Disclosed is a real-time method for detecting copper and silver in water in parts per billion. Total silver is detected by adding a nitric acid solution to the sample; after the silver is digested, 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; then reading the absorbance of the sample after light with an approximate target peak of 515 nm is sent through the sample; 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 nitric acid solution to the sample; after the copper is digested, 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 after light with an approximate target peak of 480 nm is sent through the sample; 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.

Assay cartridges are described that have a detection chamber, preferably having integrated electrodes, and other fluidic components which may include sample chambers, waste chambers, conduits, vents, bubble traps, reagent chambers, thy reagent pill zones and the like. In certain embodiments, these cartridges are adapted to receive and analyze a sample collected on an applicator stick. Also described are kits including such cartridges and a cartridge reader configured to analyze an assay conducted using an assay cartridge.

A specimen holding and positioning apparatus operable to substantially non-movably maintain a specimen (e.g., an excised tissue specimen) in a fixed or stable orientation with respect to the apparatus during imaging operations (e.g., x-ray imaging), transport (e.g., from a surgery room to a pathologist's laboratory), and the like for use in facilitating accurate detection and diagnosis of cancers and/or other abnormalities of the specimen.

The present disclosure is drawn to loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reaction assemblies including a substantially hygroscopic agent free LAMP reagent mixture in combination with a solid-phase reaction medium. The present disclosure also includes systems for a chromatic LAMP analysis including a substantially non-reactive solid phase reaction medium, and a non-interfering reagent mixture. The present disclosure also includes solid phase LAMP reaction mediums comprising a substrate, an adhesive layer disposed on the substrate, a reaction layer disposed on the adhesive layer, and a spreading layer disposed on the reaction layer. The present disclosure also includes methods of testing for a presence of a target nucleotide sequence including providing a biological sample, and dispensing the sample into a test environment having a solid phase reaction medium in combination with a LAMP reagent mixture and a pH sensitive dye.

The present invention relates to a test system or an assay system (detection system) and test method preferably for use in the Point-of-Care (PoC) field.

The present invention is related to the field of bio/chemical sampling, sensing, assays and applications. Particularly, the present invention is related to how to make the sampling/sensing/assay become simple to use, fast to results, highly sensitive, easy to use, using tiny sample volume (e.g. 0.5 uL or less), operated by a person without any professionals, reading by mobile-phone, or low cost, or a combination of them.

A solid-core ring-magnet having one or more cavities is provided. The magnet can have an overall cylindrical shape or a rectangular-prism shape. In either case, a portion of cavity walls of the magnet are ring shaped, causing the magnetic field lines to emanate from the magnet in the shape of a ring. The diameter of the ring shaped cavities can be constant throughout, constant through a portion of the cavity, variant throughout, or variant through a portion of the cavity. The cavities open to the end of the magnet, and terminate toward the core of the magnet. Also provided are systems and kits having solid-core ring-magnets. Methods of purifying a macromolecule using the solid-core ring-magnets are also provided.

Provided is a specimen collection tip having a novel structure, with which it is possible to collect a trace amount of a specimen with good quantitative precision. Also provided is a specimen preparation container having a novel structure, with which it is possible to dilute and prepare the specimen collected with the specimen collection tip with good quantitative precision. A specimen collection tip 10, wherein a specimen holding region 12 having a predetermined volume is provided inside the specimen collection tip 10, and in a distal end portion extending from a support part 15, there is formed a specimen collection hole 22 and an air vent hole 24 placing the specimen holding region 12 in communication with a surface 23. Also, a specimen preparation container 26 with a cap 30, wherein the specimen collection tip 10 is attached to the cap 30 at the support part 15.

Methods and systems are provided for point-of-care nucleic acid amplification and detection. One embodiment of the point-of-care molecular diagnostic system includes a cartridge and an instrument. The cartridge can accept a biological sample, such as a urine or blood sample. The cartridge, which can comprise one or more of a loading module, lysis module, purification module and amplification module, is inserted into the instrument which acts upon the cartridge to facilitate various sample processing steps that occur in order to perform a molecular diagnostic test.

A cell capture apparatus includes a cell separation unit having a flat plate shape and a cell capture unit having a flat plate shape located therebelow. A liquid sample and a carrier liquid flow in a cell-separation flow passage of the cell separation unit. The liquid sample contains multiple large cells, multiple small cells, and a sample liquid component. The cell-separation flow passage separates a set of large cells and the carrier liquid from a set of small cells and the sample liquid component. The cell capture unit includes a large-cell flow passage in which the set of large cells and the carrier liquid flows, and multiple electrode wires for attracting the large cells by means of dielectrophoresis. Multiple cell capturing wells are formed in the large-cell flow passage. Each of the multiple cell capturing wells has a size that can capture one of the large cells attracted by the electrode wires.