An object separator may include a substrate, a fluid channel supported by the substrate, a pair of electrodes along the fluid channel to form a dielectrophoretic force to interact with an object entrained in a fluid and an inertial pump supported by the substrate to move the fluid along the fluid channel.

Methods and apparatuses relating to measuring sample parameters and cell parameters (e.g., cell size, cell shape) are provided herein. The present disclosure provides additional methods, systems and techniques for improving osmotic gradient generating systems for vise in technologies to accurately determine red blood cell volume and the osmolality at which cells achieve a maximum volume.

An example apparatus comprises a thermal cell lysis chamber, including a substrate and a lid coupled to the substrate to form a microfluidic channel therethrough. The apparatus includes cell detection circuitry to detect presence of a cell within the microfluidic channel and to detect lysis of the cell. The apparatus also includes a thermal lysing element disposed in the lid to apply heat to a cell detected by the cell detection circuitry, and lysis control circuitry. The lysis control circuitry is to regulate a temperature applied by the thermal lysing element, based on detection by the cell detection circuitry of a cell within the microfluidic channel and based on detection by the cell detection circuitry of a lysis event, and record the temperature applied by the thermal lysing element at which the lysis event occurred.

The present invention relates to a biomimetic nerve chip for evaluating the efficacy and toxicity of a drug, a method for evaluating the efficacy of a drug on nerve cells through astrocytes by using the biomimetic nerve chip, and a method for evaluating the toxicity of a drug on nerve cells through astrocytes by using the biomimetic nerve chip, the biomimetic nerve chip comprising: an astrocyte supply unit and a nerve cell supply unit for simulating nerve tissue; and a culture solution supply unit for supplying a culture solution to the astrocyte supply unit and the nerve cell supply unit. By using the biomimetic nerve chip for evaluating the efficacy and toxicity of a drug provided in the present invention, it is possible to overcome inaccuracies due to differences between the different species in animal experiments in the study of nerve tissues, and using a combination of astrocytes and nerve cells enables use of the nerve chip as a platform to more accurately evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of a drug under conditions similar to in vivo conditions, and the nerve chip can be applied to studies of microenvironments in nerve tissues and other organ-on-a-chip studies. Therefore, the present invention may be utilized in the development of a human-on-a-chip that can effectively analyze the efficacy and toxicity of a drug.

A system or method for detecting an immune system activation state in a patient can include a sample preparation system configured to isolate white blood cells from a sample of the patient, a cytometry module configured to determine biophysical properties of the white blood cells of the sample, and an analysis module configured to analyze the biophysical properties.

A method and/or system can include processing a blood sample of a patient by degrading red blood cells of the blood sample using a lysing solution, quenching the degradation of the red blood cells after a threshold lysing time, centrifuging and aspirating the quenched solution to remove degraded red blood cell debris and concentrate white blood cells of the blood sample, and suspending the concentrated white blood cells in a buffer solution; within a threshold transfer time, deforming white blood cells, of the suspended white blood cells, within a microfluidic chip; and determining a probability that the patient is in an immune activation state based on images of the white blood cells acquired while deforming the white blood cells.

An apparatus includes a fluidic coupler including an opening. A first port is in fluid communication with the opening and is to interface with an inlet of a flow cell of a sensor device. A second port is to interface with an outlet of the flow cell of the sensor device. A third port is in fluidic communication with the second port. The apparatus further includes a mechanical assembly moveable between a first position and a second position. The fluidic coupler is secured to the flow cell of the sensor device in the first position. The fluidic coupler is disengaged from the flow cell of the sensor device in the second position.

This disclosure describes single-use test cartridges, cell analyzer apparatus, and methods for automatically performing microscopic cell analysis tasks, such as counting and analyzing blood cells in biological samples. A small measured quantity of a biological sample, such as whole blood, is placed in a mixing bowl on the disposable test cartridge after being inserted into the cell analyzer. The analayzer also deposits a known amount of diluent/stain in the mixing bowl and mixes it with the blood. The analyzer takes a measured amount of the mixture and dispenses in a sample cup on the cartridge in fluid communication with an imaging chamber. The geometry of the imaging chamber is chosen to maintain the uniformity of the mixture, and to prevent cells from crowding or clumping as it is transferred into the imaging chamber by the analyzer. Images of all of the cellular components within the imaging chamber are counted and analyzed to obtain a complete blood count.

Transfer of genetic and other materials to cells is conducted in a hands-free, automated and continuous process that includes flowing the cells between electroporation electrodes to facilitate delivery of a payload into the cells, while acoustophoretically focusing the cells. Also described is a control method for the acoustophoretic focusing of cells that includes detecting locations of cells flowing through a channel, such as with an image analytics system, and modulating a drive signal to an acoustic transducer to change the locations of the cells flowing in the channel. Finally, an electroporation driver module is described that uses a digital to analog converter for generating an electroporation waveform and an amplifier for amplifying the electroporation waveform for application to electroporation electrodes.

A device including a microfluidic channel structure formed on a substrate and including a first channel and a fluid actuator within the microfluidic channel structure. A sense region within the first channel is to receive a fluid flow of target biologic particles for counting in a single file pattern, with the sense region having a volume on a same order of magnitude as a volume of a single one of the target biologic particles.