Devices and methods for multi-well plate liquid distribution are provided. Devices herein provide a plurality of dispensing stations configured to receive and dispense or disburse liquid to the wells of a multi-well plate. The dispensing stations include dispensing surfaces configured to receive liquid droplets dispensed by manual or automatic pipettes. The dispensing surfaces are configured to retain received liquids until force is applied and distribution to the wells of the multi-well plate occurs. Devices and methods provided herein increase the consistency of laboratory results in procedures requiring liquid distribution.

An analytical toilet is disclosed with a bowl adapted to receive excreta, a conduit for transporting a liquid excreta sample from the bowl, and a liquid reagent source. The analytical toilet also includes a microfluidic chip that has a sensor configured to detect at least one property of the excreta sample. The microfluidic chip also has an excreta sample path in fluid communication with the conduit and the sensor and a reagent path in fluid communication with the liquid reagent source and the sensor. The length of and number of channels in the sample path and the reagent path are selected so as to control the respective fluid resistance of the excreta sample and the reagent to thereby optimize the mixing and flow rates of the excreta sample and reagent into the sensor. There is also disclosed analytical toilet with a microfluidic chip having reagent path that includes a first and a second channel. The second channel is longer than the first channel. A valve, which is controllable so as to cause the reagent to flow through either the first channel, the second channel or both channels. As such, the fluid resistance of the reagent is controlled, to thereby optimize the flow rate of the reagent into the sensor.

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.

A liquid handling device includes a common channel, a plurality of wells, a magnetic beads chamber and a plurality of valves. The plurality of valves are rotary membrane valves disposed on the circumference of a first circle. The magnetic beads chamber is disposed on a circumference of the second circle concentric with the first circle.

A system includes a fluidic device, a flow control valve, a first reagent fluid reservoir fluidly connectable to the fluidic device by the flow control valve, a first fluid buffer reservoir fluidly connectable to the fluidic device by the flow control valve, and a common fluid buffer source fluidly connectable to the fluidic device by the flow control valve. The flow control valve permits flow comprising: (i) flow from the first reagent fluid reservoir to the fluidic device, (ii) flow from the common fluid buffer source to the fluidic device, (iii) flow from the fluidic device to the first fluid buffer reservoir, (iv) flow from the first reagent fluid reservoir to the fluidic device, and (v) flow from the first fluid buffer reservoir to the fluidic device.

The present invention aims to provide a fluid handling device which can be manufactured more conveniently, can easily open and close a channel, and can be miniaturized. The fluid handling device of the present invention includes: a first channel; a second channel; and a valve disposed between the first channel and the second channel, in which the valve includes: a groove-shaped valve seat disposed in a board, and a flat plate-shaped flexible layer covering the groove-shaped valve seat, and the valve communicates between the first channel and the second channel when the flat plate-shaped flexible layer and a bottom of the groove-shaped valve seat are spaced apart from each other, and blocks communication between the first channel and the second channel when the flat plate-shaped flexible layer and an inner wall of the groove-shaped valve seat are in contact with each other.

The present disclosure relates to a mechanism for fluidic sealing of a reaction cartridge in a reaction system using a single linear actuator. A single motion provided by the linear actuator is used to establish leak-resistant fluid communication between the reaction cartridge and two independent fluidic channels. The dual-sealing assembly described herein enables the use of fewer parts and a simpler control unit. The use of fewer parts and simpler control system allow for a very compact sealing mechanism and could also increase reliability, will be easier to manufacture as it will require less manufacturing testing and calibration, and is more tolerant of variance in the part being sealed (the reaction cartridge). In some embodiments, the reaction cartridge comprises a solid support matrix and a reaction reagent attached to the solid support matrix, and the reaction system is used for treating macromolecules, such as polypeptides, for sequencing and/or analysis.

A droplet collection unit of an embodiment includes a generator and processing circuitry. The generator produces droplets each containing a microorganism and a substrate that reacts with an enzyme derived from the microorganism. The processing circuitry detects a reaction between the enzyme and the substrate in each droplet. The processing circuitry sorts the droplets on the basis of a detection result of the reaction.

The present invention relates to a method for analyzing and selecting a specific droplet among a plurality of droplets (4), comprising the following steps: —providing a plurality of droplets (4), —for a droplet (4) among the plurality of droplets, measuring at least two optical signals, each optical signal being representative of a light intensity spatial distribution in the droplet for an associated wavelength channel, —calculating a plurality of parameters from the optical signals, —determining a sorting class for a droplet according to calculated parameters, —sorting said droplet according to its sorting class, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises the coordinates of a maximum for each optical signal and a co-localization parameter and the at least two calculated parameters used for the determining step comprises the co-localization parameter.

A pipetting apparatus and method for pulsed dispensing of small metered-liquid doses of no more than 1 μl. The apparatus includes a pipetting conduit at least partly filled with working gas, a pressure-modifying apparatus for modifying the pressure of the working gas, and a control apparatus for applying control to the pressure-modifying apparatus. The control apparatus can control the pressure-modifying apparatus so as to generate in the pipetting conduit, with respect to a reference holding pressure in the pipetting conduit which is necessary for immovable holding of the metered-liquid quantity, an overpressure pulse having a pulse duration of no more than 40 ms.