Millipore Corporation

Hygienix, Inc.

James H Edwards

Bernard R Danti

Wayne S Merrill

Francis X Cole

Peter A Latham

Clifford L Hendrick

Deborah M VanVoorhis

Andrew A Lombardi

Michael A Driscoll

Kevin A Poulsen

A dispenser for a viscous substance includes a disposable plastic container for the substance and a pump permanently unreleasably mounted to the top of the container for pumping the substance from the container. The pump includes a housing communicating with the interior of the container and a pumping assembly including a movable housing wall and a tubular member connected to the wall and being movable along a motion axis between extended and retracted positions relative to the housing. An actuator is provided for the pump which includes a support member removably mounted to the cartridge, a target member movably mounted to the support member and linkage for releasably linking the target member to the tubular member so that when the target member is moved in one direction, the pumping assembly is moved to its extended position in the housing and when the target member is moved in another direction, the pumping assembly is moved to its retracted position in the housing. Preferably, the connection between the tubular member and the movable housing wall is a lost-motion connection.

Dispenser for viscous substances

A tangential flow filtration apparatus which utilizes a single manifold to introduce liquid to be filtered into the apparatus and to remove a filtrate stream and a retentate stream from the apparatus is provided. A plurality of filtration members are stacked in a vertical arrangement between the manifold and a plate. Holes and sealing means are provided within the filtration member to effect vertical flow of the filtrate, retentate and incoming liquid through the stack while preventing admixture of the filtrate with the retentate or the incoming liquid.

Tangential flow filtration apparatus

An interconnector 22 for filtration modules 18 which have axially extending tubes 90. The interconnector 22 is a rigid tubular member having conical tapered portion 88 at opposite ends to join fluid tight connections with the filtration modules.

Filtration devices

A test device for assaying liquid samples for the presence of a predetermined reagent is described. The device comprises telescoping top and bottom members defining a liquid reservoir therebetween, resilient means for biasing the members in the open position, one or more test wells in the top member with bottom openings covered with microporous membranes, a co-reactant immobilized on the membrane surfaces, and sorbent means between the members spaced from the membrane(s) in the open position but in contact therewith in the closed position. Liquids are passed through the membrane(s) into the sorbent means by depressing the members to the closed position.

Test device

The arrangement of the disclosure comprises a filter unit having an upper, inlet chamber and a lower, outlet chamber. A hydrophilic filter separates the upper chamber from the lower chamber and a lower placed hydrophobic filter or membrane separates the lower chamber and the upper chamber. A liquid reservoir is provided in the first chamber between the filter and membrane, and a gas reservoir is provided in the second chamber between the filter and membrane. A liquid admitted to the upper, inlet chamber with a forward differential pressure, that is with the pressure in the upper chamber larger than that in the lower chamber, will flow through the upper hydrophilic filter into the lower chamber. If any gas accumulates it cannot accumulate above the level of the lower hydrophobic membrane. Accordingly no gas flows out of the lower, outlet chamber in the forward direction. If there is a reverse differential pressure, reverse liquid flow is prevented by the hydrophobic membrane and by air trapped above the lower hydrophobic filter against the upper, wet hydrophilic filter. If liquid supply to the upper chamber fails and a forward pressure differential exists between the chambers, forward gas flow is prevented by the wet upper hydrophilic filter and the liquid trapped above the hydrophobic filter. Therefore the unit filters the liquid flow, vents gas in the outlet chamber to the inlet chamber, prevents forward gas flow, and prevents reverse liquid flow.

Filter unit

A tubular element for removing particulate matter and bacteria of dimensions in excess of a predetermined value from a fluid flowing from the interior to the exterior of the filtration element has a first inner layer of a highly porous material that has a low coefficient of sliding friction, and a second layer of a microporous filtration material having pores of substantially uniform size. The element may include an outer support layer of a porous material that is not subject to shedding. In a preferred form, the inner layer is formed from a high wet strength paper, the microporous filtration layer has sufficiently small pores to remove all bacteria from the fluid, and the outer layer may be a fine porous plastic sheet material or a high wet strength, high porosity paper that is impregnated with the polymeric material that forms the microporous filtration material. The fine pore structure of the outer layer supports the fragile filtration layer. In a preferred form, both ends of the tubular element are impregnated with a suitable sealing material such as a polyurethane potting compound. The ends are preferably dipped in the sealing material to a predetermined depth. When cured, these end portions provide additional mechanical support for the tube ends and block the passage of particulate matter and bacteria past the filtration layer at its edge. A fabrication process for the filtration element that does not damage the fragile microporous filtration layer involves helically wrapping the inner layer on a fixed mandrel to act as a carrier, and helically wrapping an overlying layer of the microporous filtration material. If an outer layer is used this is wrapped on the microporous material. All layers move in unison along the longitudinal axis of the mandrel. Each layer is self-overlapping and at least the filtration layer is sealed in the area of the overlap.

Tubular filtration element and method of making it

A filtration system is provided that directs a fluid to be filtered through a disposable tubular filtration element, supports the filtration element, and accommodates for 'wet growth' of the filtration element. The system operates with an inside-to-outside forced fluid flow through the filtration element and includes a generally cylindrical housing with a fluid inlet and outlet. A perforated outer support screen is mounted within the housing and surrounds the walls of the tubular filtration element with slight clearance. Under the influence of the fluid pressure and the wet growth, the walls of the filtration element bear against the screen. A sealing and support assembly having upstream and downstream fluid guides, each carrying, in a preferred form, a pair of resilient sealing members, is positioned inside the filtration element. A rigid inner member bridges the opposing faces of the resilient member pairs. A rod and nut arrangement draws the flow guides towards one another to apply a longitudinal compressive force on the resilient members caught between a flange on the flow guides and the rigid inner member. This compressive force deforms the resilient members in a radially outward direction to seal the filtration element to the housing and isolate the filtered fluid. In a preferred form, the adjacent faces of each pair of resilient members are aligned with the interior edge of an impregnated end portion of the filtration element. In addition, a tubular prefiltration element may be positioned inside the rigid inner member.

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Winchester, MA, United States of America

James H Edwards