US3715189A - Qualitative analysis device - Google Patents

Abstract

A qualitative analysis device which allows for the performance of a qualitative analysis for cannabis material in vegetable matter which required a performed extraction step followed by a reaction step. The device has an outer container and an inner container within the outer container. The inner container has a frangible section and is also provided with a means for breaking the frangible section. The device is sealable so that the reagents may be stored within the device and be ready for use at any time.

Description

United States Patent [191 Nighohossian et al.

[ 1 Feb. 6, 1973 [54] QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS DEVICE [75] Inventors: Sarkie Nighohossian, Baltimore; John J. Tobin, Jr., Hyattsville, both of Md.

[73] Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Treasury [22] Filed: June 15, 1970 [211 App]. No.: 46,365

[52] US. Cl. ..23/259, 23/230 R, 23/230 M, 23/253 R, 23/292, 206/47 A, 215/6 [51] int. Cl ..G01n 1/10, 865d 81/00, B65d 79/00 [58] Field of Search ..23/230, 253, 259, 292; 206/47 A; 215/6; 220/89 [56 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1969 Salivar et al. ..23/253 R 11/1969 Johnson et al. ..23/253 R 3,480,398 11/1969 Hamilton ....23/259 X 3,497,320 2/1970 Blackburn ..23/230 3,504,376 3/1970 Bednar et al. .....23/230 3,545,935 12/1970 Kearns ..23/292 3,582,283 6/1971 Mirasol Jr ..23/292 X Primary ExaminerMorris O, Wolk Assistant Examiner-R. E. Serwin Attorney-Thomas Hayward Brown, Joseph A. Hill and A. David Spevack [57] ABSTRACT 1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 6 I975 0 I 5 R M s N a Q WWW HB ta mm I N J 4 E y F SJ A d v M 7 Y B 8 2 5 m F o o 5 M 0 4 I N F m ATTORNEY QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS DEVICE I GOVERNMENT LICENSE The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for Governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

This invention pertains to a qualitative analysis device and more particularly pertains to a qualitative analysis device which allowsfor the serial extraction and reaction of vegetable matter to determine if the vegetable matter contains cannabis material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION At the present time the use of marijhauna, hashish or hemp-type hallucinagenic drugs is illegal in the United States. Law enforcement offices are often faced with a problem in the performance of their duties of determining, under field conditions, whether suspected vegetable matter in fact contains cannabis material and therefore is within the scope of the regulations pertaining to the possession of marijhauna. There are known qualitative organic tests which can be applied to vegetable matter in order to detect if there are cannabinols components within the vegetable matter. The term cannabinols is used herein in a collective sense and refers to Cannabidiol, Tetrahydrocannabinol, Cannabinol and Cannabidiolic Acid. These substances are the important constituents in marijhauna.

One test commonly used is the Duquenois-Levine color test wherein the suspected vegetable matter is first extracted in Duquenois reagent and then treated with concentrated hydrochloric acid. If marijhauna or one of the' derivatives is present, a blue to violet color can be extractedinto chloroform. At present this qualitative test is performed, even under field conditions, by providing the three reagents in separate flasks or vials. A field agent must handle all three vials and follow the instructions of first extracting in the Duquenois reagent then pouring the resultant mixture into the hydrochloric acid reagent and finally extracting with the chloroform. This procedure is clumsy and inconvenient.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a qualitative analysis device for conducting the Duquenois-Levine color test in one apparatus.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a qualitative analysis device which is easily portable and simply used either under field or laboratory conditions.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a qualitative analysis device which allows for the serial conduction of qualitative tests involving extraction of a material and a subsequent reaction step.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a qualitative analysis device having a frangible member.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent in the following description.

Devices have appeared in the prior art which utilized a frangible or separable member for selectively releasing one reactant into another reactant. Grosskopf in US Pat. No. 2,709,127 describes a device which provides a color test kit for detecting certain acid esters in a gas or vapor train. The device is basically a tube sealed at both ends which contains a reacting material supported on a resin, an indicator supported on filter paper and a developing solution contained in a frangible container. In operation the ends of the Grosskopf device are broken off and the gas train passed through the tube. Then the developing solution (water) is released by breaking the frangible container. This developing solution flows through the filter paper containing the indicator and over the resin thereby completing the test.

Although Grosskopf describes a device which contains a frangible element, the device does not allow for the serial extraction of vegetable matter and subsequent reaction and color development of the extracted liquor. Buchoff, in US. Pat. No. 2,929,687, discloses a simple device for testing boiler water which includes a small container mounted within a larger container. The small container is filled with a test liquid and then is sealed by placing a metal ball at its top. The outer container is filled with the liquid to be tested and sealed; the entire device is then inverted, causing the ball to drop off, releasing the testing solution contained within the inner container. These devices are exemplary of existing qualitative analysis devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention contemplates a qualitative analysis device having an outer container and an inner container wherein the inner container has a frangible section, and a fracturing means associated with the inner container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevation section of the device.

