Methods are provided for separating magnetically responsive beads from a droplet in a droplet actuator. Droplet operations electrodes and a magnet are arranged in a droplet actuator to manipulate a bead-containing droplet and position it relative to a magnetic field region that attracts the magnetically responsive beads. The droplet operations electrodes are operated to control the droplet shape and transport it away from the magnetic field region to form a concentration of beads in the droplet. The continued transport of the droplet away from the magnetic field causes the concentration of beads to break away from the droplet to yield a small, concentrated bead-containing droplet immobilized by the magnet.

A device for determining the amount or concentration of an analyte in a fluid sample and a flow rate of the fluid sample in a channel is provided. The device includes a chamber including a channel and an opening the channel in fluid communication with the opening. The device further includes a wicking component positioned adjacent to the opening configured to receive an amount of fluid from the channel. The device may further include an analyte sensor positioned on the wicking component, the analyte sensor configured to detect an analyte in fluid in contact with the analyte sensor, wherein the wicking component is configured to contact the amount of fluid with the analyte sensor. Alternatively the device may include at least one pair of electrodes configured to determine a flow rate of the fluid in the channel.

The present invention relates to provide, among other things, the methods, devices, and systems that can simply and quickly collecting and analyzing a tiny amount of vapor condensates (e.g. exhaled breath condensate (EBC)).

A test strip (12) includes a flow path (26) formed in a main body portion (20); a reagent portion (22b) provided in the flow path (26); and an intake portion (24) which is provided at a starting end of the flow path (26) and through which a sample is introduced into the flow path (26). The main body portion (20) is provided with a buffer space (28) communicating with a terminal end of the flow path (26), and a vent hole (30) opened at an outer surface of the main body portion (20) and communicating with the buffer space (28), and in a region where the buffer space (28) and the flow path (26) are connected, a cross-sectional area (Sb) of the buffer space (28) is larger than a cross-sectional area (S) of the flow path (26).

The present invention discloses a microstructured discrimination device for separating hydrophobic-hydrophilic fluidic composites comprising particulate and/or fluids in a fluid flow. The discrimination is the result of surface energy gradients obtained by physically varying a textured surface and/or by varying surface chemical properties, both of which are spatially graded. Such surfaces discriminate and spatially separate particulate and/or fluids without external energy input. The device of the present invention comprises a platform having bifurcating microchannels arranged radially. The lumenal surfaces of the microchannels may have a surface energy gradient created by varying the periodicity of hierarchically arranged microstructures along a dimension. The surface energy gradient is varied in two regions. In one pre-bifurcation region the surface energy gradient generates a fluid flow. In the other post-bifurcation region, there is a difference in surface energy proximal to the bifurcation such that different flow fractions are divided into separate channels in response to different surface energy gradients in each of the post-bifurcation channels. Accordingly, fluids of different hydrophobicity and/or particulate of different hydrophobicity are driven into separate channels by a global minimization of the fluid system energy.

A functional material for testing a liquid sample includes a based material in a sheet shape and a channel part provided on a mounting surface of the base material wherein the channel part is composed with water-permeable fibers having permeability, and water-impermeable fibers having impermeability. The water-permeable fibers and the water-impermeable fibers are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the channel part, forming voids wherein the voids are in a mesh structure in which one of the voids connects to another of the voids such that the empty spaces are linked from a base end to a tip end of the channel part. A thickness of the channel part is ranged from 20 μm mm to 5 mm, and a width of the voids is ranged from 10 μm to 200 μm, allowing the liquid sample to move from the base end to the tip end due to capillarity.

A microfluidic sensor for the detection of analytes in objects includes a contact surface that may be attached to a surface of the object, an inlet hole in the contact surface for the entry of fluids emitted by the object, and a first reservoir which stores an ionic fluid in the form of a polymer matrix. The polymer matrix includes a reactive substance which changes colour when it enters into contact with the analytes of the fluids emitted by the object. It further includes at least one first microfluidic duct which connects the inlet hole to the first reservoir. A system for the detection of analytes, a method for the manufacture of the microfluidic sensor and the use of the microfluidic sensor for the detection of analytes in works of art are also related.

The application relates to a sample holder (110) and a system (100). The application also relates to a method for processing a biological sample (S) and use of the sample holder or of the system in an analytical method or a diagnostic method. The sample holder (110) comprises a tubular member (111) with a wall that is at least locally transparent and at least locally permeable for reagents, wherein the tubular member consists at least partially of a transparent material.

The present invention relates to a method for determining an analyte using surface enhanced RAMAN spectroscopy and to a device which is suitable for this purpose.

A solid reagent containment unit is formed by a support; a frame body fixed to the support and delimiting internally, together with the support, an analysis volume; a reagent-adhesion structure within the analysis volume; and at least one reagent cavity, which extends within the reagent-adhesion structure. The reagent-adhesion structure is of an adhesion material embossable at temperatures lower by 6-8° C. than its own melting point and has a melting point such as not to interfere with the analysis. The reagent cavity forms a retention wall, laterally surrounding the reagent cavity, and houses dried reagents. The adhesion material is chosen among wax, such as paraffin, a polymer, such as polycaprolactone, a solid fat, such as cocoa butter, and a gel, such as hydrogel or organogel.