A microfluidic structure for spacing out and aligning entities in an aqueous suspension is provided. The structure comprises: a channel for guiding entities in an aqueous suspension; a first comb of first inlets arranged on a first side of the channel for introducing a spacing medium into the channel; and a second comb of second inlets arranged on a second side of the channel for introducing the spacing medium into the channel; wherein the first side is opposite the second side, and wherein one of the first inlets has a corresponding, respective one of the second inlets at a substantially similar longitudinal position along the channel.

A hydrodynamic shuttling chip device comprising an array of single-cell trapping units is disclosed. Each unit comprises: (a) an incoming channel with a capture site; (b) a large chamber located posterior to the capture site, having a receiving structure spaced apart from the capture site at a distance of g; (c) a trapping channel located between the capture site and the receiving, site; (d) a chamber channel located posterior to and in fluidic connection with the large chamber; and (e) a by-pass channel, located lateral to the incoming channel, large chamber and chamber channel and having a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, the first end branching out from the incoming channel immediately prior to the capture site and the second end joining the chamber channel. A method of capturing single cells of more than one type is also disclosed.

Microfluidic impedance based lab on chip is a sensor module to measure the impedance of a single biological cell flowing in channel of micrometer size. In the present invention, the enhancement in the channel cross-section 30 micron [h]45 micron [w] leads to reduce the pressure drop significantly i.e., around 40 kPa at 100 microliter/min, which demands by cartridge based micro-pump for portable devices at Point of Care (PoC) location. Lab on chip of present invention is capable of withstanding 20 Vpp for several hours without degradation of electrodes and also capable to measure the particle with dimension down to 2 microns. Lab on chip of present invention was also used to count the platelet of the diluted blood samples without any pretreatment and comparable to the clinical lab report.

A device includes a microfluidic trap disposed along a microfluidic channel, the trap and channel having dimensions to create a fluid vortex within the trap to trap a particle of interest and an electrode having interdigitated electrically isolated fingers positioned in the trap to create an electric field across the trap such that the electric field causes electroporation of a molecule into the particle of interest. A further device includes an array of channels, traps and interdigitated electrically isolated fingers.

The subject matter of the present invention is a microfluidic process for treating and analysing a solution containing a biological material, comprising a step of introducing the solution into microchannels of a microfluidic circuit (1), a step of forming drops of this solution, under the effect of modifications of the surface tension of the solution, a step of moving the drops to one or more drop storage zones(s) (130), under the effect of modifications of the surface tension of the drops, a step of treating the drops and a step of analysing the drops.

The subject matter of the present invention is a microfluidic process for treating and analysing a solution containing a biological material, comprising a step of introducing the solution into microchannels of a microfluidic circuit (1), a step of forming drops of this solution, under the effect of modifications of the surface tension of the solution, a step of moving the drops to one or more drop storage zones(s) (130), under the effect of modifications of the surface tension of the drops, a step of treating the drops and a step of analysing the drops.

Provided is an apparatus for cell particle sorting based on microfluidic-chip flow, by using a design in which Dean flow focusing occurring in a spiral channel and hydrodynamic filtration are coupled. The apparatus comprises a first substrate including a spiral channel having an inner surface and an outer surface based on a radius of curvature, a sample solution inlet, a medium inlet, and a spiral inner-outlet and a spiral outer-outlet both for discharging the particles, and a second substrate including a main channel in which the sample solution discharged from the first substrate and passing through an inter-substrate way flows and a cut-off width W.sub.C is set, a side channel allowing a medium introduced into the medium inlet to flow to focus the sample solution on a sidewall of the main channel, a plurality of branch channels connected to the sidewall of main channel and configured to receive the particles from the main channel, a main channel outlet, and at least one branch channel outlet.

The invention relates to a method of sorting submillimetric particles entrained in a fluid flowing in an axial direction of a main channel, the particles being of density different from the density of the fluid, and the method being characterized in that it implements, in a first region of the main channel, focusing of the particles along a wall (7) of the main channel (1) by means of at least one focusing device (3), and downstream from said region, collecting of particles in at least one sorting and take-off device (40) in communication with the main channel (1) via an opening such that the particles collected are selected by the take-off device as a function of the size of said particles, and in that said at least one sorting and take-off device is a recirculation chamber (40) in communication with the main channel (1) and presenting at least one recirculation zone (41) for concentrating the collected particles.

A sampler has a sample chamber for a sample forming from a molten material, at least one lower cooling body, at least one upper cooling body, at least one inner cooling body, and at least one filling part. The sample chamber is surrounded jointly at least by the lower cooling body and the inner cooling body, such that at least the sample chamber can be cooled by at least the lower and inner cooling bodies. The filling part merges into the sample chamber by a filling opening. Between a region of the outer surface of the inner cooling body and a region of the outer surface of the upper cooling body opposite the outer surface of the inner cooling body, the sampler has at least one gap for conducting at least one gas. The volume of the respective cooling bodies is larger than the volume of the gap.

A method for simultaneous imaging and executing contact-free directed hydrodynamic flow in a specimen. At least one light source dynamically heats the interior and/or a surface of the specimen via a light beam, the beam of the at least one light source is directed to the specimen through an objective of a microscope, the light beam is variably guided to specified locations of the specimen inducing a hydrodynamic flow in the specimen, and imaging the specimen via the same objective as used for introduction of the light beam.