A dual balance electrode trap having an outer chamber, a droplet dispenser holder removably coupled to the top surface of the outer chamber, and a rod holder having a central opening and four peripheral openings that are sized and shaped to allow four respective quadrupole metal rods to pass therethrough. The droplet dispenser holder has a top surface, a bottom surface, and a through hole that extends from the dispenser holder top surface to the droplet dispenser bottom surface. The through hole has a larger diameter portion adjacent to the top surface and a smaller diameter portion adjacent to the bottom surface, thereby preventing a droplet dispenser distal tip from extending entirely through the hole and contacting electrodes in the DBET. The rod holder is configured to be removably coupled to the quadrupole metal rods so that a location of the rod holder relative to the metal rods is adjustable.

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.

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.

Methods described herein provide a way to reduce or eliminate drag and adhesion of a substance flowing over a surface by creating a vapor cushion via evaporation of a phase-changing material of or on the surface or encapsulated within textures of the surface. The vapor cushion causes the flowing substance to be suspended over the surface, greatly reducing friction, drag, and adhesion between the flowing substance and the surface. The temperature of the flowing substance is above the sublimation point and/or melting point of the phase-changing material. The phase-changing material undergoes a phase change (evaporation or sublimation) upon contact with the flowing substance due to local heat transfer from the flowing substance to the material, generating a vapor cushion between the solid or liquid material and the flowing substance.

A device for determining a position and/or an extension of a drop in a position determination space, where the device has a camera having an objective and a beam splitter in the recording area of the camera, and the device is designed in such a way that light coming from the position determination space can enter the objective of the camera along a first light path as well as along a second light path, where light along the first light path can be reflected at a first reflector element in the direction of the beam splitter and can be transmitted through the beam splitter towards the objective, and where light along the second light path can be reflected at a second reflector element in the direction of the beam splitter and can be reflected at the beam splitter towards the objective.

A microfluidic device includes a first substrate and a second substrate opposite to each other. A light-emitting layer, a first driving layer, and a first hydrophobic layer are on surface of the first substrate facing the second substrate; and first hydrophobic layer is disposed near second substrate; a photosensitive layer, a second driving layer and a second hydrophobic layer are on surface of the second substrate facing the first substrate; and second hydrophobic layer is disposed near first hydrophobic layer, and a gap for holding a droplet is between second hydrophobic layer and first hydrophobic layer; the first and second driving layers are configured to drive the droplet to move within the gap when applied with a driving voltage; the light-emitting layer is configured to emit light with a set wavelength toward the gap; and the photosensitive layer is configured to generate an induced current according to received light.

This invention discloses methods for producing modified cellulose, modified nanocellulose, modified nanocellulose functionalized with other functional species, and derivatives thereof. The present invention also provides cellulose, nanocellulose, and their derivatives that are safe to use inside an animal or human body and are biocompatible without costly purification. These cellulose or nanocellulose materials can be used in many different applications, including carrier for pharmaceutical active agents and other medical devices.

A method and a system for resolving a crystal structure of a crystal at atomic resolution by collecting X-ray diffraction images. The method includes the steps: a) ejecting a droplet of fluid comprising single or multiple of crystal into an ultrasonic acoustic levitator; b) levitating the droplet of fluid with the crystal in the ultrasonic acoustic levitator; b) monitoring the position and the spinning of the droplet with a visualization apparatus; c) applying X-ray to the crystal, the X-ray stemming from an X-ray source; and d) detecting the X-ray diffraction images from the crystal irradiated by the X-ray source by an X-ray detector being capable to capture two dimensional diffraction patterns.

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.

Air-matrix digital microfluidics (DMF) apparatuses and methods of using them to prevent or limit evaporation and surface fouling of the DMF apparatus. In particular, described herein are air-matrix DMF apparatuses and methods of using them including thermally controllable regions with a wax material that may be used to selectively encapsulate a reaction droplet in the air gap of the apparatus; additional aqueous droplets may be combined with the encapsulated droplet even after separating from the wax, despite residual wax coating, by merging with an aqueous droplet having a coating of a secondary material (e.g., an oil or other hydrophobic material) that may remove the wax from the droplet and/or allow combining of the droplets.