An apparatus, that relates to the field of in vitro fertilization, is provided for the combined incubation and vitrification of a biological material. The apparatus can be configured to allow for automatic incubation and vitrification of a viable biological material. Thereby predetermined protocols for handling the biological material can be performed precisely and accurately thus avoiding errors and deviations from the intended protocol, as caused by manual human intervention.

The present approach relates to the design and use of a functionally closed bioreactor designed to immobilize, culture, and mature tissue on a loading platform. The bioreactor may be equipped with sensors for tissue monitoring which in conjunction with stiffness data can provide closed-loop control of tissue maturation. Based on a relationship between cartilage stiffness and tissue maturity, measurements of stiffness can be acquired and used as a surrogate for cartilage maturity without the need for destructive tests.

The invention provides a technology for promptly determining bacterial identification or an antimicrobial susceptibility testing. In the invention, first, a state where the bacteria are divided is monitored by performing microscopic observation with respect to the shape or the number of bacteria in each of wells of a culture plate for bacterial identification culture or the antimicrobial susceptibility testing. In addition, the shape, the number or the area of the bacteria are interpreted from the image obtained by the microscopic observation whether or not the bacteria proliferate at a stage from an induction phase to a logarithmic phase, and the time-dependent changes thereof are made into a graph. From the graph, it is determined whether or not the bacteria proliferate for each measurement, the determination results are displayed on the screen, and accordingly, the result of the antimicrobial susceptibility is provided every time when the measurement is performed (FIG. 12).

Among other things, motility of at least one individual microorganism or a change in motility of at least one individual microorganism or both is or are characterized. The characterized motility or change in motility is used to detect the presence or count of the at least one individual microorganism, or determine the identity of a species or strain of the at least one individual microorganism, or determine a susceptibility of the at least one individual microorganism to one or more antibiotics or other antimicrobials.

There is a described a patch-clamp chip for making electrical measurements on a biological sample. The patch-clamp chip comprising a plurality of layers comprising poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) forming a stack. It comprises at least a chip surface layer comprising an aperture formed therethrough and which upwardly opens on the surface, where the biological sample is provided. A microfluidic channel layer comprising PDMS extends below the plane of the chip surface layer and comprises a microfluidic channel formed therein. The aperture of the chip surface layer downwardly opens on the microfluidic channel. Electrophysiological measurements are made between an internal solution in the microfluidic channel and the external solution on the chip surface. The measurements can be performed via a bottom electrode. A plurality of apertures and corresponding microfluidic channels can be provided to perform simultaneous measurements on a plurality of samples, independently.

A system for electronically and optically monitoring biological samples, the system including: a multi-well plate having a plurality of wells configured to receive a plurality of biological samples, each of the wells having a set of electrodes and a transparent window on a bottom surface of the well that is free of electrodes; an illumination module configured to illuminate the wells; a cradle configured to receive the multi-well plate, the cradle having an opening on the bottom that exposes the transparent windows of the wells; and an optical imaging module movable across different wells of a same multi-well plate to capture images through the windows.

Disclosed is a method for selecting a cancer treatment regimen for a subject.

In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a method of producing a library of microorganisms, the method comprising the steps of: a. providing a first fluid comprising at least one single cell, b. dispersing said first fluid comprising at least one single cell in a second fluid, thereby obtaining a plurality of single-layer microfluidic droplets, wherein at least one single- layer microfluidic droplet comprises at least one single cell, wherein the second fluid is immiscible with the first fluid, c. optionally, adding to said at least one single-layer microfluidic droplet a third fluid comprising a sensing compound, wherein the third fluid is miscible with said first fluid, and wherein the third fluid is immiscible with said second fluid, d. injecting said at least one single-layer microfluidic droplet optionally comprising the sensing compound into a fourth fluid, wherein said fourth fluid is immiscible with said second fluid, thereby obtaining at least one double-layer microfluidic droplet, e. dispensing said at least one double-layer microfluidic droplet into a culture medium based on the viability of the cell, f. incubating said culture medium, thereby obtaining said library. In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a system comprising: a. a first microfluidic chip for producing a plurality of single-layer microfluidic droplets wherein at least one single-layer microfluidic droplet comprises at least one single cell, b. a first microfluidic device for collecting said plurality of single-layer microfluidic droplets, c. a second device for adding a sensing compound into said at least one single-layer microfluidic droplet comprising at least one single cell, d. a second microfluidic chip for producing a double-layer microfluidic droplet, and e. a dispensing unit. In a third aspect, the present invention relates to the use of the method according to the first aspect of the present invention in a system according to the second aspect of the present invention.

A cell culture apparatus includes: a substrate having a first surface; a pair of structures each having a wall surface intersecting the first surface, the wall surfaces facing each other; and an electrode disposed on the first surface and traversing a space between the wall surfaces, the electrode and each of the wail surfaces forming an angle other than 90 degrees.

Disclosed herein are platforms, systems, and methods including a cell culture system that includes a cell culture container comprising a cell culture, the cell culture receiving input cells, a cell imaging subsystem configured to acquire images of the cell culture, a computing subsystem configured to perform a cell culture process on the cell culture according to the images acquired by the cell imaging subsystem, and a cell editing subsystem configured to edit the cell culture to produce output cell products according to the cell culture process.