METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SAMPLING A FLUID

摘要

The present invention relates to the field of fluid sampling, in particular, the invention relates to aspirating fluid samples from a plurality of closed containers such as Vacutainers or vials containing biological fluid. In one embodiment the present invention provides a fluid sampling probe (20) in a unitary assembly for aspirating fluid samples by way of a reduced diameter piercing portion (2a) in direct fluid communication with a reservoir (1) for (temporarily) storing and/or transporting a sample, comprising: a first portion (2a) for piercing a closed fluid carrier, a second portion (1) serving as a reservoir for receiving a fluid, the second portion (1) being formed integrally operative with the first portion (2a) and a third portion (3) providing fluid communication between the first and second portion. The fluid sampling probe (20) of the present invention, without being a limiting example, may be used to provide a high throughput aliquotting system for handling precise quantities of material. Accordingly, the division of a sample of a substance into equal parts, each of which representing a known quantitative relationship to each other and to the sample as a whole is enabled on a large scale.