FIG. 2 (a) through (c) is a depiction of sequential steps of the device in use.

FIG. 3 is a general perspective view of the device.

FIG. 4 is an alternate construction of the plunger piston of the device.

FIG. 5 is a second alternate construction for the plunger piston of the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The qualitative analysis of this invention has an outer container which has an opening therein and an inner container which is positioned and firmly held in the opening of the outer container. The inner container is substantially contained within the outer container but is spaced apart, on at least one face, from said outer container so that at least one wall of the inner container does not touch the walls of the outer container. The inner container has a cap which can be removed to close and seal the inner container and at least a section of the inner container is frangible. A fracturing means is positioned in the inner container in such a manner that it may selectively fracture the frangible section when desired.

The container is so designed that it will both allow for the performance of the serial steps of the Duquenois-Levine color test without having to handle separate reagent containers and, in addition, it will act as a portable storage container for the reagents. The device of this invention takes many forms and may be assembled from a number of differently shaped components falling within the following guidelines. The outer container is transparent to the extent that a change in color taking place within the device would be visible. The outer container can be of any shape but must have an opening in at least one side thereof to allow the inner container to be inserted therethrough. This may be done by having the inner container actually sealed to the outer container once the reagents for the outer container are in place or more preferably a tight fitting cap can be used to close the outer container wherein the cap contains an opening therein wherein the inner container may be mounted and affixed. The outer container may be made of any materials which will not interact with the reagents contained therein and are sufficiently stable to withstand the shock of transport. Such materials are glass, plastic and non-woven coated fabrics. The inner container may be made of any material which will not interact with the reagents contained therein or interfere with the reaction to be performed therein. The inner container should be of sufficiently strong material that allows for safe manipulation during the test. The inner container should have at least one frangible section. In the preferred embodiment the inner container is made of glass and a bottom portion of said glass container is of extremely thin construction so that it may easily be fractured. In an alternate embodiment the inner container can be a simple glass or plastic tube having a frangible plastic membrane or film across one end positioned so that it may be easily fractured or torn. It is not necessary for the inner container to be transparent and the inner container can also be manufactured from metal and metal foil or similar material as long as said metal is coated with a substance which prevents the interaction of the reagents with the container.

The fracturing means can include any device which can be inserted into the inner container to break the frangible section of the inner container. In its preferred form the fracturing device is a piston plunger which also works in cooperation with the closure of the inner container to seal the inner container and prevent loss of material in storage. The fracturing means may be constructed of any material which will not interact with the reagents contained within the device and will provide a slidable seal for the inner container. In its preferred embodiment, the fracturing means is a plunger piston made of plastic or synthetic material such as polyethylene polypropolyene or nylon which can have sufficient stiffness to act as a plunger and yet be sufficiently self lubricating to allow for the plunger to slidably seal the inner container. The plunger piston may be the only seal for the inner container but, most preferably, the plunger piston is mounted in the inner container closure. The closure is provided with a guideway for the plunger piston to increase the stability and safety of the device. The device is also provided with a protective cap of any one of the types commonly used in the aerosol and pump bottle art to protect the plunger assembly during storage and transport and to prevent the unintentional depression of the plunger thereby breaking the frangible seal before it is desired to do so. These protective caps include such devices as twist-off caps used on the liquid soap pump bottles and snap-off caps as are commonly used on aerosol shave creams.

Now having generally described the qualitative analysis device of this invention, reference is made to the drawings to describe specific embodiments of the invention which are illustrative of the device when made of glass.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is an elevation of thequalitative analysis device 10, having an outer container 11 withclosure 12.Closure 12 is securely attached to container 11 by means ofdetent 13. In an alternate embodiment (not illustrated)closure 12 can be threadably secured to container 11.

Asecond container 14 is securely affixed toclosure 12 by means ofshoulder 15 integrally formed oncontainer 14 and threadednut 16.Nut 16 is provided withouter threads 17 which provide a means for securingprotective cap 18 to thedevice 10. The bottom ofinner container 14 is afrangible section 22.

Apiston plunger 19, having plunger handle 20 andpiston head 21, is slidably positioned incontainer 14 in such a manner thatpiston head 21 sealsinner container 14.

Plunger handle 20 is of sufficient length thatpiston 21 exerts force on liquid contained incontainer 14 to an extent sufficient to fracturesection 22 whenplunger 20 is depressed.

As illustrated,container 14 is spaced apart from container 11 on all sides. Inactuality side walls 23 ofcontainer 14 can be spaced adjacent toside walls 24 of container 11 with just sufficient room-betweencontainers 11 and 14 to allow for easy insertion ofcontainer 14 into container 11.

It is required that sufficient space be provided between the frangible section of the inner container and the outer container adjacent the frangible section to both contain the quantities of reagents used and allow for the fracturing of the frangible section. Of course, with glass construction it is only necessary to score the container sufficiently that a part of the container will break when force is exerted.

