Described are platforms, systems, media, and methods for maintaining a database of items associated with one or more skill requirements and a visit duration; maintaining a database of experts associated with one or more skill proficiencies, a location, and a schedule; receiving a request from a consumer for delivery by an expert of one or more items in the database to a consumer address; identifying experts in the database having skill proficiencies matching the skill requirements of the one or more items and available in a timeslot for the visit duration of the one or more items; presenting timeslots for which one or more experts are identified to the consumer and allowing the consumer to select a timeslot; and selecting an expert from among the identified experts in the selected timeslot based on shortest travel time; provided that utilization of the selected expert exceeds a predetermined utilization threshold.

This disclosure describes a reaction vessel assembly that includes the following: a reaction vessel including a housing component; a reaction chamber defined by the housing component; and a light absorbing layer conforming to a portion of an interior-facing surface of the housing component that defines the reaction chamber, the light absorbing layer comprising a multiple discrete regions; and an energy source configured to direct light through at least a portion of the housing component at one or more of the discrete regions of the light absorbing layer.

The present invention contemplates use of encapsulated aqueous and non-aqueous reagents, solutions and solvents and their use in laboratory procedures. These encapsulated aqueous or non-aqueous reagents, solutions and solvents can be completely contained or encapsulated in microcapsules or nanocapsules that can be added to an aqueous or non-aqueous carrier solution or liquid required for medical and research laboratory testing of biological or non-biological specimens.

Reagent cartridges and related systems and methods for controlling reagent temperature are disclosed. In accordance with an implementation, an apparatus includes a system and a reagent cartridge. The system includes a reagent cartridge receptacle, a non-contact temperature controller, a processor operatively coupled to the temperature controller. The reagent cartridge is receivable within the reagent cartridge receptacle and includes a flow cell assembly, a plurality of reagent reservoirs, and a manifold assembly. The manifold assembly includes a common fluidic line and a plurality of reagent fluidic lines. Each of the plurality of reagent fluidic lines is adapted to be fluidically coupled to a corresponding reagent reservoir and selectively couplable to the common fluidic line. The processor is to cause the temperature controller to change a temperature of at least one of the common fluidic line or one or more of the reagent fluidic lines.

The present technology provides for a fluorescent detector that is configured to detect light emitted for a probe characteristic of a polynucleotide. The polynucleotide is undergoing amplification in a microfluidic channel with which the detector is in optical communication. The detector is configured to detect minute quantities of polynucleotide, such as would be contained in a microfluidic volume. The detector can also be multiplexed to permit multiple concurrent measurements on multiple polynucleotides concurrently.

Digital microfluidic (DMF) apparatuses and methods for optically-induced heating and manipulating droplets are described herein. DMF apparatuses employing photonic heating as described herein provide radical simplification of routing droplets/reagents in complex, multistep protocols and/or highly plexed workflows.

The present invention relates to a method for the sensitive identification of high-affinity complexes made of two ligands (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and one receptor (1). A large number of different ligands (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of a chemical library are hereby contacted with at least one receptor (1) in a solution. The ligands of the library have a single-strand DNA (8, 9) or RNA with a base length of 2 to 10 bases or alternatively more than 10 bases. In addition, the solution is incubated for a specific period of time and complexes made of two ligands (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and one receptor (1) are identified.

Optical systems and apparatuses configured for enabling substantially simultaneous observation of a plurality of points in an array from a common reference point. Without the optical systems and apparatuses disclosed herein, less than all of the plurality of points can be observed substantially simultaneously from the common reference point.

A cover member for a substrate supporting a biological sample comprises first and second opposing ends, first and second opposing surfaces, a void in the second surface which, when juxtaposed with a substrate, forms a chamber, and a fluid inlet toward the first end and in fluid communication with the void. The void is bounded by void walls having one or more contoured regions for enhancing fluid movement within the chamber. A treatment module for a biological sample comprises the cover member, a support surface for a substrate bearing the biological sample and clamp means operable to releasably retain the cover member in juxtaposition with the substrate for an incubation period. A method for incubating the biological sample with one or more reagents uses the cover member.

An integrated molecular diagnostics system (iMDx) for the detection of Dengue Fever at point-of-care, wherein blood plasma separation for the selective separation of the Dengue virus from the whole blood, LED-driven photothermal lysis of the Dengue virus for the RNA extraction, and LED-driven rapid optical cavity PCR for the amplification of Dengue viral RNA are integrated on-chip within a single micro-fluidic device.