The invention relates to a method and to a device, in particular a control and evaluating unit, for operating a particle sensor (20) for determining a particle content in a gas flow, wherein the particle sensor (20) has, on the surface of the particle sensor, a sensor structure for determining a soot load and at least one heating element (26) separated from the sensor structure by an insulating layer, by means of which at least one heating element the particle sensor (20) can be heated up in a regeneration phase and in the process a soot load on the particle sensor (20) can be removed, and by means of the heating element (26) a heating phase can be performed at least at times before the regeneration phase, wherein in said heating phase a temperature that is significantly lower than the regeneration temperature is set, wherein short-term temperature drops as a result of wetting with water can be detected by means of a temperature sensor (27) integrated in the particle sensor (20). According to the invention, during the heating phase before the regeneration phase, the duration of the heating phase is extended if a temperature deviation from a certain temperature bandwidth around a temperature target value is detected for a certain time. Thus, it can be achieved that the sensor element is always completely dried throughout the sensor element, such that regeneration can be performed at high temperatures without damage as a result of thermal shock to the sensor element.

Systems and devices to measure atmospheric gaseous reactive gases that may form atmospheric aerosol particles may generally includes a reactor in fluid communication with a particle counter. The reactor may include a first inlet configured to receive a continuous flow of a first fluid and a second inlet configured to receive a continuous flow of a second fluid. The reactor may include a first outlet in fluid communication with the particle counter to detect a reaction product of the first fluid and second fluid. The reaction product may include 1-3 nanometer particles. The reactor may include a second outlet to exhaust any remaining portion of the reaction product flow from the reactor. Methods of making and using the systems and devices to measure atmospheric gaseous reactive gases that may form atmospheric aerosol particles are also described.

Arrangements for per-well fluidics, gas exchange, and electronic sensors for microplate, microtiter, and microarray technologies are presented. In example implementations, each individual well within in a conventional or specialized microplate can be fully or partially isolated with capping or other arrangements which can include conduits for controlled introduction, removal, and/or exchange of fluids and/or gases. Conduit networks can include small controllable valves that operate under software control, and micro-scale pumps can also be included. Conduit interconnections can include one or more of controllable-valve distribution buses, next-neighbor interconnections, and other active or passive interconnection topologies. Cap arrangements can include or provide one or more sensors of various types, including but not limited to selective gas sensors, chemical sensors, temperature sensors, pH sensors, biosensors, immunosensors, molecular-imprint sensors, optical sensors, fluorescence sensors, bioFETS, etc. Incubator interfacing and imaging are also described. The invention can be used for living cell culture or other applications.

The disclosure provides a sample testing method and a sample analyzer, the method including: obtaining a sample to be tested; providing a reagent, the reagent including a hemolytic agent, a first fluorescent dye and a third fluorescent dye; mixing the sample and the reagent to form a sample solution; making the sample solution flow in a flow cell in a single test, irradiating the particles by using a first light source and a second light source, and detecting scattered light signals, first fluorescence signals and third fluorescence signals; obtaining a classification result and/or a counting result of white blood cells in the sample to be tested based on the first fluorescence signals and the scattered light signals; and obtaining a counting result of nucleated red blood cells in the sample to be tested based on the third fluorescence signals and the scattered light signals.

The invention relates to a method for optically characterizing dielectric particles such as virus or biological particles of submicrometre size, by e.g. holographic microscopy. In particular, the invention is directed to mixing dielectric particles with non-dielectric particles which when mixed will bind to the dielectric particle.

Disclosed herein are aerosol particle growth systems including polymer electrolyte membranes and related methods of increasing the size of aerosol particles. In some embodiments, an outer housing contains a reservoir of a working fluid, and a PEM conduit extends through the outer housing, the reservoir, and the working fluid so that the working fluid is in contact with an outer surface of the PEM conduit. The conduit can be generally helical or coiled, for example. In some embodiments, the working fluid is molecularly transported across the PEM and disperses into an aerosol flowing through the PEM conduit. As the aerosol flows through the PEM conduit, the aerosol particles act as nucleation sites for the gaseous working fluid, which condenses on the particles, causing the particles to grow in size and making them easier to detect, collect, measure, count, study, or otherwise investigate.

The present invention recognizes that diagnosis and prognosis of many conditions can depend on the enrichment of rare cells, especially tumor cells, from a complex fluid sample such as a blood sample. In particular, the present invention is directed to methods and compositions for detecting a non-hematopoietic cell, e.g., a non-hematopoietic tumor cell, in a blood sample via, inter alia, removing red blood cells (RBCs) from a blood sample using a non-centrifugation procedure, removing white blood cells (WBCs) from said blood sample to enrich a non-hematopoietic cell, if any, from said blood sample; and assessing the presence, absence and/or amount of said enriched non-hematopoietic cell.

A method for separating particles in a biofluid includes pretreating the biofluid by introducing an additive, flowing the pretreated biofluid through a microfluidic separation channel, and applying acoustic energy to the microfluidic separation channel. A system for microfluidic separation, capable of separating target particles from non-target particles in a biofluid includes at least one microfluidic separation channel, a source of biofluid, a source of additive, and at least one acoustic transducer coupled to the microfluidic separation channel. A kit for microfluidic particle separation includes a microfluidic separation channel connected to an acoustic transducer, a source of an additive, and instructions for use.

The present invention recognizes that diagnosis and prognosis of many conditions can depend on the enrichment of rare cells, especially tumor cells, from a complex fluid sample such as a blood sample. In particular, the present invention is directed to methods and compositions for detecting a non-hematopoietic cell, e.g., a non-hematopoietic tumor cell, in a blood sample via, inter alia, removing red blood cells (RBCs) from a blood sample using a non-centrifugation procedure, removing white blood cells (WBCs) from said blood sample to enrich a non-hematopoietic cell, if any, from said blood sample; and assessing the presence, absence and/or amount of said enriched non-hematopoietic cell.

A device (200) for collecting and analyzing aerosol particles includes a fluid storage tank (206) for generating a condensing fluid (256) having a first temperature; and an aerosol collection port (202) having a vapor inlet (212) for receiving the condensing fluid, and an aerosol inlet (222) for receiving an aerosol stream having a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature. The condensing fluid (256) is mixed with the aerosol stream in the aerosol collection port (202) producing a mixed stream. The device also includes a growth tube (204) configured to receive the mixed stream and condense aerosol particles to form a gaseous stream containing grown droplets which contain aerosol particles; and a converging nozzle (248) in fluid communication with the growth tube (204). The device allows for semi-continuous measurement of aerosol samples, and the measurement cycle can include: i) collection of particles onto a substrate (238), ii) analysis using spectroscopic techniques, and iii) removal of samples and preparing for next measurement.