Referring again to FIG. 1 approximately one milliliter ofDuquenois solution 26 is placed incontainer 14 and slightly in excess of one milliliter each ofchloroform 27 andhydrochloric acid 28 is placed in container 1 l. Sufficient head room is provided betweenfrangible section 22 and the surface of thehydrochloric acid 28 to contain the contents ofcontainer 14 during the test.

In an alternate embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5,piston head 521 is provided withblades 500 which aid in the fracturing of the frangible section.

Another arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 4 wherecontainer 411 is substantially cylindrical and is threaded at the top.Inner container 414 is suspended byshoulders 415 withincontainer 411.Screw cap 416 seals bothinner container 414 andouter container 416 and holds these containers together in position.Plunger 420,having apointed end 421,is slidably mounted incollar 401surrounding opening 402 inclosure 416 and is of sufficient length so as to piercefrangible section 422 when depressed. Aprotective cap 418 is provided to protect the device and prevent the accidental activation of theplunger 420. In its preferred form the device, as illustrated in FIG. 4 is formed from plastic.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view ofdevice 10 ready for use or storage.Protective cap 18 is in place and outer container 11 is charged withchloroform 27 andhydrochloric acid 28.Container 14 is charged with Duquenois reagent. In the preferred embodiment approximately 1 milliliter of Duquenois agent is placed in the inner container and slightly in excess of one milliliter each of chloroform and hydrochloric acid are placed in the outer container. It is only necessary to use equal portions of hydrochloric acid and chloroform to the quantity of Duquenois reagent used but in practice it is preferrable to use a slight excess of hydrochloric acid and chloroform.

Duquenois reagent is a mixture of vanillin, acetaldehyde and ethanol (95 percent). The chloroform is reagent grade material and the hydrochloric acid is concentrated reagent grade material.

The chloroform and hydrochloric acid are immiscible and will remain in two layers in the outer container with the hydrochloric acid layer on top. Once the chloroform and hydrochloric acid are placed in the outer container the outer container may be either permanently sealed or provided with a tight fitting removable cover. The Duquenois solution is placed in the inner container. This device, as seen in FIG. 3 fully set up, may be stored for extended periods of time or easily transported with field agents so that it may be used in the field when necessary. The operation of the device will be demonstrated by referring to FIG. 2 (a)(c). When it is necessary to use the device in the field, the outerprotective cap 18 is removed and discarded.Piston plunger 20 is removed and the suspectedvegetable matter 250 is dropped into theDuquenois solution 26 contained incontainer 14 as is seen in FIG. 2. Theplunger 20 is then replaced thereby sealing the vegetable matter intocontainer 14. Device is shaken to allow theDuquenois reagent 26 to extract the cannibus material fromvegetable matter 250. Then plunger is depressed causingpiston 21 to exert pressure onDuquenois solution 26 which in turn exerts the pressure against thefrangible section 22 ofcontainer 14 fracturing saidsection 22 as is seen in FIG. 2b. Thevegetable matter 250 andDuquenois reagent 26, now containing any extracted matter, is dumped into thehydrochloric acid layer 28 contained in container 11.Device 10 is then swirled to allow an interaction of thehydrochloric acid 28 with any cannibus material extracted into theDuquenois reagent 26. Lastly,unit 10 is shaken to extract any formed color from the hydrochloric acid layer into thechloroform layer 27. A positive test is illustrated in FIG. 20 by the violet color extracted into thechloroform layer 27.

This device provides a simple-to-use compact and readily available unit for the identification of marijhauna or marijhauna-type products by law enforcement officers and others either in the field or in the laboratory. The relatively tight fit of the closure and inner container and the relatively narrow vapor space between the outer container and the inner container reduces the vaporization and loss of both the chloroform and hydrochloric acid which are both relatively volatile materials. In field tests this device has proved usable in the field, even on the Texas border at temperatures up to F. The device provides a simple unitary structure for accomplishing a reaction sequence which can be rather complicated for one not skilled in chemical techniques. 5

Although the invention has been particularly disclosed for a device constructedout of glass, it is to be understood that the invention IS applicable for other materials such as plastics. It is also obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the foregoing is presented by way of example only and the invention is not to be unduly restricted thereby since modifications may be made in the structure of the various parts without functionally departing from the spirit of this invention.

What I claim is:

l. A self-contained device for performing qualitative analysis comprising:

an outer container open at one end;

a closure having an inner container affixed thereto for sealing said outer container;

said inner container positioned in the opening of said outer container, said inner container. being substantially contained within said outer container and spaced apart from said outer container on at least one face thereof, said inner container having a frangible section;

a removable plunger piston for slidably sealing said inner container, said plunger piston being of sufficient length so as to exert a force on liquid contained in said inner container sufficient to fracture said frangible section when said plunger is depressed;

said inner container containing Duquenois reagent and said outer container containing chloroform and hydrochloric acid, each in an amount slightly in excess of the amount of Duquenois reagent present; and

a protective cap placed over said plunger piston to prevent the accidental depression of said plunger piston.

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