Systems and methods interconnect cell culture devices and/or fluidic devices by transferring discrete volumes of fluid between devices. A liquid-handling system collects a volume of fluid from at least one source device and deposits the fluid into at least one destination device. In some embodiments, a liquid-handling robot actuates the movement and operation of a fluid collection device in an automated manner to transfer the fluid between the at least one source device and the at least one destination device. In some cases, the at least one source device and the at least one destination device are cell culture devices. The at least one source device and the at least one destination device may be microfluidic or non-microfluidic devices. In some cases, the cell culture devices may be microfluidic cell culture devices. In further cases, the microfluidic cell culture devices may include organ-chips.

Delivering a payload across a plasma membrane of a cell includes providing a population of cells and contacting the population of cells with a volume of an aqueous solution. The aqueous solution includes the payload and alcohol content greater than 5 percent concentration. The volume of the aqueous solution may be a function of exposed surface area of the population of cells, or may be a function of a number of cells in the population of cells. Related compositions, apparatus, systems, techniques, and articles are also described.

The invention relates to a sterile connector for the sterile transfer of a liquid medium, in particular a biological medium, from a liquid container (2) into a fluid chamber (3, 3), wherein the sterile connector (1) has a first coupling device (5) and a second coupling device (6). It is proposed that the first coupling device (5) has a fluid inlet (7) and a fluid outlet (8) and also a first cannula (9), the latter having an end which is directed away from the fluid inlet (7) and forms the fluid outlet (8), that the second coupling device (6) has a fluid passage (10) which, in an initial state of the sterile connector (1), is covered axially by a first septum (11), that the fluid outlet (8), in the initial state of the sterile connector (1), is arranged in a hermetically sealed region of the first coupling device (5) and the surface (11a) of the first septum (11) facing axially away from the fluid passage (10) is arranged in a hermetically sealed region of the second coupling device (6), and that, in a fluidic connection process starting from the initial state of the sterile connector (1), a fluidic connection between the fluid inlet (7) and the fluid passage (10) can be produced by the fact that the end of the first cannula (9) forming the fluid outlet (8) pierces the first septum (11) of the second coupling device (6).

A multi-port disposable device that can both vent a sealed culture vessel and draw a sample therefrom into a collection vessel. The multi-port disposable device has a first port configured to receive the top portion of a culture vessel and attach thereto. The multi-port disposable device has a second port configured to receive a sample collection vessel. The multi-port disposable device has first and second needles. The first needle has a cannula configured to penetrate a septum or cap of the culture vessel. Optionally, the cannula terminates in a layer of foam that carries a microbial agent such that any vapor that is transmitted from the culture vessel through the cannula when venting the sealed culture vessel is absorbed by the foam. Optionally, the ports of the disposable device are configured as sleeves. The sleeve of the first port receives a portion of the culture vessel and the sleeve of the second port receives the collection vessel. The second needle has a cannula that penetrates both the septum or cap of the culture vessel and the septum or cap of the collection vessel, when the culture vessel and the collection vessel are brought into the device, thereby providing for fluid communication between the culture vessel and the collection vessel. The second cannula provides the flow pathway for delivering sample from the culture vessel to the collection vessel.

A suction arm advances in an axial direction of a pipette tip such that an end of the pipette tip comes into contact with a bottom surface of a sample container while the pipette tip attached to a suction arm is tilted with respect to a vertical direction. Next, the suction arm is moved such that the end of the pipette tip scans the bottom surface of the sample container in a horizontal direction toward a predetermined position. Subsequently, at the predetermined position, the suction arm is further tilted by a predetermined angle such that the end of the pipette tip is lifted and a base of the pipette tip is lowered. Thereafter, the suction arm performs a sucking operation such that a sample is sucked through the end of the pipette tip.

A cell picking device includes a stage, a sucker, a driver, a work content receiver, a registrar and a device controller. A sample container is placed on the stage. The driver is provided to execute sample scraping work and sample sucking work using a pipette tip attached to the sucker. In a case in which selection of work contents of the driver is received by the work content receiver, a work procedure including the received work contents of the driver is registered by the registrar. The work of the driver is controlled by the device controller in accordance with the registered work procedure.

A biological tissue collection method includes: preparing a component, the component including a first surface, a second surface, multiple (n≥2) holes for passing air from the first surface toward the second surface, and a wall formed between the holes, and an end portion of the wall on a first surface side being rounded and formed as a curved surface; sucking a biological tissue with a dimension of equal to or greater than 0.5 mm and equal to or less than 100 mm in a maximum direction in contact with the holes on the first surface side, thereby collecting the biological tissue by means of the holes; and taking equal to or greater than 50% and equal to or less than 90% of an area of the biological tissue as a total area of the holes used for collection.

A cell collecting device include a pipette tip that sucks substances in a cell culture container, a first valve connected to the pipette tip through a first flow path, a first pump connected to the first valve through a second flow path, and a second pump connected to the first valve through a third flow path. In a remove mode, the first valve is switched to connect the first flow path and the second flow path to each other and disconnect the third flow path, and the first pump is driven to discharge waste in the cell culture container, that has been sucked from the pipette tip, from a drain of the first pump through the first flow path and the second flow path, and in a picking mode, the first valve is switched to connect the first flow path and the third flow path to each other and disconnect the second flow path, and the second pump is driven to suck cells in the cell culture container using the pipette tip.

A continuous automated perfusion culture analysis system (CAPCAS) comprises one or more fluidic systems configured to operate large numbers of biodevices in parallel. Each fluidic system comprises an input reservoir plate for receiving media; a biodevice plate comprising an array of biodevices fluidically coupled to the input reservoir plate, configured such that each biodevice has independent media delivery, fluid removal, stirring, and gas control, and each biodevice is capable of continuously receiving the media from the input reservoir plate; and an output plate fluidically coupled to the biodevice plate for real-time analysis and sampling. The operations of the CAPCAS are automated and computer-controlled wirelessly. The CAPCAS can also be used for abiotic and biotic chemical synthesis processes.

A target particle transferring device is disclosed, which comprises: (a) a substrate with a thickness of T and a width of W, having top and bottom portions, the top portion having a top surface and the bottom portion having a bottom surface; (b) a notch structure formed in the bottom portion of the substrate, comprising: a groove with a width of W1, located at a distance oft below the top surface of the substrate, wherein the groove is formed in the bottom portion from the bottom surface extending toward the top portion; and (c) a target substrate portion with a width of W2 and a thickness of T, located in the top and bottom portions of the substrate and being surrounded by the groove. Methods of transferring a target particle from one device to another is also disclosed.