A system that integrates several technologies into a single, portable medical diagnostic apparatus for analyzing a sample body fluid (liquid and/or gas): (1) a mechanism to capture airborne microdroplets and to separate the body fluid into a first fluid component (primarily gas) and a second fluid component (primarily liquid); (2) a volatilizer to convert a portion of the second fluid component into a third fluid component that is primarily a gas; (3) a functionalized nanostructure (NS) array configured to receive, identify, and estimate concentration of at least one constituent in the first and/or third fluid components; (4) a miniaturized differential mobility spectrometer (DMS) module; and (5) a biomarker sensor, to detect volatile and non-volatile molecules in a sample fluid, which may contain one or more components of blood, breath, perspiration, saliva, and urine.

An analyte selection device can include: a body defining a fluid channel having a channel inlet and channel outlet; a bipolar electrode (BPE) between the inlet and outlet; one of an anode or cathode electrically coupled with the BPE on a channel inlet side of the BPE and the other of the anode or cathode electrically coupled with the BPE on a channel outlet side of the BPE; and an electronic system operably coupled with the anode and cathode so as to polarize the BPE. The fluid channel can have any shape or dimension. The channel inlet and channel outlet can be longitudinal or lateral with respect to the longitudinal axis of the channel. The BPE can be any metallic member, such as a flat plate on a wall or mesh as a barrier BPE. The anode and cathode can be located at a position that polarizes the BPE.

Methods and apparatus for detecting, quantifying, enriching, and/or separating bacterial species in fluid sample are provided. The fluid sample is provided as input to a microfluidic passage of a microfluidic device, wherein the microfluidic device comprises at least one electrode disposed adjacent to the microfluidic passage. The at least one electrode is activated to capture bacteria in the sample using dielectrophoresis, wherein the capture efficiency of bacteria is at least 99%.

High-throughput microfluidic devices comprising one or more fluidic microchannels each with at least one flow-through 3D structure comprising a 3D electrode, or alternatively a 3D permselective structure, and optional secondary bead bed(s) are disclosed. Such devices can be used for counter-flow focusing of charged species via ion concentration polarization and in situ quantification of electrokinetically enriched charged species from an ionically conductive solution by both optical and electrical detection.

An apparatus configured to enable the concentration of paramagnetic and/or superparamagnetic materials in a fluid for the purpose of examining such materials. The apparatus includes a magnet container arranged to be located proximate to a material container containing the materials to be examined. The magnet container includes therein a fluid and one or more magnets. The magnet container further includes means for controlling the movement of the one or more magnets in the fluid to allow the attraction of the paramagnetic and/or superparamagnetic materials in the material container to the one or more magnets as they travel in the magnet container so as to concentrate those materials. Several options for controlling the movement of the one or more magnets are described, including fluid viscosity selection, magnet shape and size selection, the use of an inclined pathway and the use of an inclined plane.

A biological substance extraction device includes an adsorption container that includes a first flow channel, and seal-tightly holds an adsorbent and a fluid within the first flow channel, and a washing container that includes a second flow channel, and seal-tightly holds a washing liquid and a fluid within the second flow channel, the adsorption container and the washing container being joined to form a flow channel through which a biological substance is moved. The first flow channel and the second flow channel communicate with each other in a state in which an insertion section is inserted into a reception section. The insertion section includes a guide member that extends from the first flow channel to the second flow channel. The guide member forms part of the flow channel between a first inner wall of the first flow channel and a second inner wall of the second flow channel.

Electrophoresis device including: a first flow passage extending in a first direction and through which a sample and a buffer solution flow; a sample collecting part provided at an end portion of the first flow passage and configured to collect the sample; electrodes disposed at both sides of the first flow passage in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and configured to apply a voltage to the first flow passage in the second direction; second flow passages communicating with both sides of the first flow passage in the second direction, configured to accommodate the electrodes, and through which a second buffer solution flows; and partition walls fixed to communicating portions between the first and second flow passages with a predetermined bonding strength and configured to block movement of substances between the first and second flow passages. The partition walls are formed of a gel material having ion permeability.

Methods and systems for purifying one or more microbial cells and/or viruses from a biological sample are provided. The biological sample is added to a well disposed in a medium. A potential is applied across the medium to cause the contaminants to enter one or more walls of the well, and retain the microbial cells and/or viruses in the well. The microbial cells and/or viruses can be removed from the well, and optionally adhered or fixed to a surface, or detected. In one embodiment, the microbial cells and/or viruses are retained in the well by embedding in the medium. The medium including the embedded microbial cells and/or viruses may be excised or otherwise removed and transferred to a glass slide or other solid surface. In some examples, a biological sample containing contaminants and one or more microbial cells is introduced to a well disposed in a porous filter medium, wherein the porous filter medium includes pores smaller than the one or more microbial cells, thereby preventing the one or more microbial cells from entering the porous filter medium.

Methods and compositions are provided for preparing a biological specimen for microscopic analysis. These methods find many uses, for example in medicine and research, e.g., to diagnose or monitor disease or graft transplantation, to study healthy or diseased tissue, to screen candidate agents for toxicity and efficacy in disease modification. Also provided are reagents, devices, kits and systems thereof that find use in practicing the subject methods.

A device for extracting and concentrating a target analyte including a sample channel that receives the sample, a separation channel, a waste channel, a first junction between the sample channel and the separation channel, and, a second junction between the separation channel and the waste channel. The first junction selectively transports a first group of analytes, including target analytes, from the sample channel to the separation channel in accordance with a size of a first free transport region of the first junction. The second junction selectively transports a second group of analytes from the separation channel to the waste channel in accordance with a size of a second free transport region of the second junction, the second group being a subset of the first group, so as to concentrate a number of the target analytes in the separation channel.