Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Sharp Life Science (eu) Limited

Sharp Life Science Corporation

Emma Jayne Walton

Lesley Anne Parry-Jones

Martin David Tillin

David James Montgomery

Christopher James Brown

Jonathan Francis Mather

Paul Antony Gass

Allan Evans

Grant Bourhill

Diana Ulrich Kean

Julie Karen Deacon

Nathan James Smith

Benjamin John Broughton

Adrian Marc Simon Jacobs

Thomas Mathew Wynne-Powell

Heather Ann Stevenson

Graham John Woodgate

Hiroshi Fukushima

Michael John Towler

Benjamin James Hadwen

Yuichiro Yamada

Akiyoshi Fujii

Tomoo Takatani

Harry Garth Walton

Andrew Kay

Yukio Watanabe

Craig Tombling

Hywel Hopkin

Paul Bonnett

Koji Yabuta

Tong Zhang

Andrew Acreman

James Rowland Suckling

Fumitaka Seki

Peter John Roberts

Elizabeth Jane Acosta

Marina Vladimirovna Khazova

Gregory Gay

Tadashi Kawamura

Robert Winlow

Jason Kempton Slack

Alistair Paul Curd

Hirofumi Oda

Edward David Heywood-Lonsdale

Kazuhiro Inoko

Michel Sagardoyburu

John Patrick Nonweiler

Adrian Marc Jacobs

Jonathan Buse

Yasunori Kanazawa

Lesley Ann Parry-Jones

Anthony John Carver

Taro Sugita

Neil Barratt

Thomas Wynne Powell

Stephen James Fasham

Robert Julian Amos

Zabbie J Acosta

Brian Henley

Masaharu Hara

Keisuke Mitani

Tamotsu Takatsuka

Diana U Kean

A microfluidic AM-EWOD device and a method of filling such a device are provided. The device comprises a chamber having one or more inlet ports. The device is configured, when the chamber contains a metered volume of a filler fluid that partially fills the chamber, preferentially maintain the metered volume of the filler fluid in a part of the chamber. The device is configured to allow displacement of some of the filler fluid from the part of the chamber when a volume of an assay fluid introduced into one of the one or more inlet ports enters the part of the chamber, thereby causing a volume of a venting fluid to vent from the chamber.

Microfluidic device and a method of loading fluid therein

A method of operating an electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) device performs electrowetting operations on fluids dispensed into the EWOD device, which provides enhanced operation for using multiple non-polar filler fluids. The method of operating includes the steps of: dispensing a polar fluid source into the EWOD device; performing an electrowetting operation to generate an aqueous barrier from the polar fluid source, wherein the aqueous barrier separates the EWOD device into a first region and a second region that are fluidly separated from each other by the aqueous barrier; inputting a non-polar first filler fluid into the first region; inputting a non-polar second filler fluid into the second region; dispensing a polar liquid droplet into the first region; transferring the polar liquid droplet from the first region to the second region by performing an electrowetting operation to reconfigure the aqueous barrier, and performing an electrowetting operation to move the polar liquid droplet from the first region to the second region through the reconfigured aqueous barrier; and performing an electrowetting operation to reconstitute the aqueous barrier to fluidly separate the first region from the second region. The method may be performed by an EWOD control system executing program code stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium.

Use of multiple filler fluids in an EWOD device via the use of an electrowetting gate

A microfluidic device comprises upper and lower spaced apart substrates defining a fluid chamber therebetween; an aperture for introducing fluid into the fluid chamber; and a fluid input structure disposed over the upper substrate and having a fluid well for receiving fluid from a fluid applicator inserted into the fluid well. The fluid well communicates with a fluid exit provided in a base of the fluid input structure, the fluid exit being adjacent the aperture. The fluid well comprises first, second and third portions, with the first portion of the well forming a reservoir for a filler fluid; and the second portion of the well being configured to sealingly engage against an outer surface of a fluid applicator inserted into the fluid well. The third portion of the well communicates with the fluid exit and has a diameter at the interface between the third portion and the second portion that is greater than the diameter of the second portion at the interface between the third portion and the second portion.

