The invention provides methods and compositions useful for identifying polypeptides with desired characteristics in vitro.

An immunoassay apparatus may include: a sample dispenser part that dispenses a sample into a first reaction container; a reagent dispenser part that dispenses, into the first reaction container: a solid-phase reagent containing a solid-phase carrier; a labeled reagent; and a releasing reagent that releases, from the solid-phase carrier, an immune complex including a target substance and a labeled substance; a measurement part that measures a signal based on the labeled substance in the immune complex in a second reaction container; a container supply part that stores a plurality of reaction containers; a transfer part that transfers the first reaction container so that the sample dispenser part and the reagent dispenser part perform a dispensing operation to the first reaction container, and that transfers the second reaction container so that the immune complex dispended from the first reaction container is dispensed into the second container.

A sensor apparatus for testing a biological sample, a system making use thereof and a method for testing a biological sample with the sensor apparatus and system.

The disclosed technology includes a planar device for performing multiple biochemical assays at the same time, or nearly the same time. Each assay may include a biosample including a biochemical, enzyme, DNA, and/or any other biochemical or biological sample. Each assay may include one or more tags including dyes and/or other chemicals/reagents whose optical characteristics change based on chemical characteristics of the biological sample being tested. Each assay may be optically pumped to cause one or more of luminescence, phosphorescence, or fluorescence of the assay that may be detected by one or more optical detectors. For example, an assay may include two tags and a biosample. Each tag may be pumped by different wavelengths of light and may produce different wavelengths of light that is filtered and detected by one or more detectors. The pump wavelengths may be different from one another and different from the produced wavelengths.

There is provided a device and method for separation of blood, including sedimentation of plasma using PVA. The device comprises an inner container enclosed in an outer container, wherein upon alignment of respective openings, allows sample to exit from the inner container into a reaction structure. The reaction structure comprises one or more layers, each with one or more portions each containing concentrations of one or more chemicals.

There is provided a device and method for separation of blood, including sedimentation of plasma using PVA. The device comprises an inner container enclosed in an outer container, wherein upon alignment of respective openings, allows sample to exit from the inner container into a reaction structure. The reaction structure comprises one or more layers, each with one or more portions each containing concentrations of one or more chemicals.

A microfluidic device is provided. The microfluidic device is used for an in vitro selective capture of biological entities suspended in a medium based on an immunoaffinity technique. The microfluidic device includes symmetric hydrofoil pillars arranged inside ellipse segments acting as a microfluidic channel, wherein the microfluidic channel provides a continuous change of attack angles between the symmetric hydrofoil pillars and the biological entities.

Methods of using particle size amplification to facilitate size-based particle separation and concentration. At least one of the methods includes introducing a plurality of binding moieties into a fluid sample; allowing at least one of the binding moieties to bind two or more biological particles to form a particle cluster, in which the particle cluster comprises a first type of biological particle bound to a second different type of biological particle; and flowing the fluid sample comprising the particle cluster into a particle sorting region of a microfluidic device.

A microfluidic device includes a semiconductor microchip including fluid active circuitry and transistor circuitry, wherein the transistor circuitry provides onboard logic at the semiconductor microchip to control the fluid active circuitry. The microfluidic device further includes a microfluidic chamber fluidly coupled to an inlet port and an outlet port, wherein the microfluidic chamber is defined in part by a microchip surface with the active circuitry positioned to interact with fluid introduced into the microfluidic chamber and partially defined by an enclosing surface. The microchip surface, the enclosing surface, or both include a chemically-modified microfluidic chamber surface that is selectively interactive with a target component of the fluid.

The present system and method are useful for the removal of immune inhibitors such as soluble TNF receptors from the body fluid of cancer patients. In some embodiments, soluble TNF-Receptors 1 and 2 are selectively removed from plasma at 80% or more efficiency. In some embodiments, the system includes an immobilized capture ligand of a single chain TNFα. The system and method are useful for the treatment of different cancer types, stages and severity.