The present invention provides a coated article, which can be used in in-vitro diagnostics, in particular in the diagnostic testing of body fluids, such as in blood coagulation testing. The coated article is made of a polymer material and coated with a polymer material, which may be the same or different. The present invention furthermore provides a method of preparing such a coated article and a method of performing such diagnostics, e.g. coagulation analysis.

The present invention provides a medical analysis device and a cell analysis method, which can capture specific cells such as many types of cancer cells including cancer cells not expressing EpCAM and stem cells. Provided is a medical analysis device including a well portion, the well portion having a hydrophilic silane compound layer formed at least partly on the inner surface thereof.

The present invention provides a coated article, which can be used in in-vitro diagnostics, in particular in the diagnostic testing of body fluids, such as in blood coagulation testing. The coated article is made of a polymer material and coated with a polymer material, which may be the same or different. The present invention furthermore provides a method of preparing such a coated article and a method of performing such diagnostics, e.g. coagulation analysis.

Described herein is a microfluidic chip comprising a first channel in fluid communication with an adjacent second channel through a opening, wherein the height of the first channel and the second channel are chosen to generate sufficient surface tension at the opening such that a liquid injected into the first channel or the second channel is substantially confined within the first channel or the second channel, respectively, or that flow of the liquid therebetween is controlled, the surface tension producing a non-physical microfluidic barrier that limits or selectively controls passage of the liquid. Also described are in vitro microphysiological systems that use such microfluidic chips in modeling the structure and functions of human organs, such as a blood-brain barrier, and studying in vivo-like physiological responses of such organs to various investigative or therapeutic agents.

There are provided a hydrogel fluid device which includes a flow path having an arbitrary shape that can be formed by a simple method and in which a material of a base component can be arbitrarily selected and the mechanical strength is excellent when the flow path is processed, and a method of producing the same. A hydrogel fluid device 1 includes a film hydrogel 3 having an adhesive area 3a for a base component 2 and a non-adhesive area 3b for the base component 2, a flow path 4 that is formed due to swelling of the hydrogel constituting the non-adhesive area 3b, and a bulk gel 5 that covers one surface of the film hydrogel 3 outside the flow path 4 and composed of a polymer material having a lower degree of swelling than the hydrogel before swelling; and a method of producing a hydrogel fluid device includes providing a layer of a hydrogel on the base component 2 so that the adhesive area 3a for the base component 2 and the non-adhesive area 3b for the base component 2 are formed, forming the flow path 4 by swelling the hydrogel, covering the outside of the flow path 4 with a polymer material having a lower degree of swelling than the hydrogel before swelling, and swelling the bulk polymer material.

Blood typing systems and methods are provided. In one embodiment, the method may be achieved by applying a sample to a surface of a substrate having one or more binding agents immobilized thereon, wherein the one or more binding agents are capable of binding to one or more substances in the sample; substantially removing unbound material from at least a portion of the substrate having immobilized binding agent; and detecting substances bound to the one or more binding agents immobilized on the substrate; wherein the applying the sample to the surface of the substrate step is concurrent with the removing unbound material from at least a portion of the substrate step. Systems and other methods are also described and illustrated.

This invention relates generally to the field of nucleic acid detection. In particular, the invention provides a lab-on-chip system for analyzing a nucleic acid, which system comprises, inter alia, controllably closed space, and a target nucleic acid can be prepared and/or amplified, and hybridized to a nucleic acid probe, and the hybridization signal can be acquired if desirable, in the controllably closed space without any material exchange between the controllably closed space and the outside environment. Methods for analyzing a nucleic acid using the lab-on-chip system is also provided.

A microfluidic device including a serum separator, a quantum dot and antibody inlet connected to the serum separator, a quantum dot linked immunosorbent assay (QLISA) chamber connected to the serum separator, and an outlet connected to the QLISA chamber. The microfluidic device is configured to determine an amount of drug in a serum.

System and method includes a body having a central microchannel separated by one or more porous membranes. The membranes are configured to divide the central microchannel into a two or more parallel central microchannels, wherein one or more first fluids are applied through the first central microchannel and one or more second fluids are applied through the second or more central microchannels. The surfaces of each porous membrane can be coated with cell adhesive molecules to support the attachment of cells and promote their organization into tissues on the upper and lower surface of the membrane. The pores may be large enough to only permit exchange of gases and small chemicals, or to permit migration and transchannel passage of large proteins and whole living cells. Fluid pressure, flow and channel geometry also may be varied to apply a desired mechanical force to one or both tissue layers.

The present disclosure provides methods, microfluidic devices, and systems for isolating target particles from a sample containing or suspected of containing the target particles. The methods, microfluidic devices, and systems disclosed herein facilitate affinity-based isolation of target particles in a microfluidic channel by translating the target particles to the side walls of the microfluidic channel where capture agents that bind to the target particles are immobilized.