This disclosure concerns a cytometry system including a handling system that enables presentation of single cells to at least one laser source. The laser source is configured to deliver light to a cell within the cells in order to induce bond vibrations in the cellular DNA. The system further includes a detection facility that detects the signature of the bond vibrations, wherein the bond vibration signature is used to determine the folding or packing of the DNA.

A fluid entrained particle separator may include an inlet passage to direct particles entrained in a fluid, a first separation passage branching from the inlet passage, a second separation passage branching from the inlet passage and electrodes to create electric field exerting a dielectrophoretic force on the particles to direct the particles to the first separation passage or the second separation passage, wherein the first separation passage, the second separation passage, the electric field and the dielectrophoretic force extend in a plane.

This disclosure concerns a cytometry system including a handling system that enables presentation of single cells to at least one laser source. The laser source is configured to deliver light to a cell within the cells in order to induce bond vibrations in the cellular DNA. The system further includes a detection facility that detects the signature of the bond vibrations, wherein the bond vibration signature is used to determine the folding or packing of the DNA.

A device for isolating a microbe or a virion includes a semiconductor substrate; and a trench formed in the semiconductor substrate and extending from a surface of the semiconductor substrate to a region within the semiconductor substrate; wherein the trench has dimensions such that the microbe or the virion is trapped within the trench.

A system for enriching target cells in a sample is disclosed. The system comprises a microfluidic chip comprising a sample inlet, a sample outlet, a waste outlet and a microfluidic channel, the sample inlet being coupled to an upstream end of the microfluidic channel and the sample outlet and the waste outlet being coupled to a downstream end of the microfluidic channel, the microfluidic chip being configured such that target cells are directed to the sample outlet and non-target cells are directed to the waste outlet; a sample input pump configured to introduce the sample into the sample inlet of the microfluidic chip; an output flow rate detector configured to measure a flow rate at the sample outlet and/or the waste outlet of the microfluidic chip; a sample collection switching valve having a configuration switchable between a first configuration in which the sample output of the microfluidic chip is coupled to a sample output container and a second configuration in which the sample output of the microfluidic chip is coupled to a waste output container; and a controller configured to control the configuration of the sample collection switching valve using the flow rate measured by the output flow rate detector.

A microfluidic tissue dissociation and filtration device simultaneously filters large tissue fragments and dissociates smaller aggregates into single cells, thereby improving single cell yield and purity. The device includes an inlet coupled to a first microfluidic channel at an upstream location and a first outlet at a downstream location. A first filter membrane is interposed between the first microfluidic channel and a second microfluidic channel, wherein the second microfluidic channel is in fluidic communication with the first microfluidic channel via the first filter membrane. The first filter membrane operates under a tangential flow format. A second outlet is coupled to a downstream location of the second microfluidic channel and includes a second filter membrane interposed between the second outlet and the second microfluidic channel. The dual membrane device increased single cell numbers by at least 3-fold for different tissue types.

A microfluidic chip system for generating droplets is provided by the present disclosure. The microfluidic chip system includes a droplet generation device for generating the droplets, a power generation device for supplying power to the droplet generation device, a collection container for collecting the droplets flowing out of the droplet generation device, a connection device connecting the droplet generation device, the power generation device, and the collection container to each other, and a preparation platform holds together the droplet generation device, the power generation device, and the collection container. A method for preparing the droplets is also provided by the present disclosure.

The present invention is directed to the use of microfluidics in the preparation of cells and compositions for therapeutic uses.

Techniques for separating particles of interest from whole blood are disclosed. An example particle separation chip includes a first inlet on the particle separation chip for receiving whole blood and a second inlet on the particle separation chip for receiving a lysis buffer. The particle separation chip also includes a mixer to mix the whole blood with the lysis buffer to provide lysis of red blood cells in the whole blood. The particle separation chip also includes a buffer exchanger to exchange the lysis buffer for a dielectrophoresis buffer to produce a solution that enables dielectrophoretic separation of particles of interest. The particle separation chip also includes a separator coupled to an output of the buffer exchanger to separate the particles of interest from other particles in the solution via dielectrophoretic separation and deliver the particles of interest to an outlet on the particle separation chip.

The present invention relates to the use of microfluidics to introduce a sample and release a smaller subset of target molecule. In one embodiment of the present invention, a method of using microfluidics in order to separate and extract smaller subsets of target molecules from larger sample is described. In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of using microfluidic devices integrated with acoustics in order to fraction blood to serum to microRNA is described. In the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention, a method of using such devices for early stage diagnostics for an assortment of diseases is described.