Caliper Technologies Corporation

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.

Tecan Trading Ag

Abaxis, Inc.

Molecular Devices Corporation

Other

Mountain View

Anne R Kopf-Sill

J Wallace Parce

Andrea W Chow

Luc J Bousse

John Wallace Parce

Michael R Knapp

Tammy Burd Mehta

Michael A Spaid

Theo Teofanov Nikiforov

Steven A Sundberg

Ring-Ling Chien

Benjamin N Wang

Robert S Dubrow

Morten Juel Jensen

Travis Lee

Marc Nathan Feiglin

Michael Benjamin Franklin

Jill M Baker

Steve Gallagher

Carol T Schembri

Calvin Y H Chow

Colin B Kennedy

Michael J Kennedy

Peter C Jann

Tiffany Lay

Kailiang Wang

Jeffrey A Wolk

H Garrett Wada

Daniel Hoffmeyer

Marja Liisa Alajoki

Claudia B Cohen

Bruce J Richardson

Calvin Y Chow

Torleif Ove Bjornson

Robert E Nagle

Robert F Zuk

Josh Molho

Steven James Gallagher

Henry L Schwartz

Thomas D Perroud

Javier Anibal Farinas

Steven N Buhl

Joseph Mamone

Werner Halg

Sherri Biondi

Glenda L Choate

Yevgeny Yurkovetsky

Anubhav Tripathi

Claudia B Jaffe

S Nicholas Reimitz

Daniel M Bernstein

Matthew B Kerby

Claudia L Poglitsch

Steven A Sunberg

Ian Fitzpatrick

Mark Rob

Phillip Duncan

Lloyd A Schick

Wayne A Britt

Jenq C Chang

A liquid droplet manipulation system has a substrate with at least one electrode array and a central control unit for controlling selection of individual electrodes of the electrode array and for providing the electrodes with individual voltage pulses for manipulating liquid droplets by electrowetting. A working film is placed on top of the electrodes for manipulating samples in liquid droplets with the electrode array. At least one selected individual electrode of the electrode array is configured to be penetrated by light of an optical detection system for the optical inspection or analysis of samples in liquid droplets that are located on the working film. Also disclosed is working film that is to be placed on the electrode array and a cartridge that includes such a working film for manipulating samples in liquid droplets.

System for manipulating samples in liquid droplets

Methods are provided for detecting low copy nucleic acids of interest in a sample. In one method, a sample comprising a nucleic acid of interest is aliquotted into a plurality of reaction mixtures, at least two of which are single-copy reaction mixtures. The reaction mixtures are subjected to one or more amplification reactions while flowing through a channel of a microfluidic device. At least one of the reaction mixtures is formulated in an aqueous phase of an emulsion comprising aqueous droplets suspended in an immiscible liquid. The nucleic acid of interest is present as a single copy in at least one aqueous droplet of the aqueous phase prior to performing the amplification reaction(s). Amplification is performed on the reaction mixture when it is formulated in the emulsion. The nucleic acid is continuously flowed during a plurality of steps of the method.

Methods of detecting low copy nucleic acids

An array of transportable particle sets is used in a microfluidic device for performing chemical reactions in the microfluidic device. The microfluidic device comprises a main channel and intersecting side channels, the main channel and side channels forming a plurality of intersections. The array of particle sets is disposed in the main channel, and the side channels are coupled to reagents. As the particle sets are transported through the intersections of the main channel and the side channels, reagents are flowed through the side channels into contact with each array member (or selected array members), thereby providing a plurality of chemical reactions in the microfluidic system.

Manipulation of microparticles in microfluidic systems

A disposable cartridge configured as a digital microfluidics system for manipulating samples in liquid portions having a cartridge accommodation site and a central control unit for controlling selection of individual electrodes of an electrode array located at the site and for providing plural electrodes with individual voltage pulses for manipulating liquid portions by electrowetting. The cartridge has a hydrophobic working surface and a rigid cover with a second hydrophobic surface, the hydrophobic surfaces facing each other and being separated in parallel planes by a gap. The cartridge has plural pipetting guides for safe entering/withdrawing liquids into/from the gap with a pipette tip. At least one of the pipetting guides provides an abutting surface sealingly admittable by a counter surface of a pipette tip, located at a pipetting orifice that reaches through the rigid cover, and configured to prevent a pipette tip from touching the hydrophobic working surface.

