A water treatment device includes a tubular member configured to allow water to flow between an inlet on one end side and an outlet on the other end side, and a filter member disposed in the tubular member between the inlet and the outlet. The filter member includes a conductive filter having permeable holes through which water can flow, a pair of electrodes configured to apply a voltage to the conductive filter, and an insulator disposed between the pair of electrodes and configured to insulate between the pair of electrodes.

Filtration head (1) for a filter system, comprising base (2) including filter support (3) for removable filter element (4) and a fluid path from one side of filter element (4) on filter support (3), through filter element (4), and to drainage outlet (5) of base (2), and holder device (6) for removably attaching funnel (7) to base (2) to form a sample fluid reservoir on one side of filter element (4), wherein holder device (6) comprises ring-shaped element (8) configured to extend about bottom peripheral flange (7a) surrounding a lower end of funnel (7) and to selectively apply a biasing force on a radially outward protruding portion (7b) of bottom peripheral flange (7a) of funnel (7) to press funnel (7) against base (2). The filtration head allows the use of cardboard funnels without risk of liquid leakage between the funnel and the base.

Devices and methods are provided that permit efficient and selective separation of liquid biological specimens into at least two constituent components to facilitate subsequent quantitative and qualitative analysis on at least one analyte of interest in at least one of the components. The devices generally include one or more sample deposition regions supported on a base. Each sample deposition region includes a separation membrane for separating the liquid biological specimen into two different fractions. The first fraction is trapped by the separation membrane while the second fraction passes through the separation membrane and into a respective collection membrane. The separation and collection membranes are easily separable from the devices and can be utilized for further processing and analysis.

A filtration vessel, having within constituent filter media is formed using plastic injection molding to meet the interior specifications of a high-pressure filtration encasement system while remaining a separate replaceable component. The encasement system supports and encases walls of the filtration vessel enabling the vessel to be designed with sufficient strength and resiliency to form a seal and constrain filter media prior to and after use without necessitating construction to endure independent high-pressure operations. The bottom or base of the vessel includes a plurality of holes through which the filtrate may flow. Interposed between the base of the vessel and the filter media is a semi-permeable barrier imbedded into the injection molded walls and base of the vessel. The barrier prevents residue from contaminating the filtrate.

A vacuum manifold for filtration microscopy includes a manifold top having multiple openings, and a capture membrane positioned above and spaced apart from the manifold top, where the capture membrane is configured to deflect into contact with a surface of the manifold top when a negative pressure is applied to the multiple openings. A method for filtration microscopy includes the steps of providing a vacuum manifold including a manifold top having a plurality of openings, and a capture membrane positioned above and spaced apart from the manifold top; applying sample drops to sample spots on the membrane, the sample spots positioned above the plurality of openings; applying a negative pressure to the openings such that the capture membrane contacts a surface of the manifold top; and optically imaging particulates on the capture membrane.

The technology disclosed herein relates to a vent assembly having a vent housing that defines a first airflow pathway, a second airflow pathway, and a third airflow pathway. The first airflow pathway is configured for fluid communication with an interior of an enclosure. The second airflow pathway is configured for fluid communication with the external environment, and the third airflow pathway extends between the first airflow pathway and the second airflow pathway. A membrane is coupled to the vent housing such that the second airflow pathway and the third airflow pathway are in communication through the membrane. Coalescing filter media is disposed within the vent housing such that the third airflow pathway and the first airflow pathway are in communication through the coalescing filter media. The vent assembly defines a spacing region between the coalescing media and the membrane.

Disclosed is a device for extracting a filtrate from a liquid sample that includes one or more filtration membranes and, in physical contact with a portion of the downstream surface(s) of the filtration membrane(s), a soluble matrix possessing a capillary drawing force sufficient to draw filtrate through the at least one filtration membrane and into the soluble matrix, causing the soluble matrix to at least partially dissolve or disintegrate in the filtrate, whereby the filtrate is released. Various configurations, including device configurations having two filtration membranes with a soluble matrix in between or having a tubular filtration membrane at least partially surrounding or surrounded by a soluble matrix are described.

Many hand-held diagnostics are limited in their functionality due to the challenging physics associated with small dimensional systems. An example of this is capillary forces in hydrophilic systems, such as the tight retention of liquid passing through a small pore filtration membrane, or capillary force driven microfluidics where, to keep liquid flowing the dimensions of the system become so small that the flow rates are too low to be useful, or the manufacturing of such devices becomes uneconomical. This disclosure details methods to reset the capillary force condition to avoid the requirement of transient pressure spikes associated with the breakthrough pressure of small pore membranes, and avoid the necessity of extremely small microfluidic channels, which can be useful in applications such as filtration of whole blood to plasma using only suction pressure or passive capillary pressure.

A resin barrier device for connection in a vacuum line, for use in resin infusion during composite manufacture, includes a housing having an inlet port for connection to a resin source and an outlet port for connection to a vacuum source. A flow path extends between the inlet and outlet ports. A gas-permeable membrane is disposed across the flow path to prevent resin from flowing to the vacuum pump. A gasket supports the membrane and is adapted to prevent resin leakage. A method of infusing a preform with a resin also is provided.

A molecular filtration device and method of use capable of filtering and purifying molecules of a particular characteristic, wherein the amount of molecule to be filtered may be in the nanogram range and may be dispersed in a relatively large volume of solution. The resultant elution may include a substantially pure solution comprising the desired molecule.