A microreactor includes: a substrate (2; 102; 202) made of semiconductor material; a plurality of wells (5; 105; 205) separated by walls (6; 106; 206) in the substrate (2; 102; 202); a dielectric structure (7; 107; 207a, 207b) coating at least the top of the walls (6; 106; 206); a cap (3; 103; 203), bonded to the substrate (2; 102; 202) and defining a chamber (10; 110; 210) above the wells (5; 105; 205); and a biasing structure (2, 8, 13; 102, 108, 113; 202, 208a, 208b, 213), configured for setting up a voltage (VB) between the substrate (2; 102; 202) and the chamber (10; 110; 210).

The invention concerns a method and system for determining dissolution properties of a particle. The method comprises providing into a vessel dissolution medium capable of dissolving the particle and providing the particle into said vessel in contact with the dissolution medium for dissolving the particle. According to the invention, the particle is trapped in a particle trapping zone formed at a predetermined location in the vessel, the particle trapping zone being formed preferably at least partially by continuous hydrodynamic motion of the dissolution medium. Residue of the particle is imaged while being trapped in said particle trapping zone for providing a plurality of sequential images of the particle residue. Finally, at least one dissolution property of the particle is determined based on the sequential images. The invention allows for dissolution rate, intrinsic dissolution rate and/or solubility of matter to be reliably determined from very small sample amounts and without manual affixation of samples.

The present disclose provides methods and systems for amplifying and quantifying nucleic acids and for detecting the presence or absence of a target in a sample. The methods and systems provided herein may utilize a device comprising a plurality of partitions separated from an external environment by a gas-permeable barrier. Certain methods disclosed herein involve subjecting nucleic acid molecules in the plurality of partitions to conditions sufficient to conduct nucleic acid amplification reactions. The nucleic acid molecules may be subjected to controlled heating in the plurality of partitions to generate data indicative of a melting point(s) of the nucleic acid molecules.

The present invention relates to a method of diagnosing cardiovascular disease (CVD). The method comprises obtaining a whole blood sample from a subject; separating components of the whole blood sample into a plurality of fluid fractions; collecting one or more selected fluid fractions comprising one or more separated components of the whole blood sample, wherein the one or more separated components comprise cardiac cells such as cardiomyocytes; and detecting expression of one or more cardiovascular disease-associated biomarkers from the cardiomyocytes from the selected fluid fractions thereby determining one or more related cardiovascular diseases in the subject.

This disclosure describes microfluidic tissue biopsy and immune response drug evaluation devices and systems. A microfluidic device can include an inlet channel having a first end configured to receive a fluid sample optionally containing a tissue sample. The microfluidic device can also include a tissue trapping region at the second end of the inlet channel downstream from the first end. The tissue trapping region can include one or more tissue traps configured to catch a tissue sample flowing through the inlet channel such that the fluid sample contacts the tissue trap. The microfluidic device can also include one or more channels providing an outlet.

A microfluidic system includes a flexible substrate having a skin-facing surface and a back-facing surface; a microfluidic network at least partially embedded in or supported by the flexible substrate; a sensor fluidically connected to the microfluidic network, wherein the microfluidic network is configured to transport a biofluid from a skin surface to the sensor; and a capping layer, having a capping layer skin-facing surface and a back-facing surface, wherein the back-facing surface of the capping layer is attached to the skin-facing surface of the substrate. The flexible substrate is at least partially formed of a thermoplastic elastomer or a polymer configured to provide a high barrier to vapor or liquid water transmission.

The current invention relates to the device and method to separate biological entities from a sample fluid by a microfluidic device. The claimed methods separate biological entities by differentiating the sizes of the biological entities with ultrasound modes. The claimed methods further utilize a multi-staged design that removes smaller size entities at earlier and wider sections and concentrates larger entities at later and narrower sections of a microfluidic channel.

A coagulation test device for measuring clotting time and clot characteristics of a whole blood sample under different hemostatic conditions. Results of the test are used as an aid in management of patients with coagulopathy of unknown etiology in order to help the physician determine appropriate clinical action to arrest bleeding in a patient.

A microfluidic sample chip to test biological samples, especially for a PCR-type and/or fluorescence assay. The chip being in the shape of a hollow block having at least one chamber delimited by an upper wall, a lower wall and at least one side wall, into which a sample can be introduced for testing. The lower wall of the block is made of a material with a high thermal conductivity and the upper wall is made of a material with a low thermal conductivity. Preferably, the upper wall is preferably permeable to radiation in the visible spectrum between 400 and 700 nm. The block having at least two openings through which the sample can be introduced into at least one of the chambers and through which the air present in the chamber can be evacuated when the sample is introduced.

A microfluidic system for analyzing a sample solution includes a division chamber for accommodating an input volume of the sample solution. The division chamber has a plurality of partial volume segments for accommodating a plurality of partial volumes of the sample solution, which partial volumes can be used for detection reactions. The microfluidic system also has a displacing device configured to divide the input volume into the plurality of partial volumes.