be analyzed in the cells, comprising:
 irradiating a specimen which is laid on a substrate and which includes cells with an ultraviolet light to change properties of an unnecessary specimen portion other than a cell portion;   using a cylindrical member including openings in opposite ends, and inserting the cell portion into one opening in the cylindrical member to dispose the cylindrical member onto the substrate;   injecting a solution for eluting the sample existing in the cells into a container formed by the substrate and cylindrical member; and   sampling the sample eluted in the solution.   
     
     
         3 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , wherein the stripping agent comprises an organic solvent. 
     
     
         4 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 3 , wherein the organic solvent comprises xylene. 
     
     
         5 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , wherein the sampling of the cells floating in the stripping agent comprises:
 sucking the cells in the stripping agent with one of a dropper, pipette, and syringe; and   transferring the cells in the one of the dropper, pipette, and syringe to a container other than the container formed by the substrate and cylindrical member.   
     
     
         6 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , wherein the ultraviolet light is a laser beam having a wavelength of an ultraviolet region. 
     
     
         7 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical member is formed of one of glass, metal, and plastic. 
     
     
         8 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical member is formed by attaching a thin film of resin to one opening. 
     
     
         9 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 disposing the cylindrical member on the substrate in a liquid-tight manner.   
     
     
         10 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 fixing the cylindrical member onto the substrate by an adhesive.   
     
     
         11 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 sealing a gap between the cylindrical member and the substrate by grease applied onto the substrate.   
     
     
         12 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 applying a fluorescence dyestuff to the specimen to dye the cells;   irradiating the specimen with ultraviolet light to emit a light of the fluorescence dyestuff of the dyed cells; and   observing the cells having emitted the light to determine the cells to be sampled.   
     
     
         13 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 disposing a microscope which enlarges an image of the specimen so that an optical axis of the microscope agrees with an optical axis of the ultraviolet light;   outputting a marking light from a marking light source on the same axis as the optical axis of the ultraviolet light;   picking up the specimen image enlarged by the microscope and the marking light with which the specimen is irradiated by an image pickup apparatus to display the specimen image and the marking light on a display apparatus; and   observing the specimen image and the marking light displayed on the display apparatus to irradiate the specimen with the ultraviolet light, changing the properties of the unnecessary specimen portion other than the cell portion to be sampled.   
     
     
         14 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 1 , wherein an irradiation diameter of the ultraviolet light is changeable, and when the unnecessary specimen portion is changed in properties, the method further comprises:
 setting the irradiation diameter of the ultraviolet light for irradiating the unnecessary specimen portion disposed adjacent to the cell portion to a first diameter smaller than a size of the cell portion; and   setting the irradiation diameter of the ultraviolet light for irradiating the unnecessary specimen portion disposed apart from the cell portion by a predetermined distance to a second diameter larger than the first diameter.   
     
     
         15 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , wherein the sampling of the sample eluted in the solution comprises:
 sucking the sample in the solution with one of a dropper, pipette, and syringe; and   transferring the cells in the one of the dropper, pipette, and syringe to a container other than the container formed by the substrate and cylindrical member.   
     
     
         16 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 extracting the sample including at least one of DNA, RNA, and protein from the cells by the solution.   
     
     
         17 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 setting a wavelength of the laser beam to an ultraviolet region.   
     
     
         18 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , wherein the cylindrical member is formed of one of glass, metal, and plastic. 
     
     
         19 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , wherein the cylindrical member is formed by attaching a thin film of resin to one opening. 
     
     
         20 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 disposing the cylindrical member on the substrate in a liquid-tight manner.   
     
     
         21 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 fixing the cylindrical member onto the substrate by an adhesive.   
     
     
         22 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 sealing a gap between the cylindrical member and the substrate by grease applied onto the substrate.   
     
     
         23 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 applying a fluorescence dyestuff to the specimen to dye the cells;   irradiating the specimen with ultraviolet light to emit a light of the fluorescence dyestuff of the dyed cells; and   observing the cells having emitted the light to determine the cells to be sampled.   
     
     
         24 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 disposing a microscope which enlarges an image of the specimen so that an optical axis of the microscope agrees with an optical axis of the ultraviolet light;   outputting a marking light from a marking light source on the same axis as the optical axis of the ultraviolet light;   picking up the specimen image enlarged by the microscope and the marking light with which the specimen is irradiated by an image pickup apparatus to display the specimen image and the marking light on a display apparatus; and   observing the specimen image and the marking light displayed on the display apparatus to irradiate the specimen with the ultraviolet light, changing the properties of the unnecessary specimen portion other than the cell portion to be sampled.   
     
     
         25 . The cell isolating method according to  claim 2 , wherein an irradiation diameter of the ultraviolet light is changeable, and when the unnecessary specimen portion is changed in properties, the method further comprises:
 setting the irradiation diameter of the ultraviolet light for irradiating the unnecessary specimen portion disposed adjacent to the cell portion to a first diameter smaller than a size of the cell portion; and   setting the irradiation diameter of the ultraviolet light for irradiating the unnecessary specimen portion disposed apart from the cell portion by a predetermined distance to a second diameter larger than the first diameter.