Patent ID: 8623278

Claim:
A continuous automated extraction method for physically extracting at least one liquid phase of a series of liquid microsamples which each have a volume of less than 100 μL, the method comprising the steps of: taking the microsamples in discrete packets, both in space and in time, physically extracting at least one liquid phase utilizing: a centrifuge provided with a plurality of microholders, at least one of which contains and is filled with the corresponding liquid microsample and includes a filling upper portion that is extended by a separating lower portion of smaller cross section than that of the upper portion, the upper portion and the lower portion of at least one of the microholders each containing only one microsample having said volume; a peristaltic pump successively metering said liquid microsamples upstream of said centrifuge; a transfer device comprising a micropipette and an articulated arm actuating the micropipette, wherein the transfer device transfers, via said pump, said volume of each liquid microsample of less than 100 μL directly to at least one of the microholders waiting to be filled; an ejection device ejecting and positioning the microholders; and a computer-aided control device controlling said centrifuge, transfer device, and said ejection device so as to perform the continuous extraction method; filling at least one of said microholders with a liquid microsample, wherein said or each microholder thus filled has a mass which is more than ten times the mass of said microsample so that the mass of the at least one filled microholder is not substantially modified by the microsample that it contains; extracting by centrifugation, at a given instant, only a single microsample contained in a single microholder, or a part of the microsamples contained only in some of these microholders, progressively as the latter are filled.