Methods and apparatus are provided for washing pipette tips, including the inside and outside of the pipette tip. Pipette wash devices comprise a main body comprising a wash chamber, a liquid channel, a gas channel, and a nozzle cavity, and a nozzle for providing a washing mist is positioned in the nozzle cavity and fluidically connected with the liquid channel and the gas channel. Methods of washing a pipette tip include inserting a pipette tip in a wash chamber; spraying a mist on an outside surface of the pipette tip; and blowing pressurized air or inert gas on the outside surface of the pipette tip, thereby washing and drying the pipette. Methods of washing a pipette tip also include passing one or more series of liquid slugs separated by gaseous gaps through the inside of the pipette tip.

The presently disclosed subject matter provides dual-depth thermoplastic microfluidic devices, related kits, microfluidic systems comprising the dual-depth thermoplastic microfluidic device, methods of isolating nucleic acid analytes from a liquid sample, and methods of isolating extracellular vesicles from a liquid sample.

A system is disclosed for measuring head framing and tip straightness in a liquid handler. The present system uses a test plate, having an upper surface formed of clay or other impressionable material. The test plate may be placed at a liquid handling station. Pipette tips may then be loaded onto the head, and the head positioned at the station including the test plate. The head may be actuated in the z-direction so that the tips leave an imprint in the upper surface of the test plate. The imprint of the tips on the test plate may then be analyzed using any of a variety of measurement techniques to determine head framing alignment or misalignment.

A cover for a fluid container having an essentially plane cover plate for closing at least one opening of at least one fluid container and at least two ports, and each port has a through channel extending through the entire thickness of the cover plate and a fluid impermeable first membrane is arranged over the entire cross section of the through channel of the first port and an at least gas permeable second membrane is arranged over the entire cross section of the through channel of the second port is disclosed.

A method is proposed for detecting an error state when aspirating a liquid, including: immersing a tip of an aspiration needle in the liquid, generating a negative pressure in the aspiration needle for a predefined time period to aspirate a predetermined partial volume of the liquid in the aspiration needle, continuously acquiring a sensor signal curve by means of continuous measurement of a sensor signal, which indicates a pressure in the aspiration needle, during an overall time period, which comprises the predetermined time period and furthermore a further time period following the predetermined time period, detecting the error state in the case that the sensor signal falls below a first threshold value during the predetermined time period, characterized by providing a reference signal curve, determining a deviation measure, which indicates a deviation of the sensor signal curve from the reference signal curve during the further time period, providing a predetermined second threshold value, detecting the error state as a function of the deviation measure and the second threshold value.

A fluid aspiration probe apparatus for automatic fluid testing equipment includes a pair of electrodes mounted on a distal probe tip. The electrodes are coupled to an impedance measurement apparatus via conductive pathways along the probe. The impedance measurements and probe tip height are monitored as the probe tip is lowered into a fluid sample. Boundaries between layers of fluid in the container are detected by recognizing sudden changes in the impedance measurements and heights of the boundaries are determined by tracking the position of probe tip when the sudden changes of impedance occur.

A method for the contact metering of liquids having the following steps: a first liquid is introduced into at least one elongate hollow body, some of the first liquid contained in the elongate hollow body is pressed out of the lower end of the elongate hollow body as a contacting volume such that the contacting volume forms a drop suspended from the lower end of the elongate hollow body, at least some of the drop is immersed in a second liquid in a target vessel and the defined metering volume consisting of the contacting volume and a residual volume contained in the elongate hollow body is dispensed into the second liquid.

Systems and methods of identifying reagents loaded into a fluid handling system can comprise programming a protocol for preparing a sample into a controller of the fluid handling system, loading multiple reagent vessels into a carousel of the fluid handling system, imaging individual labels of the multiple reagent vessels with an imaging device to produce label images, comparing information in the label images to identification information located in a database in communication with the controller, and determining if appropriate reagents have been loaded into the carousel to perform the protocol. A fluid handling system can include a deck, a tube holder, an imaging device, a pipettor, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and a processor configured to perform the method.

According to an example aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of information transmission in a system comprising at least one liquid handling device and at least one external device, the method comprising: in one or more of said at least one liquid handling device, producing a machine-readable code that contains information that is derived from a status or properties of the respective liquid handling device or information that has been stored in the respective liquid handling device; in said one or more of said at least one liquid handling device, displaying the respective code on a display that is integrated to a structure of the respective liquid handling device; reading the displayed code or one or more of the displayed codes by an external device.

A device of nondestructive transfer of liquid drops includes a power generation part and a clamping part. The power generation part includes a movable friction material and at least two fixed friction materials. The clamping part includes a supporting mechanism and a left dielectric wetting splint and a right dielectric wetting splint installed on the supporting mechanism. The movable friction material is connected to the left dielectric wetting splint. The at least two fixed friction materials are connected to the right dielectric wetting splint. Also disclosed are a method of nondestructive transfer of liquid drops and a method of micro-reaction of liquid drops.