Methods and techniques for controlled printing of a cell sample for karyotyping are provided. The methods can involve matrix printing using on-the-fly printing or dispensing to accurately spread cells within at least one cell sample on a surface in preparation for karyotyping, and further analysis. Advantageously, the methods result in a uniform distribution of chromosomes of the cell suspension or sample on the surface of a substrate which can be substantially discretely identified, and also provide for efficiency in a subsequent staining process and any further analysis of the stained chromosomes using a microscope or other imaging device.

De novo synthesized large libraries of nucleic acids are provided herein with low error rates. Further, devices for the manufacturing of high-quality building blocks, such as oligonucleotides, are described herein. Longer nucleic acids can be synthesized in parallel using microfluidic assemblies. Further, methods herein allow for the fast construction of large libraries of long, high-quality genes. Devices for the manufacturing of large libraries of long and high-quality nucleic acids are further described herein.

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for tagging and acoustically characterizing containers.

Method for manufacturing a microarray and verifying the quality of said microarray, wherein the method comprises: —providing at least one reagent, —loading said at least one reagent in a dispensing print head, in a predetermined arrangement, —moving the print head with respect to a substrate and dispensing said at least one reagent on the substrate, during a print pass, to obtain a microarray, —illuminating the substrate using illumination means and obtaining an image of the printed microarray on the substrate, using a camera, —processing the obtained image to verify the quality of the microarray, wherein the step of obtaining an image of the printed microarray comprises: —illuminating the substrate and obtaining an image of the microarray by means of illumination means and a camera which are connected to and move together with the print head with respect to the substrate, the illumination means and the camera being adapted to move behind the print head.

A radiosynthesis system is disclosed that leverages droplet microfluidic radiosynthesis and its inherent advantages including reduction of reagent consumption and the ability to achieve high molar activity even when using low starting radioactivity. The radiosynthesis system enables the parallel synthesis of radiolabeled compounds using droplet-sized reaction volumes. In some embodiments, a single heater is used to create multiple reaction or synthesis sites. In other embodiments, separate heaters are used to create independently-controlled heating conditions at the multiple reaction or synthesis sites. In one embodiment, a four-heater setup was developed that utilizes a multi-reaction microfluidic chip and was assessed for the suitability with high-throughput radiosynthesis optimization. Replicates of several radiochemical operations including the full synthesis of various PET tracers revealed the platform to have high repeatability (e.g., consistent fluorination efficiency). The system may also be used for synthesis optimization.

A liquid discharging device to be used with a liquid dispensing apparatus includes a discharging portion configured to discharge a liquid based on a control signal from the liquid dispensing apparatus on which the liquid discharging device is mounted, and a sheet material having a characteristic configured to be changed by the liquid dispensing apparatus after a discharge of the liquid by the discharging portion.

De novo synthesized large libraries of nucleic acids are provided herein with low error rates. Further, devices for the manufacturing of high-quality building blocks, such as oligonucleotides, are described herein. Longer nucleic acids can be synthesized in parallel using microfluidic assemblies. Further, methods herein allow for the fast construction of large libraries of long, high-quality genes. Devices for the manufacturing of large libraries of long and high-quality nucleic acids are further described herein.

Embodiments are directed towards methods and systems of depositing a uniform test-pathogen mixture onto a test article for testing the sterilization efficacy of an electromagnetic radiation or other sterilization process. The system includes a holding mechanism configured to removably secure the test article to the system. The system also includes a test-pathogen dispenser configured to uniformly deposit the test-pathogen mixture onto a reference surface of the test article. The system is structured so that at least one of the test article and the test-pathogen dispenser moves relative to the other. A plurality of test-pathogen mixture droplets or lines is deposited onto the reference surface in a predetermined test-pathogen pattern, such as, for example, a plurality of rows and columns of droplets. A distance from a dispenser tip of the test-pathogen dispenser to the reference surface of the test article may be determined to help maintain consistency between test-pathogen mixture droplets or lines.

There is disclosed a process for in vitro synthesis and assembly of long, gene-length polynucleotides based upon assembly of multiple shorter oligonucleotides synthesized in situ on a microarray platform. Specifically, there is disclosed a process for in situ synthesis of oligonucleotide fragments on a solid phase microarray platform and subsequent, “on device” assembly of larger polynucleotides composed of a plurality of shorter oligonucleotide fragments.

A dispenser and methods for transferring liquids are disclosed. The dispenser may include a capillary tube with tip having an aperture, a piezoelectric actuator coupled to the capillary tube at a location. Actuation of the piezoelectric actuator causes a pressure wave to propagate along the capillary tube toward the tip such that radial motion at the location is transmitted as distally extending axial motion of the tip, thereby causing a droplet of a predetermined volume to be ejected from the aperture. In some embodiments, the capillary tube has a modulus of elasticity in a range which dampens acoustical noise from the actuation and provides single drop stability over a range of drop sizes.