A microfluidic chip is disclosed herein. In a specific embodiment, the microfluidic chip comprises at least one microfluidic reservoir having a wall portion and a heat transfer sealing layer cooperating with the wall portion for receiving a sample to be tested. The heat transfer sealing layer is arranged to be contiguous with the sample to be tested. The microfluidic chip further comprises an active temperature control device arranged to provide structural support to the heat transfer sealing layer and operable to control a temperature of the sample via transmission of heat through the heat transfer sealing layer. A detection module is also disclosed.

A microfluidic device is disclosed which comprises a main flow channel and a partition chamber connected to a portion of same by a chamber inlet and chamber outlet. The device utilizes select cross sections to advantage capillary effects during filling and partitioning steps to isolate biological or other samples in the partition chamber for analysis and can be employed in a digital array.

A tunable inertial sheathing (TIS) system and methods for particle-size-insensitive high-throughput single-stream focusing of particles suspended in a particle-carrying fluid are provided. The TIS conditions particles to distribute locally within one of compartments of inertial force field, followed by an inertial focusing to migrate it to a single foci. For the particle localization, the TIS system introduces an arbitrary form of peripheral sheathing by generating and accumulating sheath fluid from particle-carrying fluid through a combination of inertial focusing, channel bifurcation and channel confluence. Multiple forms of the TIS system are also provided, each including one main channel and at least one bypass channel. The main channel includes and cascades at least three segments, at least one bifurcating junction and at least one confluence junction.

Parallel uses of microfluidic methods and devices for focusing and/or forming discontinuous sections of similar or dissimilar size in a fluid are described. In some aspects, the present invention relates generally to flow-focusing-type technology, and also to microfluidics, and more particularly parallel use of microfluidic systems arranged to control a dispersed phase within a dispersant, and the size, and size distribution, of a dispersed phase in a multi-phase fluid system, and systems for delivery of fluid components to multiple such devices.

The present disclosure describes a microfluidic chip for culturing and in vitro testing of 3D organotypic cultures. The tests may be performed directly on the organotypic culture in the microfluidic chip. The microfluidic chip includes at least one microfluidic unit which includes two fluidic compartments, such as upper and lower, separated by a permeable supporting structure, one or more access opening for the fluidic compartments, and a set of lids interchangeable with a set of insets. The permeable support structure serves as a support for the organotypic culture. The upper and lower compartments may include inlets and outlets which allow fluids to be perfused into the lower compartment and fluids to be perfused into the upper compartment. The access opening may be closed with a lid or accommodate an inset.

The device comprises a nib (12) having a working surface (16) exposed or exposable for acquiring a biological sample and a porous structure to absorb the sample thus acquired. A reservoir (28) provides fluid under pressure to the nib via a valve (29), conveying and dispensing the sample into a reaction chamber (14), where it reconstitutes a dried-down reagent (43) to perform an analytic reaction on the sample, for example, an isothermal amplification of nucleic acid released from the sample by a membrane-disrupting agent pre-functionalised in the porous nib. The nib may be initially mounted (A) in the outlet of the reservoir or (B) in the inlet to the reaction chamber, in either case with its working surface (16) initially exposed to acquire the sample before the components of the device are assembled for performing the analytical procedure.

There is disclosed a nanopore support structure comprising a wall layer comprising walls defining a plurality of wells, and overhangs extending from the walls across each of the wells, the overhang defining an aperture configured to support a membrane suitable for insertion of a nanopore. There is further disclosed a nanopore sensing device comprising a nanopore support structure, and methods of manufacturing the nanopore support structure and the nanopore sensing device.

The invention provides sample cartridges for processing samples. The sample cartridges comprise at least one fluidic channel. Each fluidic channel comprises a sample chamber, a lysis chamber, a binding chamber, a pre-amplification region, and an amplification region. The sample cartridges also comprise a waste line that is in fluidic connectivity with each fluidic channel. The sample cartridges can interface with a plurality of plungers that are capable of occluding at least one fluidic channel, waste line, and/or optional assay line to limit the transport of fluids into, out of, and/or along at least one fluidic channel by plunging. The invention also provides multi-channel sample cartridges, which are sample cartridges that comprise at least two fluidic channels. In addition, the sample cartridges can house fluids on the cartridge, off the cartridge, or some on the cartridge and some fluids off the cartridge.

The present invention describes an integrated apparatus that enables identification of migratory cells directly from a specimen. The apparatus only requires a small number of cells to perform an assay and includes novel topographic features which can reliably differentiate between migratory and non-migratory cell populations in a sample. Both the spontaneous and chemotactic migration of cancer cells may be measured to distinguish between subpopulations within a tumor sample. The migratory cells identified using the apparatus and methods of the present invention may be separated and further analyzed to distinguish factors promoting metastasis within the population. Cells in the apparatus can be treated with chemotherapeutic or other agents to determine drug strategies to most strongly inhibit migration. The use of optically transparent materials in some embodiments allows a wide range of imaging techniques to be used for in situ imaging of migratory and non-migratory cells in the apparatus. The apparatus and methods of the present invention are useful for predicting the metastatic propensity of tumor cells and selecting optimal drugs for personalized therapies.

A microfluidic chip configuration wherein injection occurs in an upwards vertical direction, and fluid vessels are located below the chip in order to minimize particle settling before and at the analysis portion of the chip's channels. The input and fluid flow up through the bottom of the chip, in one aspect using a manifold, which avoids orthogonal re-orientation of fluid dynamics. The contents of the vial are located below the chip and pumped upwards and vertically directly into the first channel of the chip. A long channel extends from the bottom of the chip to near the top of the chip. Then the channel takes a short horizontal turn that nearly negates any influence of cell settling due to gravity and zero flow velocity at the walls. The fluid is pumped up to a horizontal analysis portion that is the highest channel/fluidic point in the chip and thus close to the top of the chip, which results in clearer imaging. A laser may also suspend cells or particles in this channel during analysis which prevents them from settling.