A magnetic separation device has a membrane having a plurality of pores, a magnetically soft material layer disposed on the membrane, and a passivation layer disposed on the magnetically soft material layer. The magnetic separation device may be part of a microfluidic device having a lateral flow channel and a vertical flow magnetic separation filter. The magnetic separation device may be used to separate magnetically tagged particles, such as cells.

A sampling assembly, including a sampling needle, a first pipeline, a second pipeline, a driving member, a first switching member, and a second switching member, is disclosed. The first pipeline is connected between the sampling needle and the first switching member. The second pipeline is connected between the first switching member and the driving member. The first switching member is used for connecting or disconnecting the first pipeline and the second pipeline. The second pipeline is connected, by means of the second switching member, to a negative pressure source. The sampling time of the sampling assembly of the present disclosure is relatively short. The present disclosure further discloses a sample analyzer and a sampling method.

A system, configured to facilitate processing and detection of nucleic acids, the system comprising a process fluid container and a cartridge comprising: a top layer, a set of sample port-reagent port pairs, a shared fluid port, a vent region, a heating region, and a set of detection chambers; an intermediate substrate, coupled to the top layer comprising a waste chamber; an elastomeric layer, partially situated on the intermediate substrate; and a set of fluidic pathways, each formed by at least a portion of the top layer and a portion of the elastomeric layer, wherein each fluidic pathway is fluidically coupled to a sample port-reagent port pair, the shared fluid port, and a detection chamber, comprises a portion passing through the heating region, and is configured to be occluded upon deformation of the elastomeric layer, to transfer a waste fluid to the waste chamber, and to pass through the vent region.

A female urinary diagnostic device including a urine stream collection container having a discharge opening and a stream collection opening, the stream collection opening being configured to surround and isolate a urethral opening, a probe guide passage configured for interior engagement with a vaginal opening for placement of the stream collection opening relative to the urethral opening, and an internal baffle that defines an interior wall of the urine stream collection container that provides a spillway from the stream collection opening to the discharge opening and cooperates with at least a urine sensing device, where the spillway provides urine passage to the urine sensing device and a collection tank, wherein the internal baffle forms at least a portion of the probe guide passage and defines a sounding probe guide surface that positions a sounding probe within the vaginal opening.

A single junction sorter for a microfluidic particle sorter, the single-junction sorter comprising: an input channel, configured to receive a fluid containing particles; an output sort channel and an output waste channel, each connected to the input channel for receiving the fluid therefrom; a bubble generator, operable to selectively displace the fluid around a particle to be sorted and thereby to create a transient flow of the fluid in the input channel; and a vortex element, configured to cause a vortex in the transient flow in order to direct the particle to be sorted into the output sort channel.

Disclosed is a real-time method for detecting copper and silver in water in parts per billion. Total silver is detected by adding a 2% nitric acid solution to the sample; after ten minutes, adding a buffer solution comprising water, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate and EDTA to the sample; adding an indicator comprising Cadion 2B, EtOH, and Triton X-100 to the sample; after one minute, reading the absorbance of the sample using a spectrophotometer with a target peak of 515 nm; and determining the silver concentration by comparing the absorbance of the sample to the absorbances of known silver standards. Total copper is detected by adding a 2% nitric acid solution to the sample; after ten minutes, adding a buffer/indicator solution to the sample, where the solution comprises water, sodium citrate dihydrate, hydroxal amine hydrochloride and bathocuproine disulfonate; after one minute, reading the absorbance of the sample using a spectrophotometer with a target peak of 480 nm; and determining the copper concentration by comparing the absorbance of the sample to the absorbances of known copper standards. A monitoring device for determining the level of copper or silver in a sample implements the disclosed methods.

A device for detecting nucleic acids in a biological sample has a sample port, a lysis station and a sample conduit configured to mix a sample and lysis agent to form a sample-lysis mixture, pass the sample-lysis mixture across a solid-state membrane to capture nucleic acids in the biological sample therein, and receive the remainder of the sample-lysis mixture in a waste chamber. The wash station is configured to introduce the wash solution following the sample-lysis mixture, pass the wash solution across the solid-state membrane to purify nucleic acids captured therein, and receive the wash solution from the solid-state membrane in the waste chamber. The elution station is configured to pass the eluent across the solid-state membrane, elute captured nucleic acids from the solid-state membrane, and pass the captured nucleic acids into one or more reaction chambers for amplifying and detecting the captured nucleic acids.

A bench top incubator is described. The bench top incubator includes a first tray stack designed to retain microscope slides in a plurality of slide trays and a second tray stack designed to retain multi-well plates in a plurality of plate trays. The incubator is relatively simple and small in design and can be conveniently located to carry out temperature processing of biological samples such as fixed cells and tissues, biological fluids, and so forth.

Systems and methods for automated optical tweezer (OT)-based mitochondrial transfer are provided. The system for automated optical tweezer-based mitochondrial transfer includes a microfluidic device and an optical tweezer micromanipulation system. The microfluidic device includes one or more confinement means for confining cells and a channel for flowing mitochondria near the confinement means. The optical tweezer micromanipulation system is configured to trap at least one of the mitochondria within the channel of the microfluidic device for transport of the mitochondria to one of the confined cells.

The invention relates to a device for synthesising oligonucleotides, comprising: a reagent container receptacle (1) for holding a reagent container support (17) comprising multiple reagent containers (18); an exchangeable microfluid chip (10) comprising a synthesis chamber, fluid connectors and microfluid valves; a control device (5); fluid connecting means (2); wherein the device can be loaded with the microfluid chip (10) and the reagent container support (17) when in a loading position; a chip receptacle (3). To allow cost-effective and prompt synthesis even of small amounts of oligonucleotides, the invention provides for an actuator device (6) to be provided, with which the reagent container receptacle (1), the microfluid chip (10) and the fluid connecting means (2) can be brought from the loading position to an operating position, in which operating position the reagent container receptacle (1), the chip receptacle (3) and the fluid connecting means (2) are positioned relative to each other such that reagents can be conveyed out of the reagent containers (18) towards the synthesis chamber (14) depending on the valve position of the microfluid valves.