Devices and methods for characterization of analyte mixtures are provided. Some methods described herein include performing enrichment steps on a device before expelling enriched analyte fractions from the device for subsequent analysis. Also included are devices for performing these enrichment steps.

A pipetting device for outputting amounts of a dosing fluid of less than 1 μl including a fluid volume; a pipetting plunger that can be moved along a plunger path, wherein a displacement of the pipetting plunger brings about a first pressure change in the fluid volume; a movement drive which is force-transmittingly connected to the pipetting plunger in order to drive the pipetting plunger such that it moves along the plunger path; a sound source which is designed to generate at least one sound impulse as a second pressure change in the fluid volume; and a control device which is designed to control the movement drive and the sound source, the pipetting device having a pipetting channel which extends along a channel axis and in which both the pipetting plunger is moveably accommodated along the channel axis as the plunger path and the fluid volume is accommodated, wherein the fluid volume includes a working gas which wets a plunger surface of the pipetting plunger, wherein, in addition, the sound source is designed and arranged to generate the at least one sound impulse in the working gas.

An example device includes a droplet ejector including a nozzle to eject droplets of a fluid and a target medium to receive the droplets of the fluid. The target medium is separated from the droplet ejector by a gap to be traversed by the droplets. The example device further includes a frame affixing the target medium to the droplet ejector. The target medium is immovably held with respect to the droplet ejector.

A droplet discharge device for discharging a droplet into one or more droplet storage parts of a storage vessel; the droplet discharge device including: a droplet discharge part configured to discharge the droplet in a predetermined amount from a nozzle hole of the droplet discharge part; a storage vessel holding part configured to hold the storage vessel; a mover part configured to move the droplet discharge part relative to the storage vessel that is held by the storage vessel holding part; and a detecting part configured to detect a shape of a surface of the storage vessel that is held by the storage vessel holding part.

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for tagging and acoustically characterizing containers.

In one example an apparatus can include a controller communicatively coupled to a droplet dispenser to deposit fluid on a digital microfluidic (DMF) array including a plurality of droplet manipulation electrodes, the controller to: select a first droplet manipulation electrode from the plurality of droplet manipulation electrodes to on which to dispense a first volume of fluid via the droplet dispenser; position the droplet dispenser over the selected first droplet manipulation electrode; and deposit the first volume of fluid onto the selected first droplet manipulation electrode.

An example input voltage agnostic fluidic device may include a level shifter to adjust an input voltage of control signals received at an input interconnect to a voltage level that is within operational thresholds of on-chip devices of the input voltage agnostic fluidic device. A clamp circuit may be provided to clamp circuitry downstream of the level shifter below the operational threshold of the on-chip device.

In some examples, a controller to receives, from a strain sensor in a fluidic die component, measured strain data, and detects a change in direction of the fluidic die component based on the measured strain data.

Device (145) for dispensing drops of liquid, characterised in that it comprises: —at least one container (100) for a liquid, comprising at least one internal chamber and an upper opening, each chamber having a lower aperture and a seal sealing the upper opening, the seal having a substantially planar resiliently deformabie flexible portion, —at least one mechanical actuation means (146) configured to deform a flexible portion of a seal of at least one container, —a means (147) for selecting the volume of a drop to be dispensed from a plurality of drop volumes, a means (148) for determining the volume of liquid present in at least one container, and—a means (149) for controlling the actuation means, which means controls the movement from at least one point of the flexible portion of a container seal, as a non-constant function of the drop volume to be dispensed and the volume of liquid present in the container.

A liquid discharging device to be used with a liquid dispensing apparatus includes a discharging portion configured to discharge a liquid based on a control signal from the liquid dispensing apparatus on which the liquid discharging device is mounted, and a sheet material having a characteristic configured to be changed by the liquid dispensing apparatus after a discharge of the liquid by the discharging portion.