The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a microfluidic device, which may precisely form a channel having a desired shape within one substrate using a wax regardless of a shape of a hydrophilic porous substrate, and more specifically, to a method of manufacturing a microfluidic device in which a microchannel is formed by a wax within one hydrophilic porous substrate, the method including: an operation of stacking and then heat-treating a transfer film on which a mirror image of a wax pattern is formed to form a microchannel and the substrate.

An example system includes an array of retaining features in a microfluidic cavity, an array of thermally controlled releasing features, and a controller coupled to each releasing feature in the array of releasing feature. Each retaining feature in the array of retaining features is to position capsules at a predetermined location, the capsules having a thermally degradable shell enclosing a biological reagent therein. Each releasing feature in the array of releasing features corresponds to a retaining feature and is to selectively cause degradation of the shell of a capsule. Each releasing feature is to generate thermal energy to facilitate degradation of the shell. The controller is to selectively activate at least one releasing feature in the array of thermally controlled releasing features to release the biological reagent in the capsules positioned at the retaining feature corresponding to the activated releasing feature.

A microfluidic device comprising: (a) a plate comprising a substrate, a plurality of electrodes, and a first layer of hydrophobic material applied over the plurality of electrodes; (b) a processing unit operably programmed to perform a method of pinning an aqueous droplet within the microfluidic device; and (c) a controller operably connected to a power source, the processing unit, and the plurality of electrodes. The method of pinning an aqueous droplet comprises: applying an electric field of a first polarity to an aqueous droplet located on the surface of the layer of hydrophobic material and having a first contact angle, to cause the droplet to maintain a second contact angle in the absence of the electric field, wherein the aqueous droplet contains a surfactant and the second contact angle is less than the first contact angle.

Provided herein are devices, systems, and methods for particle sorting, including cell sorting, using microfluidics cartridges and microchips and the manufacture of the microfluidics cartridges and microchips by high-throughput approaches. Such methods, devices, and systems can be used to identify, sort, and collect a subset of particles or a single particle from a sample. The capability to manufacture such microfluidic tools in high volume may lower production costs and allow for the microfluidic tools to be used as consumables.

The single-use disposable spectrophotometer described herein can measure one or more blood chemistry analytes from a drop of whole blood. A passive filtration system takes whole blood and delivers plasma along with a dissolved reporter molecule to one or more spectrophotometers which can operate with narrow band optical spectrum centered on an optical detection frequency. The spectrophotometer detects the changes in absorption of the plasma as a result of a chemistry reaction to determine the concentration or activity of one or more analytes.

The present disclosure provides systems and methods for sample analysis. The system comprises a container. The container comprises a sample receptacle and a cap, and the cap comprises a reservoir for retaining a composition, a first piercing member and a first pierceable barrier for sealing said composition within said reservoir. There is also provided a method for sample analysis.

A system for testing for an analyte includes a test strip. The test strip includes a first flow path. The test strip further includes a heating element in communication with a heating area of the first flow path, for heating a sample in the first flow path. The test strip further includes an e-gate, the e-gate in the first flow path, the e-gate separating the heating area from a detection area of the first flow path.

An integrated semiconductor device for manipulating and processing bio-entity samples and methods are described. The device includes a lower substrate, at least one optical signal conduit disposed on the lower substrate, at least one cap bonding pad disposed on the lower substrate, a cap configured to form a capped area, and disposed on the at least one cap bonding pad, a fluidic channel, wherein a first side of the fluidic channel is formed on the lower substrate and a second side of the fluidic channel is formed on the cap, a photosensor array coupled to sensor control circuitry, and logic circuitry coupled to the fluidic control circuitry, and the sensor control circuitry.

Digital microfluidic (DMF) apparatuses and methods for optically-induced heating and manipulating droplets are described herein. DMF apparatuses employing photonic heating as described herein provide radical simplification of routing droplets/reagents in complex, multistep protocols and/or highly plexed workflows.

Methods and apparatuses for mechanically controlling microfluidic movement using a force applicator and an elastically deformable sheet are described herein. These apparatuses may include a mechanical microfluidics actuator devices and a cartridge. A microfluidic droplet may be moved or displaced within an air gap of the cartridge by applying a compressive force locally and selectively reduce the gap width of the air gap near the microfluidic droplet causing the microfluidic droplet to move toward the reduced gap. Compressive forces may also be used to divide, join, mix or perform other operations on the microfluidic droplets.