Systems and methods for flowing particles, such as biological entities, in a fluidic channel(s) are generally provided. In some cases, the systems described herein are designed such that a single particle may be isolated from a plurality of particles and flowed into a fluidic channel (e.g., a microfluidic channel) and/or collected e.g., on fluidically isolated surfaces. For example, the single particle may be present in a plurality of particles of relatively high density and the single particle is flowed into a fluidic channel, such that it is separated from the plurality of particles. The particles may be spaced within a fluidic channel so that individual particles may be measured/observed over time. In certain embodiments, the particle may be a biological entity. Such article and methods may be useful, for example, for isolating single cells into individual wells of multi-well cell culture dishes (e.g., for single-cell analysis).

A method of partitioning droplets from a fluid reservoir containing particles provides a non-Poissonian distribution of dispensed droplets containing a desired number of particles. The method constitutes a method of operating an electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) device including the steps of: inputting a fluid reservoir containing particles into the EWOD device; performing an electrowetting operation to dispense a plurality of dispensed droplets from the fluid reservoir; interrogating each droplet with a detector and determining whether each dispensed droplet has a desired number of particles; selecting dispensed droplets that contain the desired number of particles and performing an electrowetting operation to move the selected dispensed droplets to a reaction area on the EWOD device; and rejecting dispensed droplets that do not contain the desired number of particles and performing an electrowetting operation to move the rejected dispensed droplets to a holding area on the EWOD device that is different and spaced apart from the reaction area. The selected droplets may be combined, including with or without a portion of the rejected droplets and/or additional reagent, into a larger reaction droplet that may be used in subsequent reaction protocols.

The present disclosure discloses an antibody combination for substituting a side scatter signal in mass cytometry hematologic tumor immunophenotyping, including a Lactoferrin antibody and a Lysozyme antibody. The present disclosure also discloses a gating method for mass cytometry hematologic tumor immunophenotyping. The present disclosure also discloses a kit for mass cytometry hematologic tumor immunophenotyping. According to the present disclosure, the Lactoferrin antibody and the Lysozyme antibody are used for the first time, are combined with a CD45 antibody for two-stage gating strategy, and are combined with a mass cytometer to substitute traditional flow cytometry CD45/SSC to distinguish mature granulocytes, monocytes, nucleated red blood cells, lymphocytes, primitive and juvenile cells, and abnormal cell subsets in bone marrow. Combined with the multi-parameter high-throughput characteristics of the mass cytometry, the present disclosure can improve the depth of the current hematologic tumor immunophenotyping.

Systems and methods for flowing particles, such as biological entities, in a fluidic channel(s) are generally provided. In some cases, the systems described herein are designed such that a single particle may be isolated from a plurality of particles and flowed into a fluidic channel (e.g., a microfluidic channel) and/or collected e.g., on fluidically isolated surfaces. For example, the single particle may be present in a plurality of particles of relatively high density and the single particle is flowed into a fluidic channel, such that it is separated from the plurality of particles. The particles may be spaced within a fluidic channel so that individual particles may be measured/observed over time. In certain embodiments, the particle may be a biological entity. Such article and methods may be useful, for example, for isolating single cells into individual wells of multi-well cell culture dishes (e.g., for single-cell analysis).

The invention provides devices and methods for linked multimodal measurements of individual particles using a mass sensor and an additional sensor.

A method to determine a mass of particles collected on a collection membrane having a first surface and a second surface. The particles to be analysed are deposited on the first surface. In a first step, the particles of the first surface are scanned with a Raman spectrometer and a preliminary Raman signal is collected. In a second step, at least one additional physical property of the particles is determined. In a third step, a correction factor is calculated based on the additional physical property. In a fourth step, a final Raman signal is calculated based on the correction factor and the preliminary Raman signal. In a fifth step the actual mass of the particles is determined based on the final Raman signal.

Systems and methods for measuring the properties (e.g., mechanical properties) of particles such as biological entities, in a fluidic channel(s) are generally provided. In some embodiments, the systems and methods comprise measuring an acoustic scattering of single particles. For example, a single particle (e.g., a biological entity) may be flowed in a suspended fluidic channel (e.g., a suspended microfluidic channel) and the fluidic channel is oscillated at or near a (mechanical) resonant frequency (e.g., at a second or higher bending mode) of the suspended fluidic channel. In some cases, an acoustic scattering signal (e.g., the change in resonant frequency of the fluidic channel as the particle flows along a longitudinal axis of the channel) may correspond to a property (e.g., a mechanical property, a cross-linking density, a transport rate of small molecules into/out of the particle) of the particle. In certain embodiments, the systems and methods comprise determining a node deviation due to a single particle (or node deviations for a plurality of particles).

Methods of calibration are provided. A method comprises introducing a material with cell-like properties and a known mass into a sensor on a measurement instrument to generate a calibration reading and adjusting an output module of the measurement instrument until the measurement instrument calibrates to the known mass for the material.

Methods for determining the hardness and/or ductility of a material by compression of the material are provided as a first aspect of the invention. Typically, compression is performed on multiple sides of a geologic material sample in a contemporaneous manner. Devices and systems for performing such methods also are provided. These methods, devices, and systems can be combined with additional methods, devices, and systems of the invention that provide for the analysis of compounds contained in such samples, which can indicate the presence of valuable materials, such as petroleum-associated hydrocarbons. Alternatively, these additional methods, devices, and systems can also stand independently of the methods, devices, and systems for analyzing ductility and/or hardness of materials.

The present invention relates to a device for determining the mass of a nanoparticle, virus or protein in a suspension or solution in a fluid. This device can be applied in particular to mass spectrometry for ionized species with high collection efficiency (i.e. low limit of detection). According to the present invention, an instrument comprises a first device for electrospraying the fluid to obtain a charged flux comprising at least the particle, a second device for determining the mass of the particle by a frequency measurement and a third device that is fabricated on the same chip with, and surrounding the second device to focus and guide the majority of the incoming charged particles including at least the particle by means of holding charge on itself to act as an electrostatic lens. The charge on the third device can be induced either by the original electrospray of the same polarity as the particle itself or by a separate mechanism such as, including but not limited to, by using a separate tip to generate charging through a proper mechanism such as electrospray or corona discharging.