The invention provides a passive fluidics circuit for directing different fluids to a common volume, such as a reaction chamber or flow cell, without intermixing or cross contamination. The direction and rate of flow through junctions, nodes and passages of the fluidics circuit are controlled by the states of upstream valves (e.g. opened or closed), differential fluid pressures at circuit inlets or upstream reservoirs, flow path resistances, and the like. Free diffusion or leakage of fluids from unselected inlets into the common outlet or other inlets at junctions or nodes is prevented by the flow of the selected inlet fluid, a portion of which sweeps by the inlets of unselected fluids and exits the fluidics circuit by waste ports, thereby creating a barrier against undesired intermixing with the outlet flow through leakage or diffusion. The invention is particularly advantageous in apparatus for performing sensitive multistep reactions, such as pH-based DNA sequencing reactions.

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 Digital Separation (DS) chip for separating, digitizing and analyzing a fluid sample is presented. The DS chip includes a fluidic layer that prepares and compartmentalizes the fluid sample for analysis. Cliff structures that are adjacent to wells skim the fluid sample and prevent particles, which may interfere with fluid sample analysis, from entering the wells. Skimmed fluid sample analysis occurs in the wells and endpoint data can be collected and used to determine an original concentration of a desired component in the fluid sample very quickly. Using the described apparatus and methods, a fluid sample can be prepared, digitized, compartmentalized, assayed and the endpoint data collected in 30 minutes. The apparatus and methods can easily be adapted to provide parallel processing of a sample.

Methods and systems for manipulating drops in microfluidic channels are provided.

Provided is a microfluidic detection device, including a base with a microfluidic channel structure formed on the base and a lid covering the base. The microfluidic channel structure includes a sample well for loading a sample, a detection well having a first reagent for reacting with the sample, and a channel connecting the sample well and the detection well. The detection well has a recess deeper than the channel, and the base includes a protrusion corresponding to the recess to form a space between the protrusion and the recess. Also provided is a method for rapid diagnostic testing by the microfluidic detection device.

Microfabricated particulate matter (PM) monitors and fractionators within the PM monitors are provided. A primary channel of a vertical or out-of-plane fractionator receives air samples, comprising particles of varying sizes, from the external environment. The air samples then pass through a plurality of microfluidic channels, wherein inertial forces are applied within the microfluidic channels to separate the particles by size. The fractionator comprises a horizontal air outlet for particles having a size below a threshold size and a vertical air outlet for particles having a size above a threshold size. Thus, the proportion of PM in the air sample is reduced prior to deposition on a PM monitor. A virtual cyclone may also be provided that comprises a bend positioned at a flow path through a primary channel of the vertical microfabricated fractionator.

A microfluidic chip orients and isolates components in a sample fluid mixture by two-step focusing, where sheath fluids compress the sample fluid mixture in a sample input channel in one direction, such that the sample fluid mixture becomes a narrower stream bounded by the sheath fluids, and by having the sheath fluids compress the sample fluid mixture in a second direction further downstream, such that the components are compressed and oriented in a selected direction to pass through an interrogation chamber in single file formation for identification and separation by various methods. The isolation mechanism utilizes external, stacked piezoelectric actuator assemblies disposed on a microfluidic chip holder, or piezoelectric actuator assemblies on-chip, so that the actuator assemblies are triggered by an electronic signal to actuate jet chambers on either side of the sample input channel, to jet selected components in the sample input channel into one of the output channels.

Biological activity in holding pens in a micro-fluidic device can be assayed by placing in the holding pens capture objects that bind a particular material of interest produced by the biological activity. The biological material of interest that binds to each capture object can then be assessed, either in the micro-fluidic device or after exporting the capture object from the micro-fluidic device. The assessment can be utilized to characterize the biological activity in each holding pen. The biological activity can be production of the biological material of interest. Thus, the biological activity can correspond to or arise from one or more biological cells. Biological cells within a holding pen can be clonal cell colonies. The biological activity of each clonal cell colony can be assayed while maintaining the clonal status of each colony.

A microbiological testing device for testing a liquid to be analysed that is liable to contain at least one microorganism, includes a closed inner space, a microbiological filtration member and an inlet port. The device has a nutritive layer in contact with the filtration member, and in that, in a configuration for providing the device an open/close member of the inlet port is in a closed state; the absolute gas pressure inside the closed inner space is strictly less than the standard atmospheric pressure, such that the device is able to create suction through the inlet port during a first opening of the open/close member.

The invention relates to a dispensing device comprising a housing having at least one pressure chamber, having a supply opening for the supply of liquid into the pressure chamber and having a multiplicity of conduits between the pressure chamber and an external side of the housing, there being situated in each of the conduits a tube, the first end of which protrudes into the pressure chamber and the second end of which protrudes out of the housing on the external side.