Microfluidics cartridge with pipetting guide

A disposable cartridge used in a digital microfluidics system has a bottom layer with first hydrophobic surface, a rigid cover plate with second hydrophobic surface, and a gap there-between. The bottom layer is a flexible film on an uppermost surface of a cartridge accommodation site of a system, attracted to and spread over the uppermost surface by an underpressure. A lower surface of the plate and the flexible bottom layer are sealed to each other. The assembled cartridge is removed from the cartridge accommodation site in one piece and potentially includes samples and processing fluids. The system has a base unit and a cartridge accommodation site with an electrode array of individual electrodes and a central control unit for controlling selection of individual electrodes and for providing these electrodes with individual voltage pulses for manipulating liquid droplets within the gap by electrowetting.

Disposable cartridge for microfluidics systems

Digital microfluidics system manipulates samples in liquid droplets within a gap of at least one disposable cartridge. It is also provides additional space for collecting and/or storing waste fluids in this digital microfluidics system. It includes at least one waste hollow which is fluidly connected with a gap of a disposable cartridge that includes a bottom layer with a first hydrophobic surface and a top layer with a second hydrophobic surface. The waste hollow is located next to at least one individual waste electrode that is positioned next to at least one individual electrode of an electrode array. Each individual waste electrode is operatively connected to a central control unit and covers in each case a waste electrode area.

Microfluidics systems with waste hollow

A cartridge manipulates samples in liquid droplets with an electrode array when a working film is placed on the array. The cartridge has a body with lower surface and wells to hold samples, each with a bottom opening to release liquid. A piercable bottom structure seals the bottom openings. A working film below the body has a hydrophobic upper surface. A peripheral spacer connects the working film to the body and forms a gap is between the body and surface. A top piercing system located in at least one of the wells has a piston and a piercing element, the piston being movable in the well and the piercing element piercing the piercable bottom structure for releasing a sample from a well into the gap.

Cartridge and system for manipulating samples in liquid droplets

A digital microfluidics system manipulates samples in liquid droplets within disposable cartridges and has disposable cartridges each with a bottom layer, a top layer and a gap therebetween. A base unit with cartridge accommodation sites and at least one electrode array with electrodes works with a cover plate at the sites and a control unit for controlling selection of the electrodes and for providing them with voltage pulses for manipulating liquid droplets within the cartridges by electrowetting. The cover plate has an electrically conductive material that extends parallel to the array. A selection of disposable cartridges and a method for manipulating samples in liquid droplets that adhere to a hydrophobic surface can be used with the system.

Digital microfluidics system with disposable cartridges

A cartridge () comprises a working film () for manipulating samples in liquid droplets with an electrode array () when the working film () of the cartridge () is placed on said electrode array (). The cartridge () comprises a body (&#x2033;) with a number of wells () configured to hold therein reagents () or samples ('); a flexibly deformable top structure () impermeable to liquids and configured to seal a top side of the wells (); a piercable bottom structure () impermeable to liquids and configured to seal a bottom side of the wells (); a working film () located below a lower surface () of the body (&#x2033;), the working film () being impermeable to liquids and comprising a hydrophobic upper surface (); a peripheral spacer (&#x2033;) located below the lower surface () of the body (&#x2033;) and connecting the working film () to the body (&#x2033;); a gap () between the lower surface () of the body (&#x2033;) and the hydrophobic upper surface () of the working film (), the gap () being defined by the peripheral spacer (&#x2033;); and a number of piercing elements () located below piercable bottom structures () and configured to pierce the piercable bottom structures () for releasing reagents or samples (&#x2032;) from the wells () into the gap (). Also disclosed is a system () with an electrode array () onto which the cartridge () can be placed.

Systems for differentiating the lengths of nucleic acids of interest in a sample are provided. The system includes a microfluidic device, a detector, and a software system. The microfluidic device includes an amplification microchannel or microchamber containing a reaction mixture under conditions that provide one or more amplicons of the nucleic acid of interest. The detector is integral with or proximal to the microfluidic device and is configured to detect the amplicons as one or more signals from a homogenous mixture. The software system interprets one or more coincidentally detected signals to indicate lengths of one or more individual nucleic acid molecules of interest, thereby differentiating the lengths of the nucleic acids of interest.

System for differentiating the lengths of nucleic acids of interest in a sample

The present invention provides centrifugal rotors for delivering a premeasured volume of liquid to a chamber in the rotor. In particular the rotors comprise siphons for delivering a premeasured volume of liquid between a first and a second chamber in the rotor. The siphons of the invention are designed such that the inlet of the siphon on the first chamber is radially outward of the siphon outlet on the second chamber. The first chamber is emptied to a level equivalent to the radial position of the siphon outlet.

Modified siphons for improving metering precision

Growing community of inventors

Portola Valley, CA, United States of America

Anne R Kopf-Sill