The present disclosure provides apparatuses, systems, and methods for performing particle analysis through flow cytometry at comparatively high event rates and for gathering high resolution images of particles.

Described herein are methods inducing the uptake of an agent by a cell. Aspects of the invention relate to physically compressing the cell to induce perturbations (e.g., holes) in the cell membrane or wall. An agent is taken up by the cell through induced perturbations.

A gas detection module includes: a fixed seat, a gas sensor including a detection chamber, and a micro pump. The micro pump includes a pump chamber, a first communication port, and a second communication port. The first and second communication ports are in communication with the pump chamber. The gas sensor and the micro pump are arranged side by side on the fixed seat, the fixed seat is provided with a first and a second fluid port that are both in communication with the outside of the fixed seat, the first fluid port is in communication with the detection chamber, the second fluid port is in communication with the second communication port, a flow channel is further formed on the fixed seat. One end of the flow channel is in communication with the first fluid port, and the other end is in communication with the first communication port.

A microfluidic flow restrictor that uses micron-sized beads to impede flow is described. The flow rate can be adjusted by adding or removing the beads using injection needles through self-sealing ports, one injection needle injecting or aspirating beads and another injection needle pushing or pulling fluid from outside of a bead trap within the flow restrictor. In alternative embodiments, the beads or other filler material can be trapped in a manifold bead trap such that they block a subset of fluid channels of the flow restrictor, allowing fluid to flow freely through the rest of the fluid channels. The flow restrictor can be integrated with a contact lens or implantable medical device for use in dispensing liquid therapeutic agents at flow rates of microliters per minute or moving body fluids at a controlled rate from one part of the body to another.

The microfluidic device capable of initiating sequential flow according to the present invention includes: a main flow path in which a suction port for sucking the fluid with a negative pressure is formed at one end; a plurality of reservoirs that supply a fluid stored therein to the main flow path through an outlet by the negative pressure applied to the suction port, and are connected to a plurality of different points of the main flow path; and a blocking element that blocks the inflow of external air to the main flow path through the outlet when all the fluid in the reservoir flows out, wherein the fluid stored in a plurality of the reservoirs may flow sequentially.

A method and device for transfecting a cell to introduce an exogenous material into the cell. The method includes exposing the cell to a region of unsteady flow in the presence of an electric field to encourage introduction of the exogenous material into a cell without lysing the cell.

Disclosed are microfluidic flow-based electroporation systems that have a flow device, an electrical control module, a fluid delivery module, and a multi-well module. The systems can be used in methods of selecting an electroporation parameter, and in methods of electroporating cells using the selected parameters.

An optical detection assembly for monitoring a biological fluid in a vessel includes two fluid-adjustment structures, which are spaced apart and configured to receive at least a portion of a biological fluid-containing vessel therebetween. A light source (which may be associated with one of the fluid-adjustment structures) is configured to emit light through a thickness of the biological fluid in the vessel, while a light detector (which may be associated with the other one of the fluid-adjustment structures) is configured to receive at least a portion of the light from the light source after it has passed through the biological fluid in the vessel. At least a portion of at least one of the fluid-adjustment structures is configured to move with respect to at least a portion of the other one so as to change the thickness of the biological fluid in the monitored portion of the vessel.

Systems, devices, methods, and computer-readable media may use broad-range spectrophotometric analysis and/or other sensors to generate data from bodily fluids accessed via a fluid drain. These data may be utilized to analyze therapeutic efficacy, to enable early detection of complications, and to guide the clinical management of patients being treated with a fluid drain. Advantageously, these systems, devices, methods, and computer-readable media enable clinical patient care decisions to be performed in a manner that is data-driven or quantitative in nature as opposed to qualitative—e.g., via well-defined, algorithmic-based processes and/or reliable methods. As a result, these systems, devices, methods, and computer-readable media enable improved clinical outcomes, more efficiently optimized medical care, and cost savings.

Microfluidic structures and methods for manipulating fluids, fluid components, and reactions are provided. In one aspect, such structures and methods can allow production of droplets of a precise volume, which can be stored/maintained at precise regions of the device. In another aspect, microfluidic structures and methods described herein are designed for containing and positioning components in an arrangement such that the components can be manipulated and then tracked even after manipulation. For example, cells may be constrained in an arrangement in microfluidic structures described herein to facilitate tracking during their growth and/or after they multiply.