A fluid dispenser and method of operating the same. The fluid dispenser can include a wheel driven by diluent passing along a flow path in the fluid dispenser. The wheel can be connected to a pump to pump fluid from a reservoir for dispense into the diluent. In some embodiments, the ratio of wheel rotations to pump cycles is selected to provide a desired and repeatable dilution ratio of concentrated fluid to diluent. The fluid dispenser can be portable and/or disposable, and in some embodiments is adapted for installation on an upper rim of a reservoir wall. Also, the fluid dispenser can be provided with a baffle limiting the velocity and impact of incoming diluent to the wheel driving the pump, thereby improving dosing accuracy of the dispenser in some embodiments.

Methods and devices for the formation of droplets of a first fluid in a second fluid and the encapsulation of particles or cells within such droplets are disclosed. Impetus for droplet formation is provided by the creation of a transient bubble, which may be induced using a pulsed laser. Droplet volume and the frequency at which droplets are formed can be controlled by modulation of the pulsed laser. The disclosed methods and devices are particularly suitable for use in microfluidic devices.

A fluid dispenser and method of operating the same. The fluid dispenser can include a wheel driven by diluent passing along a flow path in the fluid dispenser. The wheel can be connected to a pump to pump fluid from a reservoir for dispense into the diluent. In some embodiments, the ratio of wheel rotations to pump cycles is selected to provide a desired and repeatable dilution ratio of concentrated fluid to diluent. The fluid dispenser can be portable and/or disposable, and in some embodiments is adapted for installation on an upper rim of a reservoir wall. Also, the fluid dispenser can be provided with a baffle limiting the velocity and impact of incoming diluent to the wheel driving the pump, thereby improving dosing accuracy of the dispenser in some embodiments.

A fluid dispenser and method of operating the same. The fluid dispenser can include a wheel driven by diluent passing along a flow path in the fluid dispenser. The wheel can be connected to a pump to pump fluid from a reservoir for dispense into the diluent. In some embodiments, the ratio of wheel rotations to pump cycles is selected to provide a desired and repeatable dilution ratio of concentrated fluid to diluent. The fluid dispenser can be portable and/or disposable, and in some embodiments is adapted for installation on an upper rim of a reservoir wall. Also, the fluid dispenser can be provided with a baffle limiting the velocity and impact of incoming diluent to the wheel driving the pump, thereby improving dosing accuracy of the dispenser in some embodiments.

A method and apparatus for insulating a fluid line in a container configured to contain a fluid. The apparatus comprises a container, a fluid line in the container, and a tube. The container is configured to contain a fluid. The tube is placed around the fluid line in the container to form a channel around a first portion of the fluid line. The tube is configured to contain the fluid from the container in the channel and to prevent a first flow of the fluid between the container and the channel except through a number of ends of the tube. The tube is further configured to reduce a second flow of the fluid within the channel such that the fluid in the channel insulates the fluid line.

A variety of elastomeric-based microfluidic devices and methods for using and manufacturing such devices are provided. Certain of the devices have arrays of reaction sites to facilitate high throughput analyzes. Some devices also include reaction sites located at the end of blind channels at which reagents have been previously deposited during manufacture. The reagents become suspended once sample is introduced into the reaction site. The devices can be utilized with a variety of heating devices and thus can be used in a variety of analyzes requiring temperature control, including thermocycling applications such as nucleic acid amplification reactions, genotyping and gene expression analyzes.