A basket includes a cover plate, a support assembly, a basket bottom plate for holding at least two rows of reagent strips, and a sample holder for holding at least two sample tubes; the sample holder is detachably connected to an end surface of the basket bottom plate; the cover plate and the basket bottom plate are rotatably connected so as to limit displacement of the reagent strips in the height direction when the cover plate and the basket bottom plate are attached to each other; the support assembly is connected to the bottom surface of the basket bottom plate, and the height of the support assembly is greater than or equal to the heights of the reagent strips.

A flexible instrument control and data storage/management system and method for representing and processing assay plates having one or more predefined plate locations is disclosed. The system utilizes a graph data structure, layer objects and data objects. The layer objects map the graph data structure to the data objects. The graph data structure can comprise one node for each of the one or more predefined plate locations, wherein the nodes can be hierarchically defined according to a predefined plate location hierarchy. Each node can be given a unique node identifier, a node type and a node association that implements the predefined plate location hierarchy. The layer objects can include an index that maps the node identifiers to the data objects.

A method may include steps of binding an analyte to a ligand, exposing the analyte to light of differing wavelengths, and observing a difference in spectral response of the analyte at the differing wavelengths. Further steps may include comparing the observed difference with a known difference in spectral response of a reference substance at the differing wavelengths, and determining whether the observed difference meets a predetermined threshold of identity with the known difference. The method may be performed with reference to a surface having a reflective area with a known size a non-reflective area adjacent to the reflective area. The method may thus include the steps of providing a ligand in alignment with the non-reflective area of the surface, and binding an analyte to the ligand in a position reaching across the reflective area. Further steps may include forming an image of the analyte and the reflective area, observing the size of analyte relative to the reflective area in the image, and comparing the observed size of the analyte with a known size of a reference subject to determine a degree of identity between the analyte and the reference subject.

A specimen holder includes an RFID tag that exhibits an RFID unique identifier. The specimen holder also includes a barcode that exhibits a barcode unique identifier. The user may place a specimen holder in a particular rack slot of a multiple slot specimen rack that is situated on a specimen reader. The specimen reader may receive this specimen holder at accession time. The specimen reader reads both the RFID tag and the barcode of the newly inserted specimen holder. The specimen reader may correlate the RFID unique identifier and barcode unique identifier with one another and store the RFID unique identifier and barcode unique identifier associated with one another in a database. The database may also associate the RFID unique identifier and barcode unique identifier of the newly inserted specimen holder with a rack slot unique identifier that the database also stores.

Embodiments of business systems and data processing systems and related methods, apparatus, compositions, systems, and articles of manufacture useful for providing mass spectrographic analysis services are disclosed. In embodiments, MS analysis services may be provided to customers without exposing proprietary information of the customer to the service provider or others.

The invention concerns the reduction of the risk of an incorrect assignment of samples to sample sites during the manual deposition of samples for ionization by laser desorption (for example MALDI or LDCI). The invention offers a method wherein a sample support with several sample sites is provided, at least one sample site is selected, and the selected sample site is highlighted, at least in contrast to neighboring not selected sample sites, in a way which the human eye can perceive.

A biosensor disk includes a detection substrate with an upper side surface, a reflection substrate with a lower side surface facing oppositely toward the upper side surface, and fluidic channels reaching between the opposed side surfaces. The upper side surface has binding sites, and has non-binding sites adjoining the binding sites. The detection substrate is transparent at the non-binding sites. The lower side surface has non-reflective areas, and has reflective areas adjoining the non-reflective areas. The reflective areas are located opposite the non-binding sites and have discrete polygonal configurations of equal size and shape.

The invention relates to a pipette auxiliary system for supporting manual pipetting or dispensing of a plurality of samples of a sample-holding arrangement, in particular a microtiter plate. The pipette auxiliary system according to the invention supports the manual pipetting or dispensing of a plurality of samples in a working position of a sample-holding arrangement, the pipette auxiliary system comprising: a base apparatus comprising a positioning device which is designed to position the sample-holding arrangement in the working position inside a positioning space of the base apparatus, said positioning space being opened at least along a plane for the pipetting; the sample-holding arrangement which has a plurality of sample holders; a measurement arrangement comprising a plurality of measurement elements which are positioned at least in the working position underneath this plane and using which the occupancy state of at least one sample holder can be detected in the working position; and an output device or a light arrangement using which the sample-holding arrangement can be illuminated in accordance with this occupancy state of this at least one sample holder.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to demarcation templates for demarcating a test area on a test surface and for providing visual guidance to a user to precisely and accurately swab the test surface in order to determine the presence and/or concentration of an analyte of interest on the test surface. In one aspect, the analyte of interest is a hazardous contaminant. Some templates can include alignment markings around the border demarcating the test area to provide such guidance to users, and can include graphical use instructions on a removable central portion of the template. The template can be adhesive to be securely fixed to the test surface for accurate demarcation of the test area throughout sampling.

An embodiment of the invention relates to systems and methods for detecting the orientation of sample carriers using two or more RFID tags. One or two dimensional matrix of equally spaced RFID reader antennas may be positioned beneath or within an area on which racks are placed. The first RFID tag defines the origin of the sample carrier and its geometry. The second and additional RFID tags define the orientations of the sample carrier relative to the matrix of the RFID reader antennas. At least two of the tag antennas on the rack align uniquely with two antennas on the reader matrix. The system energizes each reader antenna and associates the RFID tags aligned with them to the RFID reader antenna's physical position.