Provided are devices, methods, and systems for temperature control of individual containers in a thermocycler for polynucleotide synthesis. Provided herein are devices, methods, and systems comprising a circuit patch having a heating element that is placed over a reaction container on a lid of the reaction container or directly over the reaction container Provided herein are devices, methods, and systems comprising a single-piece sensor assembly for a thermistor plate assembly comprising a sensor holder having a sensor pad that is in contact with the container holder.

Fluidic devices, systems, and methods for analyzing an analyte are described. In an embodiment, the fluidic devices include a housing defining a lysis chamber shaped to receive a biological sample; a lysis buffer storage chamber disposed within the housing and carrying a lysis buffer configured to lyse cells of the biological sample; a cap configured to cooperatively couple to the housing; a compressor configured to compress the lysis buffer storage chamber and expel the lysis buffer from the lysis buffer storage chamber and into the lysis chamber when the cap is uncoupled from the housing; and a porous membrane in selective fluidic communication with the lysis chamber.

Improved sub-assemblies and methods of control for use in a diagnostic assay system adapted to receive an assay cartridge are provided herein. Such sub-assemblies include: a brushless DC motor, a door opening/closing mechanism and cartridge loading mechanism, a syringe and valve drive mechanism assembly, a sonication horn, a thermal control device and optical detection/excitation device. Such systems can further include a communications unit configured to wirelessly communicate with a mobile device of a user so as to receive a user input relating to functionality of the system with respect to an assay cartridge received therein and relaying a diagnostic result relating to the assay cartridge to the mobile device.

Methods are provided for separating magnetically responsive beads from a droplet in a droplet actuator. Droplet operations electrodes and a magnet are arranged in a droplet actuator to manipulate a bead-containing droplet and position it relative to a magnetic field region that attracts the magnetically responsive beads. The droplet operations electrodes are operated to control the droplet shape and transport it away from the magnetic field region to form a concentration of beads in the droplet. The continued transport of the droplet away from the magnetic field causes the concentration of beads to break away from the droplet to yield a small, concentrated bead-containing droplet immobilized by the magnet.

A method of conducting a biological assay, comprises obtaining data corelative to a temperature of a reagent, mixing the reagent with a sample to provide a mixture, receiving from the mixture a signal indicative of an amount of an analyte in the sample, and correcting the amount based on the obtained data and on a type of the reagent.

The invention refers to a method of detecting nucleic acid sequences in biological samples from medical, agricultural and biotechnological sources, and a corresponding device, that can be used in health care, in particular in laboratorial diagnosis, to detect genetic sequences, with the objective of identifying viruses and diseases arising from genetic malformations, bringing novelties of using saliva samples, making extraction of RNA from the genetic material from the sample, through a small device with low complexity and innovative design, with the advantages of portable, rapid results, with on-line connectivity to a test results center, dispensing frequent visits to the doctor, hastening the start of treatment, allowing access for groups of people and eliminating the need for a highly qualified operator.

A method to monitor and control the temperature of a sample holder of a laboratory instrument during execution of a temperature profile on the sample holder is presented. The laboratory instrument comprises a sample holder with high temperature uniformity and at least three identical temperature sensors. The measured actual temperatures of the sample holder are processed in order to determine if the execution of the temperature profile should be continued or aborted. Furthermore, temperature sensors which measure actual temperatures that do not fulfil certain requirements are excluded from further monitoring and controlling the temperature of a sample holder.

A system for collecting, growing, and analyzing biological specimens that may present a health threat. The system includes separate modules for specimen collection, sample isolation, and sample analysis that can be interconnected to safety process, culture, and analyze and unknown specimen. A decapitation module allows a user to safely collect a swab tip containing an unknown sample and transport the sample to a culture module where the sample can be washed from the swab tip and isolated in a cuvette for growth and analysis. The culture module may be coupled to a base station that can provide mixing, heating and cooling, as well as optical and spectral analysis.

A system for collecting, growing, and analyzing biological specimens that may present a health threat. The system includes separate modules for specimen collection, sample isolation, and sample analysis that can be interconnected to safety process, culture, and analyze and unknown specimen. A decapitation module allows a user to safely collect a swab tip containing an unknown sample and transport the sample to a culture module where the sample can be washed from the swab tip and isolated in a cuvette for growth and analysis. The culture module may be coupled to a base station that can provide mixing, heating and cooling, as well as optical and spectral analysis.

Provided is a digital microfluidic device for quick polymerase chain reaction. The digital microfluidic device includes an enclosed chamber for holding droplets comprising PCR mixtures. The chamber has an upper layer and a lower layer, which provide a top heater and a bottom heater contained in a thermal electrode respectively to form dual heaters. The lower layer further has an array of electrodes and a dielectric layer, e.g. Norland Optical adhesive 61, coating thereon. Such arrangement of the digital microfluidic device allows quick and homogeneous heating of droplets to lower the heating voltage, shorten the reaction time, and prevent the dielectric layer from breakdown during the thermal cycle.