A foil and its use in a method for analyzing a sample in an automatic analyzer, comprising the steps of providing foil comprising at least one immobilized reagent; forming the foil to a receptacle; adding the sample to the receptacle; and analyzing a reaction between sample and immobilized reagent.

A sample consumable that carries a microvolume of sample to a sample loader. The consumable is precisely aligned utilizing a double-alignment feature to the loader. The loader is based on a crank-slider geometry and allows for simple, one-handed operation for the user. Overall, the consumable and sample loader increase reproducibility of in-line sample loading and offers ease-of-use.

A system and method for isolating and analyzing single cells, including: a substrate having a broad surface; a set of wells defined at the broad surface of the substrate, and a set of channels, defined by the wall, that fluidly couple each well to at least one adjacent well in the set of wells; and fluid delivery module defining an inlet and comprising a plate, removably coupled to the substrate, the plate defining a recessed region fluidly connected to the inlet and facing the broad surface of the substrate, the fluid delivery module comprising a cell capture mode.

To enable taking in a biological sample at a position a predetermined distance away from an EWOD electrode, a biochemical cartridge, including a droplet passage on which a plurality of EWOD electrodes is arranged along a direction in which a sample droplet that is a droplet including a biological sample is transported, the plurality of EWOD electrodes configured to transport the sample droplet, and a sample take-in unit having a predetermined distance from an EWOD electrode at a tail end of the droplet passage, the sample take-in unit being provided at a position at which the biological sample in the sample droplet is taken in. When the biological sample is taken in, the sample take-in unit is located at a position lower than the droplet passage having the EWOD electrode at the tail end, and an area between the droplet passage and the sample take-in unit is smoothly connected.

Constricted nanochannel devices suitable for use in analysis of macromolecular structure, including DNA sequencing, are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for fabricating such devices and for analyzing macromolecules using such devices.

A sample processing method may include: removing a liquid component in a container housing a suspension containing a magnetic particle bound with an analyte, while causing magnetic adhesion of the magnetic particle in the container; discharging an elution liquid for releasing the analyte from the magnetic particle from a pipette into the container from which the liquid component has been removed so as to mix the magnetic particle and the elution liquid; moving, after discharging the elution liquid into the container, the pipette relative to and close to an inner wall of the container so as to collect a droplet attached to the inner wall onto an outer surface of the pipette; and moving a tip of the pipette to an accumulation area in which the elution liquid accumulates in the container so as to move the droplet collected on the outer surface of the pipette to the accumulation area.

Multi-stage sample-recovery systems, including automated 2-stage and 3-stage sample-recovery systems, are provided. Such systems enable the rapid screening and recovery of samples, including viable cell-based samples, from high-throughput screening systems, including systems utilizing large-scale arrays of microcapillaries. In specific screening systems, each microcapillary comprises a solution containing a variant protein, an immobilized target molecule, and a reporter element. Immobilized target molecules may include any molecule of interest, including proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and other biomolecules. The association of a variant protein with a molecular target is assessed by measuring a signal from the reporter element. The contents of microcapillaries identified in the assays as containing variant proteins of interest can be identified and recovered using the multi-stage systems disclosed herein.

An apparatus for pretreatment of a sample of whole blood in a discrete fluid analyzing instrument comprises automated means for handling and analyzing the sample and means for performing a pretreatment step on the sample or a sub-sample of the sample. The means for pretreatment are used for immobilizing at least one substance or analyte from the sample or sub-sample wherein the substance or analyte is reversibly immobilized. Usually, the apparatus further comprises means for eluting the substance or analyte from the capture means prior to analysis.

A titration module of biochip includes a base, a plurality of titration units, a plurality of pipelines, a transfer unit, and a control unit. The plural titration units and the plural pipelines are arranged above the base, and that the titration units each is provided, at its lower end, a needle element and a reservoir which are communicated with each other. The transfer unit is arranged on the base, and includes at least one driving device for driving, selectively, the plural titration units and the plural pipelines in a lateral direction (leftward and rightward), a longitudinal direction (frontward and rearward) and a vertical direction (upward and downward), respectively. The control unit is electrically connected with the transfer unit, and controls the same for switching, selectively, the plural titration units and the plural pipelines.

A system and method for isolating and analyzing single cells, including: a substrate having a broad surface; a set of wells defined at the broad surface of the substrate, and a set of channels, defined by the wall, that fluidly couple each well to at least one adjacent well in the set of wells; and fluid delivery module defining an inlet and comprising a plate, removably coupled to the substrate, the plate defining a recessed region fluidly connected to the inlet and facing the broad surface of the substrate, the fluid delivery module comprising a cell capture mode.