A filter for filtering nucleated cells that includes a body containing at least either a metal or a metal oxide as its main component; and plural through holes, each of which have a shape other than a square shape, formed therein. An arithmetic average roughness of a first side of the filter part is smaller than a size of a nucleus of the nucleated cells to be filtered.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for forming a diamond membrane, comprising: providing a substrate having an amorphous dielectric layer thereon, the amorphous dielectric layer comprising an exposed surface, the exposed surface having an isoelectric point of less than 7, preferably at most 6; seeding diamond nanoparticles onto the exposed surface; growing a diamond layer from the seeded diamond nanoparticles; and removing a portion of the substrate from underneath the diamond layer, the removed portion extending at least up to the amorphous dielectric layer, thereby forming the diamond membrane over the removed portion.

A perfluorocarbon-free membrane composed of a non-perfluorocarbon material having a first side and a second side opposite of the first side. The perfluorocarbon-free membrane also includes a plurality of pores, each having an inlet and outlet and each passing through the non-perfluorocarbon material so that each pore provides fluidic communication between the first and second sides of the non-perfluorocarbon material. A portion of the non-perfluorocarbon material extends over the inlet and outlet of each the plurality of pores so that a cross-sectional area of the inlets and outlets in a direction of the extension of the non-perfluorocarbon material is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the respective pore in the direction of the extension of the non-perfluorocarbon material. The perfluorocarbon-free membrane does not include a hydrophobic perfluorocarbon coating.

In a cell-capturing filter including a metal porous membrane, degradation over time is determined earlier. A cell-capturing filter includes a metal porous membrane having a plurality of through-holes that penetrate between two principal surfaces facing each other. The metal porous membrane is made of an alloy of nickel and an element selected from the group consisting of gold, platinum, and palladium, or a metal containing nickel as a main component. A metal containing copper as a main component is attached to a part of either one of the principal surfaces of the metal porous membrane. By checking a state change of the metal containing copper as a main component, degradation over time of the metal porous membrane can be determined earlier.

Disclosed is an improved form of nanopore-based molecular sensor: a stack of coaligned nanopores in an equivalent number of directly stacked membranes. One or more of the membranes is moved laterally, altering the volumetric shape and thus the sensing characteristics of the passage. This allows at least three major improvements over existing nanopore sensors: 1) volumetrically tunable sensors allow sensing over a wider range of analyte sizes, 2) volumetric shape changes allow a a novel form of translocation control over transiting molecules, enabling more information to be derived from single molecules through interactions with the walls of the passage and controllable alterations in the local electrostratic and hydrodynamic environment, and 3) volumetric shape changes allow regeneration of an appropriate sensor geometry in the event of corrosion or clogging, greatly extending the useful lifetime of individual sensors.

Provided are methods, devices, and kits for the isolation and enumeration of one or more components of interest within a liquid sample using microslit filter membranes. This disclosure relates to the enumeration of components within a sample of interest, and more particularly, the capture of such components by efficient isolation using microslit filters with high permeation capacity and precision molecular cut-off characteristics.

The present invention provides in one aspect inexpensive and scalable methods of fabricating porous membranes comprising vertically aligned carbon nanotubes.

A filter for filtering nucleated cells that includes a body containing at least either a metal or a metal oxide as its main component; and plural through holes, each of which have a shape other than a square shape, formed therein. A longitudinal diameter of an inscribed ellipse within each of the through holes is smaller than a size of a nucleus of each of the nucleated cells to be filtered. The inscribed ellipse of the through hole is an ellipse that abuts all sides that define an opening of the through hole.

An osmotic power generator comprising an active membrane supported in a housing, at least a first chamber portion disposed on a first side of the active membrane for receiving a first electrolyte liquid and a second chamber portion disposed on a second side of the active membrane for receiving a second electrolyte liquid, a generator circuit comprising at least a first electrode electrically coupled to said first chamber, and at least a second electrode electrically coupled to said second chamber, the first and second electrodes configured to be connected together through a generator load receiving electrical power generated by a difference in potential and an ionic current between the first and second electrodes. The active membrane includes at least one pore allowing ions to pass between the first and second sides of the membrane under osmosis due to an osmotic gradient between the first and second electrolyte liquids to generate said difference in potential and ionic current between the first and second electrodes.

An exemplary method includes forming a sacrificial layer along sidewalls of an array of trenches that are indented into a substrate, depositing a fill layer over the sacrificial layer, and then creating an array of gaps between the fill layer and the substrate by removing the sacrificial layer along the sidewalls of the trenches, while maintaining a structural connection between the substrate and the fill layer at the floors of the trenches. The method further includes covering the substrate, the fill layer, and the gaps with a cap layer that seal fluid-tight against the substrate and the fill layer. The method further includes indenting a first reservoir and a second reservoir through the cap layer, and into the substrate and the fill layer, across the lengths of the array of gaps, so that the array of gaps connects the first reservoir in fluid communication with the second reservoir.