A fluid handling device includes a first channel, a second channel, and a valve disposed at a connection part between the first channel and the second channel. The valve include a partition wall disposed between the first channel and the second channel, and a diaphragm disposed so as to face the partition wall, a portion of the first channel, and a portion of the second channel. The diaphragm is configured in such a way that when no pressure is applied to the diaphragm, a gap, which serves as a third channel that allows the first channel and the second channel to communicate with each other, is formed between the diaphragm and the partition wall. In plan view, the length of the diaphragm in the extending direction of the third channel is longer than the length of the diaphragm in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction.

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.

Methods and devices are provided herein for identifying a cell population comprising an effector cell that exerts an extracellular effect. In one embodiment the method comprises retaining in a microreactor a cell population comprising one or more effector cells, wherein the contents of the microreactor further comprise a readout particle population comprising one or more readout particles, incubating the cell population and the readout particle population within the microreactor, assaying the cell population for the presence of the extracellular effect, wherein the readout particle population or subpopulation thereof provides a direct or indirect readout of the extracellular effect, and determining, based on the results of the assaying step, whether one or more effector cells within the cell population exerts the extracellular effect on the readout particle. If an extracellular effect is measured, the cell population is recovered for further analysis to determine the cell or cells responsible for the effect.

The present invention relates to a liquid handling and processing tool for analyzing a biological sample. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a fluid processing and detection module for processing a liquid sample and for detecting analyte in the sample.

Microfluidic systems, pumps, valves and applications of the same are provided. The microfluidic system may be a pump or a valve having a fluidic chip and an actuator controlling the opening and closing of the fluidic channel in the fluidic chip. The actuator may be disposed to tilt from the fluidic chip, forming a tilted-rotor peristaltic pump. Alternatively, the actuator may be a rolling ball actuator, and different fluidic chips may be used in different applications. For example, the fluidic chip may be a spiral pump chip having spiral channels, a rotary peristaltic pump chip having multiple output channels, or a multi-port valve chip having one port interconnected with multiple different ports. An analytical valve chip may switchably interconnect bioreactor and rinse/calibration input channels to sensor and waste output channels. The actuator of a random-access valve can move from one valve position to another without opening or closing intermediate ones.

The invention relates to a substrate for testing samples, in particular cells or molecules, wherein the substrate comprises a fluid system comprising a sample chamber configured in the substrate for storing and testing samples and at least one liquid reservoir in fluid communication with the sample chamber, and wherein the substrate comprises a passive blocking element capable of assuming a closed position and an open position, wherein in the closed position a fluid exchange between the sample chamber and the liquid reservoir is blocked.

The invention provides devices that improve tests for detecting specific cellular, viral, and molecular targets in clinical, industrial, or environmental samples. The invention permits efficient detection of individual microscopic targets at low magnification for highly sensitive testing. The invention does not require washing steps and thus allows sensitive and specific detection while simplifying manual operation and lowering costs and complexity in automated operation. In short, the invention provides devices that can deliver rapid, accurate, and quantitative, easy-to-use, and cost-effective tests.

A rotor assembly includes a rotor plate to rotate around a first axis, a bucket attached to the rotor plate and to rotate around a second axis, and a stop plate to rotate around the first axis between an open position and a closed position. When in the closed position, the stop plate engages the bucket to fix an angular position of the bucket relative to a plane of rotation of the rotor assembly. The rotor assembly further includes a housing for a sensor array component, the housing disposed in the bucket and including a solution inlet, a solution outlet, a transfer basin, a solution retainer disposed between the solution outlet and the transfer basin, and a collection reservoir in fluid communication with the transfer basin. The solution inlet and the solution outlet to engage ports of a flow cell of a sensor array.

A fluid handling device, comprising: a substrate including a first channel, a second channel and a partition wall formed between the first channel and the second channel; a film including a diaphragm, the film being disposed on the substrate so that the diaphragm faces the partition wall; and a sliding member slidable on the film while contacting with the film, the sliding member including a protrusion formed on an underside thereof, and the sliding member being disposed on the film with the underside facing the film, wherein: the sliding member is capable of switching between a first state and a second state by sliding on the film, wherein the protrusion is positioned so as not to face the partition wall with the diaphragm therebetween in the first state, and the protrusion is positioned so as to face the partition wall with the diaphragm therebetween in the second state.

A microfabricated droplet dispensing structure is described, which may include a MEMS microfluidic fluidic valve, configured to open and close a microfluidic channel. The opening and closing of the valve may separate a target biological particle containing genomic material, and a bead from a sample stream, and direct these two particle into a single droplet formed at the edge of the substrate. The droplet may then be encased in a sheath flow of an immiscible fluid, and provided to a downstream workflow.