The present disclosure is drawn to microfluidic chips. The microfluidic chips can include an inflexible material having an elastic modulus of 0.1 gigapascals (GPa) to 450 GPa. A microfluidic channel can be formed within the inflexible material and can connect an inlet and an outlet. A working electrode can be associated with the microfluidic channel and can have a surface area of 1 μm.sup.2 to 60,000 μm.sup.2 within the microfluidic channel. A bubble support structure can also be formed within the microfluidic channel such that the working electrode is positioned to electrolytically generate a bubble that becomes associated with the bubble support structure.

The present invention provides a fluidic device in which solutions of different concentrations can be easily obtained. The fluidic device includes: a first substrate and a second substrate which are stacked in a thickness direction; an undiluted solution introduction flow path which has an undiluted solution introduction port and which is constituted of a groove part provided on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate; a first circulation flow path which is constituted of a groove part having an annular shape and having a shared part that shares part of a flow path with the undiluted solution introduction flow path and a non-shared part which is not shared with the undiluted solution introduction flow path and which is connected to a diluting solution introduction port; a second circulation flow path which is provided independently of the first circulation flow path and which is constituted of a groove part having an annular shape and having a shared part that shares some flow path with the undiluted solution introduction flow path and a non-shared part which is not shared with the undiluted solution introduction flow path and which is connected to a diluting solution introduction port; and/or a third circulation flow path which is constituted of a groove part having an annular shape and having a shared flow path that shares part of a flow path with the first circulation flow path and a non-shared flow path which is not shared with the first circulation flow path and which is connected to a diluting solution introduction port, wherein the undiluted solution introduction flow path includes a valve at both ends of the shared part.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flow path device capable of suppressing an occurrence of air bubbles when a solution is introduced into a flow path. A fluidic device has a pair of substrates which are stacked in a thickness direction, one substrate including a flow path formed by being covered with the other substrate. The flow path includes a merging/branching portion which is surrounded by a contour which is configured to match each line segment connecting together apex positions of an equilateral triangle as viewed in the thickness direction or a contour parallel to each line segment and in which solution merges or branches. A valve which is configured to regulate flow of a fluid in the flow path is provided in at least two of the apex positions.

Systems and methods for conducting designated reactions that include a fluidic network having a sample channel, a reaction chamber, and a reservoir. The sample channel is in flow communication with a sample port. The system also includes a rotary valve that has a flow channel and is configured to rotate between first and second valve positions. The flow channel fluidically couples the reaction chamber and the sample channel when the rotary valve is in the first valve position and fluidically couples the reservoir and the reaction chamber when the rotary valve is in the second valve position. A pump assembly induces a flow of a biological sample toward the reaction chamber when the rotary valve is in the first valve position and induces a flow of a reaction component from the reservoir toward the reaction chamber when the rotary valve is in the second valve position.

A valve arrangement includes a valve module and a base module. The valve module includes a stator and a rotor, which is rotatable relative to the stator such that at least one fluid connection is formable between the stator and the rotor. The base module includes at least a part of a force control mechanism for selectively implementing a force-releasing or force-coupling of the rotor and the stator, whereby the valve module and the base module are selectively coupleable to or decoupleable from each other.

An automated computer-controlled sampling system and related methods for collecting, processing, and analyzing agricultural samples for various chemical properties such as plant available nutrients. The sampling system allows multiple samples to be processed and analyzed for different analytes or chemical properties in a simultaneous concurrent or semi-concurrent manner. Advantageously, the system can process soil samples in the “as collected” condition without drying or grinding to produce a sample slurry. The system includes a chemical analysis sub-system which processes and analyzes the prepared slurry for quantifying multiple analytes and/or chemical properties of the sample. The chemical analysis sub-system may be embodied in a multi-layered microfluidic manifold processing substrate comprising microfluidic devices which extract and quantify the concentration of analytes or other chemical parameters associated with the sample. The system can be used to analyze various type of agricultural-related samples including soil, vegetation, manure, milk or other.

Various embodiments of the teachings relate to a system or method for sample preparation or analysis in biochemical or molecular biology procedures. The sample preparation can involve small volume processed in discrete portions or segments or slugs, herein referred to as discrete volumes. A molecular biology procedure can be nucleic acid analysis. Nucleic acid analysis can be an integrated DNA amplification/DNA sequencing procedure.

A method includes engaging a well of a cartridge with a flow sensor of an instrument. The cartridge includes: a rotary valve including a rotatable port and a center port; the well in fluid communication with a channel, the channel including a channel port that the rotatable port is to align to in order to receive fluid from the well; and a flowcell including an inlet gasket in fluid communication with the center port. A source of pressurized air is connected to the flow sensor in order to establish a mass flow of air through a flow path. The flow path extends through one of the flow sensor, the channel, the rotary valve, and the flowcell. The mass flow of air through the flow path is measured with the flow sensor. It is determined if there is one of an air leak and an air blockage within the flow path.

A method of making an article bonding a layer of deformable material to a surface of a cartridge body having at least one valve body thereon to seal the at least one valve body, the valve body comprising a valve floor and valve walls comprising upper parts, wherein the valve floor is recessed from the surface and the valve walls extend from the surface to the valve floor, and wherein the valve body comprises walls that are curved or sloped in a direction that is non-normal to the plane defined by the surface; and deforming the layer such that upon release of a force causing the deformation, the layer is in contact with the upper parts of the valve walls and is in spaced from the valve floor so as to bias the valve to an open state.

Disclosed herein are devices configured for the amplification and detection of multiple targets from a sample, and methods of using the same. The devices disclosed herein comprise microfluidic cartridges have a first stage (amplification) and a second (detection) stage. The two-stage design of the cartridges enables testing for multiple targets within a sample, i.e., from a single nucleic acid amplification reaction. Methods for the amplification and detection of a plurality of target nucleic acids from a sample are also disclosed herein.