Disclosed is a platelet-testing chip. The platelet-testing chip includes a plurality of sample chambers storing blood samples, stirrers provided in the sample chambers to apply shearing force to the blood samples, a plurality of waste sample chambers provided so as to correspond to the plurality of the sample chambers, microchannels, through which the sample chambers and the waste sample chambers corresponding to each other are independently connected to thus form paths through which the blood samples flow from the sample chambers to the corresponding waste sample chambers, and microbeads which are received in one or more of the plurality of the sample chambers and which are coated with a reagent for activating platelets on an outer surface thereof. When the blood samples are transferred from the sample chambers through the microchannels, the microbeads are transferred together with the blood samples.

Provided herein, among other aspects, are methods and apparatuses for analyzing particles in a sample. In some aspects, the particles can be analytes, cells, nucleic acids, or proteins and contacted with a tag, partitioned into aliquots, detected by a ranking device, and isolated. The methods and apparatuses provided herein may include a microfluidic chip. In some aspects, the methods and apparatuses may be used to quantify rare in a sample, such as cancer cells and other rare cells for disease diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment.

Provided is a method of enclosing a microscopic body in at least some of a plurality of cavities formed in the surface of a substrate, including the step of arranging an insertion member above the cavity-formed surface of the substrate, determining relative positions of the insertion member and the substrate by a support section provided on the insertion member such that the bottom surface of the insertion member and the cavity-formed surface of the substrate face each other, thereby providing a solution introduction space between the bottom surface of the insertion member and the cavity-formed surface of the substrate, and providing a solution discharge space that is in communication with the solution introduction space, the solution discharge space being located above the bottom surface of the insertion member, and between the substrate and the insertion member, within the substrate and/or within the insertion member.

The particle trapping device according to the present invention comprises: a lead-in channel; a flattened channel disposed on the downstream side of the lead-in channel; a rectangular channel disposed on the downstream side of the flattened channel; and a particle pit trap disposed at least on a first inner wall face of the rectangular channel, wherein the lead-in channel has a channel cross-section larger than a channel cross-section of the flattened channel; the flattened channel has a flat channel cross-section whose the width is longer than its height; the rectangular channel has a rectangular channel cross-section, and is provided with the first inner wall face, a second inner wall face opposed to the first inner wall face, a third inner wall face, and a fourth inner wall face opposed to the third inner wall face; and the lead-in channel, the flattened channel, the rectangular channel, and the particle pit trap are characterized by being configured in such a way that a portion of liquid containing target particles and flowing through the lead-in channel flows into the flattened channel; the target particles contained in the liquid that had flowed through the flattened channel flow into the rectangular channel; and the target particle that had flowed through the rectangular channel enters into the particle pit trap and is trapped therein.

Described is a multi-dimensional double spiral (MDDS) microfluidic device comprising a first spiral microchannel and a second microchannel, wherein the wherein the first spiral microchannel and second spiral microchannel have different cross-sectional areas. Also described is a device comprising a multi-dimensional double spiral and system for recirculation. The invention also encompasses methods of separating particles from a sample fluid comprising a mixture of particles comprising the use of the multi-dimensional double spiral microfluidic device.

The invention provides a system (1) for performing sperm analysis and selection based on sperm cell morphology of sperm cells (6) in a fluid (5), the system (1) comprising: (i) a fluid flow channel (2) for transport of said fluid (5), the fluid flow channel (2) comprising an inlet (10) an analyzing zone (40) configured downstream from said inlet (10) and comprising a first pair of electrodes (41) comprising a first intra-electrode distance (dl), a sorting zone (50) configured downstream from said analyzing zone (40) and comprising a sorting device (51), and outlets (80, 90, . . . ) configured downstream from said sorting zone (50); (ii) an electric source (140) configured to provide an electric signal to the first pair of electrodes (41); (iii) a measuring device (150) functionally coupled to the first pair of electrodes (41) and configured to measure a first impedance as a function of time of the fluid (5) between the first pair of electrodes, and to provide time-dependent impedance data; wherein the sorting device (51) is configured to sort sperm cells (6) by directing the sperm cell (6) in the sorting zone (50) to one of the outlets (80, 90, . . . ) based on a comparison in a comparison stage of the time dependent impedance data with predefined reference data.

Disclosed is a FRET based assay and related products. The assay employs molecular imprinted polymers having a very high affinity for their target.

This system takes in raw cellular material collected using a provided swab, blood collection device, urine collection device, or other sample collection device and transforms that biological material into a digital result, identifying the presence, absence and/or quantity of nucleic acids, proteins, and/or other molecules of interest.

A mechanically-actuated vacuum-controlled fluid collection system includes a mechanically-actuated vacuum controller (MA VC) to draw fluid into a chamber through the opening to the chamber. The system may include a releasable seal to seal the opening, and the MAVC may include a spring-loaded plunger to create a vacuum within the chamber when sealed. The system includes multiple fluid chambers, and may further include a single actuator or multiple corresponding actuators. The system may be configured to add a pre-loadable reagent to fluid drawn into the one or more chambers, and may be configured to add the reagent in proportion to a volume of the fluid. The system may be controllable to release collected fluid to another device, such as for assay and/or transport. The system may be configured to draw a liquid biological sample such as urine, and may include a fluid interface to draw fluid from a biological sample container.

Provided herein are devices and methods of processing a sample that include, in several embodiments, rotating one or more microfluidic chips that are mounted on a support plate using a motor driven rotational chuck. By spinning one or more of the microfluidic chips about a common center of rotation in a controlled manner, high flow rates (and high shear forces) are imparted to the sample in a controlled manner. Each microfluidic chip can be rotated 180 on the support plate so that the sample can be run back-and-forth through the microfluidic devices. Because the support plate can be driven at relatively high RPMs, high flow rates are generated within the microfluidic chips. This increases the shear forces on the sample and also decreases the processing time involved as the sample can quickly pass through the shear-inducing features of the microfluidic chip(s).