The present invention provides miniaturized instruments for conducting chemical reactions where control of the reaction temperature is desired or required. Specifically, this invention provides chips and optical systems for performing and monitoring temperature-dependent chemical reactions. The apparatus and methods embodied in the present invention are particularly useful for high-throughput and low-cost amplification of nucleic acids.

The invention relates to an integrated tubular reaction device, which comprises a reaction vessel, a reaction vessel including at least two tubular chambers, a channel connecting at least two tubular chambers and an opening; a cover body, which can be worked with the opening, and a cover body including a through hole; a seal, which includes a sealing plug which can be worked with the through hole. The integrated tubular reaction device solves the problem of contamination of reaction products in the process of multiple or multi-step biological enzyme reaction, and can realize multiple or multi-step biological enzyme reactions in the same device.

Temperature-controllable reagent cartridges and systems for controlling the temperature in such reagent cartridges are provided. An example such system may include a reagent cartridge having reagent reservoirs located at least in part within an interior plenum volume of a cartridge housing. In such an example system, each reagent reservoir may be defined, in part, by a sidewall, and a first reagent reservoir may be spaced apart from a second reagent reservoir to form a fluid flow passage between corresponding sidewalls thereof. A fluid inlet through the cartridge housing may be provided that fluidically connects the interior plenum volume with a fluid supply port of a temperature control system of an analysis instrument when the reagent cartridge is received by the analysis instrument; a fluid outlet through the cartridge housing that fluidically connects the interior plenum volume with a fluid return port of the temperature control system may also be provided.

A well plate includes a frame section that defines a plane, and a plurality of well structures. Each well structure extends in a direction away from the plane defined by the frame section, and each well structure defines a well for holding a fluid. The well plate further includes an artifact connected to at least one well structure. The artifact uniquely identifies a type of the well plate among other types of well plates. Along these lines, a result of a well plate type identification operation, which indicates whether the well plate includes the artifact, may determine whether a predefined pressure is applied to the well plate to facilitate fluid sampling in response to the result, whether fluid level sensing can be performed to gauge amounts of fluids drawn from the wells and/or identify how much fluid is left in the wells, etc.

Microfluidic structures and methods for manipulating fluids and reactions are provided. Such structures and methods may involve positioning fluid samples, e.g., in the form of droplets, in a carrier fluid (e.g., an oil, which may be immiscible with the fluid sample) in predetermined regions in a microfluidic network. In some embodiments, positioning of the droplets can take place in the order in which they are introduced into the microfluidic network (e.g., sequentially) without significant physical contact between the droplets. Because of the little or no contact between the droplets, there may be little or no coalescence between the droplets. Accordingly, in some such embodiments, surfactants are not required in either the fluid sample or the carrier fluid to prevent coalescence of the droplets. Structures and methods described herein also enable droplets to be removed sequentially from the predetermined regions.

A microscope slide staining system has a chamber, a plurality of slide support elements, a plurality of spreading devices positionable in association with microscope slides supported on the slide support elements so the spreading devices define a gap between the spreading device and the microscope slide and so the spreading device and the microscope slide are movable relative to one another to spread at least one reagent on the microscope slide independent of the other spreading devices and microscope slides.

A heating device includes a heating element, a temperature sensor, a first heat pump element, a first heating block, a second heating block and a controller. The heating element is to receive an energy of the controller and convert the energy into a first thermal energy provided to the first heating block. A sensing result is generated by the temperature sensor according to the first thermal energy. The first heat pump element is to receive the energy of the controller for generating a temperature difference. The first thermal energy is conducted to the first heat pump element for forming a second thermal energy. The second heating block is to receive the second thermal energy. The controller correspondingly outputs the energy to the heating element and the first heat pump element according to the sensing result, and thereby controls the first thermal energy and the temperature difference.

Microfluidic structures and methods for manipulating fluids and reactions are provided. Such structures and methods may involve positioning fluid samples, e.g., in the form of droplets, in a carrier fluid (e.g., an oil, which may be immiscible with the fluid sample) in predetermined regions in a microfluidic network. In some embodiments, positioning of the droplets can take place in the order in which they are introduced into the microfluidic network (e.g., sequentially) without significant physical contact between the droplets. Because of the little or no contact between the droplets, there may be little or no coalescence between the droplets. Accordingly, in some such embodiments, surfactants are not required in either the fluid sample or the carrier fluid to prevent coalescence of the droplets. Structures and methods described herein also enable droplets to be removed sequentially from the predetermined regions.

A thermal management system comprising: a thermal source of low to cryogenic temperature; a heating element for heating the source; a shield adapted to exchange heat by conduction to/from a sample and to/from the source; a controller calibrated for maintaining a gradient of temperature along the shield within a pre-determined range; a vacuum sealing feedthrough comprising a thermal insulator element, the vacuum sealing feedthrough delimiting around the first interface a vacuum sealed volume so that the shield exchanges heat with the thermal source exclusively by conduction and exclusively at a first interface. An exemplary purpose for this thermal management system is the sublimation of water ice and/or water ice trapped in a regolith, and positioned in a vacuum chamber. The heat insulator element is configured to separate physically the thermal source from a vacuum chamber into which the shield can protrude, so that sublimated compounds from the sample do not encounter colder point which would cause their deposition on the shield or on the walls of the chamber.

Disclosed are a reaction tube for nucleic acid amplification capable of controlling a liquid circulation path, a reaction apparatus for nucleic acid amplification comprising the reaction tube, and a method for amplifying nucleic acid comprising a step of using the reaction tube. Also disclosed are a kit comprising the reaction tube, and use of the reaction tube in preparation of a kit.