A liquid handling device having an axis of rotation about which the device can be rotated to drive liquid flow. The device includes a vented upstream chamber having an outlet port and an unvented chamber including an inlet port to receive liquid from the outlet port of the upstream chamber and an outlet port radially outward the inlet port. The device further includes a vented downstream chamber having an inlet port to receive liquid from the outlet port of the unvented chamber. A downstream conduit connects the outlet port of the unvented chamber to the inlet port of the downstream chamber and includes a bend radially inward of the outlet port of the unvented chamber. An upstream conduit connects the outlet port of the upstream chamber to the inlet port of the unvented chamber.

The invention describes a method for the synthesis of compounds comprising the steps of: (a) compartmentalising two or more sets of primary compounds into microcapsules; such that a proportion of the microcapsules contains two or more compounds; and (b) forming secondary compounds in the microcapsules by chemical reactions between primary compounds from different sets; wherein one or both of steps (a) and (b) is performed under microfluidic control; preferably electronic microfluidic control, The invention further allows for the identification of compounds which bind to a target component of a biochemical system or modulate the activity of the target, and which is co-compartmentalised into the microcapsules.

A test element for an assay includes: a cartridge having a housing which includes a priming pad capable of containing a liquid fluid, a wash port having an opening in the housing, and an opening for directly or indirectly applying a sample; and an assay device positioned within the cartridge in fluid communication with the wash port containing an analytical reagent.

A substrate for sample analysis including: a substrate including a rotation axis; a first chamber, which includes a first space which retains the liquid; a second chamber, which includes a second space which retains the liquid discharged from the first chamber; and a first flow passage, which includes a path connecting the first chamber and the second chamber in which the first flow passage has a first opening and a second opening, the first opening and the second opening are connected to the first chamber and the second chamber, respectively, and the first opening is positioned on a side closer to the rotation axis than the second opening, in which the first space includes a first region, which includes a portion extending from the first opening and in which the first space of the first chamber has a capacity larger than a capacity of the first flow passage.

An embodiment for a microfluidic device is provided. The device comprises two areas, arranged side-by-side, and a trigger channel. They include a first area, which is delimited by a first liquid pinning barrier, and a second area, which is delimited by a second liquid pinning barrier. The latter extends parallel to the first liquid pinning barrier to delimit a corridor. The trigger channel extends through the corridor between the two areas. In addition, the trigger channel connects the first liquid pinning barrier with the second liquid pinning barrier, allowing a first liquid pinned at the first liquid pinning barrier and a second liquid pinned at the second liquid pinning barrier to be contacted, each, by a reverse flow of the second liquid in the trigger channel and thereby start mixing at a level of the corridor, in operation. The invention is further directed to related methods of operation.

Aspects of the present invention relate to a test device comprising a housing configured to receive a test component, an inlet, integral with the housing, configured to receive body fluid; and a reservoir in fluid communication with the inlet and the test component. The inlet may be integral with the housing. Optionally the reservoir may comprise a recess in the upper wall of the housing and being in fluid communication with the inlet and the test component. Alternatively, the housing may comprise a projection from an upper wall of the housing extending into a cavity formed by the housing such that it contacts the test component to direct fluid from the reservoir along at least a part of the test component.

An example micro-fluidic device includes a micro-fluidic channel having an inner surface and a plurality of pillars positioned along the inner surface. The device further includes a plurality of power supplies connected to the pillars. Another example micro-fluidic device includes a micro-fluidic channel having an inner surface and a plurality of pillars positioned along the inner surface. The device further includes a power supply. The pillars are grouped into at least two groups of pillars, each group of pillars including at least two pillars, and all pillars of at least one group of pillars are connected to the power supply. In another example, a sensing system for detecting bioparticles includes a micro-fluidic device, wherein a surface of each pillar comprises functionalized plasmonic nanoparticles or functionalized SERS nanoparticles, a radiation source for radiating the micro-fluidic device, and a detector for detecting SERS signals or surface plasmon resonance.

The present invention refers to a system comprising microfluidic devices of extraction, capacitance analysis, together with the smartphone-controlled potentiostat, consisting of a portable system that can be applied on offshore platforms and offering an analytical procedure that requires low levels of samples and chemical ingredients. In addition, the assembly provides the in loco, fast analysis of species having fouling features with high analytical frequency. The ability to carry out these analyzes in low BSW oils represents a strong analytical improvement view of the technical difficulties observed in traditional methods that use liquid-liquid extraction. Thus, the possibility of quickly predicting the ionic composition profile of these water samples becomes a strategy for monitoring, control and decision-making actions in the production chain, making it possible to establish more appropriate fouling inhibition strategies, enabling more proactive actions rather than reactive ones to be taken by the operator. Therefore, unscheduled production stops caused by fouling in the production system are prevented.

The present disclosure provides devices and methods using Plasma coil r separating a fluid—e.g., plasma or serum—from whole blood. In some embodiments, the devices and methods use hydrophobic or superhydrophobic surfaces to encourage whole blood to contact a selective membrane that extracts the desired fluid component from the blood.

A method of performing an optical measurement of an analyte in a processed biological sample using a cartridge is provided. The cartridge is operable for being spun around a rotational axis. The method comprises: placing the biological sample into a sample inlet; controlling the rotational rate of the cartridge to process a biological sample into the processed biological sample using a fluidic structure; controlling the rotational rate of the cartridge to allow the processed biological sample to flow from the measurement structure inlet to an absorbent structure via a chromatographic membrane, and performing an optical measurement of a detection zone on the chromatographic membrane with an optical instrument. An inlet air baffle reduces evaporation of the processed biological sample from the chromatographic membrane during rotation of the cartridge.