The invention relates to a method of separating biological particles from the liquid containing same for purification, analysis and optionally diagnostic purposes. The inventive method comprises at least one step involving vertical filtration through a filter having a porosity that is adapted to the type of biological particles to be separated, such that said particles are retained by the filter. The invention is characterised in that: (i) the method involves the use of a filter comprising at least one basic filtration zone, whereby each basic filtration zone has a limited surface area; and (ii) the surface area of each basic filtration zone and the number of basic filtration zones are selected as a function of the type of liquid to be filtered, the type of biological particles to be separated and the volume of liquid to be filtered.

A system and method for processing and detecting nucleic acids from a set of biological samples, comprising: a molecular diagnostic module configured to receive nucleic acids bound to magnetic beads, isolate nucleic acids, and analyze nucleic acids, comprising a cartridge receiving module, a heating/cooling subsystem and a magnet configured to facilitate isolation of nucleic acids, a valve actuation subsystem including an actuation substrate, and a set of pins interacting with the actuation substrate, and a spring plate configured to bias at least one pin in a configurations, the valve actuation subsystem configured to control fluid flow through a microfluidic cartridge for processing nucleic acids, and an optical subsystem for analysis of nucleic acids; and a fluid handling system configured to deliver samples and reagents to components of the system to facilitate molecular diagnostic protocols.

A device for extracting a nucleic acid from a sample liquid includes a heating element configured to be connected to an extraction nucleic acid. The extraction nucleic acid is at least partly complementary to the nucleic acid to be extracted from the sample liquid. The heating element is heatable to a temperature that is equal to or higher than a denaturing temperature of the nucleic acid bound to the extraction nucleic acid.

The present invention provides a method for the synthesis of an injectable composition comprising a [.sup.18F]-labelled pyridaben derivative that is advantageous over prior methods. In particular, the method of the present invention comprises a method of radiosynthesis that permits a more facile purification using solid phase extraction (SPE).

The present invention provides a cassette for determining optimised solid phase extraction (SPE) purification conditions, wherein said cassette comprises: (i) a flowpath comprising a first end and a second end; and (ii) a plurality of valves oriented along said flowpath, wherein each of said plurality of valves is selectively fluidly connected to one of a number of components, wherein said components comprise: (a) 1-5 composition vials; (b) 1-3 SPE cartridges; (c) 4-10 solvent vials; (d) a water vial; and (e) a transfer line.

The present invention also provides a method for determining optimised SPE purification conditions for a compound from a composition, the method comprising: (i) provision of a cassette as defined in any of claims 1 to 7; (ii) the cassette comprising a composition of the compound in said composition vial(s) or addition of such a composition to said crude reaction vial(s); (iii) passing an aliquot of said composition into each of said 1-3 SPE cartridges; (iv) passing a particular combination of aliquots of solvent from at least 4 of said 4-10 solvent vials into one or more of the SPE cartridges, wherein the solvent in each of said 4-10 solvent vials is either a different solvent or the same solvent at different concentration; (v) eluting the compound to be purified from the or each SPE cartridge; (vi) evaluating the eluted products of step (v); and (vii) determining the optimised purification conditions by comparing the eluted products of step (v) from each cartridge and each solvent.

A detection chip is disclosed. The detection chip includes a sample injection structure, a filter structure, and a reaction structure which are sequentially connected. The filter structure includes a first main body, and a first inlet portion and a first outlet portion respectively on two sides of the first main body. A width of the first inlet portion gradually decreases in a direction away from the first main body, and a width of the first outlet portion gradually decreases in a direction away from the first main body.

A test strip for sampling a bodily fluid may include multiple layers of a substrate material, an adhesive between at least some of the multiple layers, and a microfluidic channel formed between at least some of the multiple layers. The test strip may further include multiple electrodes on one of the multiple layers, positioned and partially exposed within the microfluidic channel, an additional material positioned at or near an entrance to the microfluidic channel, to selectively limit the flow of at least one of bubbles or debris into the microfluidic channel, and at least one exit port in at least one of the multiple layers to allow for release of pressure from the test strip. In some embodiments, the test strip is a saliva analysis test strip. In some embodiments, the test strip includes multiple exit ports to prevent blockage of sample flow.

Filtration apparatuses, kits, and methods for rapid isolation of intact, viable mitochondria from tissues are described with mitochondria isolated by differential filtration through nylon mesh filters. Mitochondria can be isolated in less than 30 minutes using the filtration apparatuses, kits, and methods described.

A method for nucleic acid isolation comprising: receiving a binding moiety solution within a process chamber; mixing the binding moiety solution with a biological sample, within the process chamber, in order to produce a moiety-sample mixture; incubating the moiety-sample mixture during a time window, thereby producing a solution comprising a set of moiety-bound nucleic acid particles and a waste volume; separating the set of moiety-bound nucleic acid particles from the waste volume; washing the set of moiety-bound nucleic acid particles; and releasing a nucleic acid sample from the set of moiety-bound nucleic acid particles. The method preferably utilizes a binding moiety comprising at least one of poly(allylamine) and polypropylenimine tetramine dendrimer, both of which reversibly bind and unbind to nucleic acids based upon environmental pH.

A single junction sorter for a microfluidic particle sorter, the single-junction sorter comprising: an input channel, configured to receive a fluid containing particles; an output sort channel and an output waste channel, each connected to the input channel for receiving the fluid therefrom; a bubble generator, operable to selectively displace the fluid around a particle to be sorted and thereby to create a transient flow of the fluid in the input channel; and a vortex element, configured to cause a vortex in the transient flow in order to direct the particle to be sorted into the output sort channel.