The present invention provides microfabricated substrates and methods of conducting reactions within these substrates. The reactions occur in plugs transported in the flow of a carrier-fluid.

An array of membranes comprising amphipathic molecules is formed using an apparatus comprising a support defining an array of compartments. Volumes comprising polar medium are provided within respective compartments and a layer comprising apolar medium is provided extending across the openings with the volumes. Polar medium is flowed across the support to displace apolar medium and form a layer in contact with the volumes, forming membranes comprising amphipathic molecules at the interfaces. In one construction of the apparatus, the support that comprises partitions which comprise inner portions and outer portions. The inner portions define inner recesses without gaps therebetween that are capable of constraining the volumes comprising polar medium contained in neighbouring inner recesses from contacting each other. The outer portions extend outwardly from the inner portions and have gaps allowing the flow of an apolar medium across the substrate.

The present invention provides microfabricated substrates and methods of conducting reactions within these substrates. The reactions occur in plugs transported in the flow of a carrier-fluid.

The present invention provides microfabricated substrates and methods of conducting reactions within these substrates. The reactions occur in plugs transported in the flow of a carrier-fluid.

The present invention provides microfabricated substrates and methods of conducting reactions within these substrates. The reactions occur in plugs transported in the flow of a carrier-fluid.

The present invention provides microfabricated substrates and methods of conducting reactions within these substrates. The reactions occur in plugs transported in the flow of a carrier-fluid.

Hydrogel arrays, methods for preparing hydrogel arrays and methods for screening cell-substrate interactions using the hydrogel arrays are disclosed. Advantageously, the hydrogel arrays include individual hydrogel posts that are completely isolatable, allowing for systematic and independent control of the chemical composition and physical dimensions of each hydrogel post.

Disclosed is a method for carrying out a chemical reaction in a reactor, at least one substance is present in a container that is closed in a gas-tight manner, is introduced into the reactor in said container and is released by breaking open the container. The container is designed such that it breaks open when a specified bursting pressure difference between the internal pressure and external pressure is exceeded. The container is broken open and the substance located in the container is thus released as a result of deliberate application in the reactor of a pressure difference exceeding the bursting pressure difference.

The invention is directed to methods and systems for producing a surface coated with a plurality of spatial barcodes. In one aspect, beads carrying barcode oligonucleotides are disposed on a surface after which hydrogel chambers are synthesized around each bead and barcode oligonucleotides are released to be captured on the surface in the interiors of the chambers. Captured oligonucleotide barcodes are amplified and optionally sequenced to form a coating of spatial barcodes.

Techniques are provided for polymerization. A polymerization method may include polymerizing a monomer in a polymerization reactor to produce a slurry comprising polyolefin particles and a diluent, flowing the slurry out of the polymerization reactor through an outlet of the polymerization reactor, receiving the slurry from the outlet into a slurry handling system, conveying a first mixture from the slurry handling system to a diluent and monomer recovery system, and injecting steam into the first mixture downstream of the slurry handling system using a steam injection system.