A device for preparing a blood sample, including a microfluidic card including: a first chamber for separating and/or extracting proteins to be analyzed that are present in the blood sample; a second chamber used for an operation involving digestion of proteins of different species that are present in the sample, to obtain a second sample containing digested peptides and nondigested proteins; and a third chamber connected to the second chamber to receive the second sample containing the digested peptides and the non-digested proteins, the third chamber being used for an operation involving purification and stabilization of the digested peptides.

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.

The present invention relates to an automatic real-time label-free holography-activated sorting of the cell's technique. The technique provides high-discriminative power on the level of the individual cell. The technique includes rapid automated cell processing during cell visualization and flow, with high discriminative power on the level of the individual cell. The technique may be useful in detection of cancer and to identify different stages of oncogenesis.

A method of manufacturing synthetic particles for use in microfluidic devices is disclosed. The method includes identifying a set of particle characteristics for a fluid-based process. The set of particle characteristics can include a synthetic particle density and one or more of a size, compressibility, elastic modulus, or porosity. The method includes selecting an input material for the synthetic particles based on the set of synthetic particle characteristics. The method may include selecting an additive based on the set of synthetic particle characteristics. The method includes providing input material and the additive into a droplet generator to create one or more synthetic particles having the set of synthetic particle characteristics, and modifying a surface characteristic the synthetic particles, such that the synthetic particles bind to a target particle in a solution.

A microfluidic cartridge includes lower cartridge body, a biochip, and an upper cartridge body. The lower cartridge body includes a first substrate and an inlet column. The inlet column is protruding above the substrate and is hollow. The biochip has a plurality of microwells and is attached to the first substrate of the lower cartridge body. The upper cartridge is disposed over the lower cartridge body and includes a second substrate, a first opening, and a first O-ring. The first opening penetrates the second substrate, wherein the inlet column of the lower cartridge body is inserted into the first opening, and the inlet column and the first opening are assembled into an inlet port. The first O-ring is disposed in the first opening. The inlet port and the biochip are connected to by an inflow channel.

Systems and methods for flowing particles, such as biological entities, in a fluidic channel(s) are generally provided. In some cases, the systems described herein are designed such that a single particle may be isolated from a plurality of particles and flowed into a fluidic channel (e.g., a microfluidic channel) and/or collected e.g., on fluidically isolated surfaces. For example, the single particle may be present in a plurality of particles of relatively high density and the single particle is flowed into a fluidic channel, such that it is separated from the plurality of particles. The particles may be spaced within a fluidic channel so that individual particles may be measured/observed over time. In certain embodiments, the particle may be a biological entity. Such article and methods may be useful, for example, for isolating single cells into individual wells of multi-well cell culture dishes (e.g., for single-cell analysis).

Microfluidic devices are described that include a microfluidic channel, a first array of one or more magnets above the microfluidic channel, each magnet in the first array having a magnetic pole orientation opposite to a magnetic pole orientation of an adjacent magnet in the first array, and a second array of one or more magnets beneath the microfluidic channel, each magnet in the second array having a magnetic pole orientation opposite to a magnetic pole orientation of an adjacent magnet in the second array. The first array is aligned with respect to the second array such that magnetic fields emitted by the first array and second array generate a magnetic flux gradient profile extending through the channel. An absolute value of the profile includes a first maximum and a second maximum that bound a local minimum. The local minimum is located within the microfluidic channel or less than 5 mm away from a wall of the microfluidic channel. Methods of using the new devices are also described.

A microfluidic device capable of trapping contents in a manner suitable for high-throughput imaging is described herein. The microfluidic device may include one or more trapping devices, with each trapping device having a plurality of trapping channels. The trapping channels may be configured to receive contents via an inlet channel that connects a sample reservoir to the trapping channels via fluid communication. The trapping channels are shaped such that contents within the trapping channels are positioned for optimal imaging purposes. The trapping channels are also connect to at least one exit channel via fluid communication. The fluid, and contents within the fluid, may be controlled via hydraulic pressure.

A method for producing a chemical reactor, wherein the chemical reactor comprises one or more effective channels which comprise pillar structures, an input connected to one of the effective channels to allow fluid/gas into the effective channels and an output connected to one of the effective channels to remove at least one component of the liquid/gas. The method comprises obtaining an initial design of the reactor, further introducing into the initial design at least a structured area positioned adjacent to an effective channel of the one or more effective channels located at the edge of the initial design, the structured area not being fluidly connected to one of the effective channels, to obtain a further design and the production of the reactor according to the further design.

This invention relates generally to devices, systems, and methods for avoiding bubble formation in a fluidic chamber during filling of the fluidic chamber with a liquid. A first and second piece are operatively coupled to form the fluidic chamber. A protrusion protrudes into a volume of the fluidic chamber such that there is a distance of minimal approach between an apex of the protrusion and a surface of the fluidic chamber. The protrusion forms a channel that extends from one of an inlet and the outlet of the fluidic chamber to the protrusion apex. A maximum distance of travel through the fluidic chamber volume exists between the inlet and the outlet. A cross-sectional area of the fluidic chamber volume increases from the protrusion apex to a transverse plane of the fluidic chamber and decreases from the transverse plane to the other one of the inlet and the outlet.