A microfluidic device comprises upper and lower spaced apart substrates defining a fluid chamber therebetween; an aperture for introducing fluid into the fluid chamber; a plurality of independently addressable array elements, each array element defining a respective region of the fluid chamber; and control means for addressing the array elements. The control means are configured to: determine that a working fluid has been introduced into a first region of the fluid chamber; and provide an output to a user to indicate that the working fluid is present in the first region. Once the working fluid is in the first region, the fluid applicator used to dispense the fluid can be removed without any risk of accidentally withdrawing dispensed working fluid from the microfluidic device. In the case of manual loading of the working fluid the output may inform a user that it is safe to remove the applicator, or in the case of automatic or robotic loading the output signal may be provided to the system controlling the automatic or robotic loading of fluid so that the system can remove the fluid applicator.

An EWOD device includes a first substrate assembly and a second substrate assembly; wherein one of said substrate assemblies includes electrowetting electrodes, and the first substrate assembly and the second substrate assembly are spaced apart to define a channel between the substrate assemblies; and a housing for receiving the first substrate assembly and the second substrate assembly, the housing comprising an alignment feature for locating at least one of the first and second substrate assemblies within the housing. The device further includes a fixing feature for fixing the first and second substrate assemblies within the housing. The second substrate assembly is located within the housing such that the second substrate assembly is an outer component of the EWOD device. The device further may include a spacer that spaces apart the first substrate assembly from the second substrate assembly to define the channel between the first and second substrate assemblies.

Housing for simple assembly of an EWOD device

An electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) device includes a first substrate assembly and a second substrate assembly spaced apart to define a channel between them; an input port in fluid communication with the channel, the input port defining an input well for receiving a fluid for inputting into the channel; and a control port in fluid communication with the channel, the control port defining a control well for receiving a fluid and having a seal that seals the control port in a sealed state in which fluid is restricted from entering the control well from the channel. When the seal is pierced, the control port is placed in an unsealed state permitting fluid to enter the control well from the channel. The electrowetting force may be manipulated to remove the dispensed droplets via an exit port. Multiple cycles of fluid input/droplet manipulation/fluid extraction may be repeated to perform complex reaction protocols.

EWOD device with holdback feature for fluid loading

A method of extracting assay fluid from an EWOD device, the EWOD device comprising two opposing substrates defining a fluid space there between and an aperture for extraction of fluid from the fluid space. The method comprises providing, in the fluid space of the EWOD device, a droplet of assay fluid adjacent to the aperture such that the droplet blocks extraction, via the aperture, of filler fluid contained in the fluid space of the EWOD device, and extracting, via the aperture, at least some of the assay fluid of the droplet from the fluid space. The method comprises, during the extracting, controlling the assay fluid droplet by electrowetting to maintain the blocking of extraction of filler fluid. By controlling the position of the unextracted portion of the assay fluid droplet relative to the aperture during the extraction process, the unextracted portion of the assay fluid droplet continues to block extraction of filler fluid. This makes it much less likely for unwanted extraction of filler fluid to occur.

Fluid extraction from a microfluidic device

A display component controls a viewing angle in a display system that achieves a strong private mode and enhanced brightness in the private and public modes as compared to conventional configurations. A display system that is operable in the private mode and the public mode includes the display component in combination with an image panel. The display component includes a backlight unit that emits light from a non-viewing side of the display component toward a viewing side of the display component; a barrier and slit structure located on a viewing side of the backlight unit, the barrier and slit structure comprising a plurality of opaque barrier regions interspersed with a plurality of transparent slit regions; and a lens array of lens elements located on a viewing side of the barrier and slit structure, with the lens elements being located in a separate plane relative to the barrier regions, wherein the barrier and slit structure and the lens array operate to transmit light from the backlight unit collimated in a limited viewing angle range.

Enhanced privacy switchable backlight system

A fluid loader is provided for loading fluid into a microfluidic device, the microfluidic device having upper and lower spaced apart substrates defining a fluid chamber therebetween and an aperture for receiving fluid into the fluid chamber. The fluid loader includes a fluid well communicating with a fluid exit provided in a base of the fluid loader. The base of the fluid loader is shaped, in use, to locate the fluid loader relative to the aperture, and to direct fluid leaving the fluid loader via the fluid exit preferentially in a first direction in the fluid chamber of the microfluidic device. In one embodiment the base of the fluid loader includes a protruding portion having at least first and second legs, the first leg being shorter than the second leg. In use, the fluid loader is positioned such that the first leg of the fluid loader is between a fluid loading area associated with the aperture and an operating area of the device.

Fluid loading into a microfluidic device

An EWOD device includes a first and second substrate assemblies, and a spacer that spaces apart the first substrate assembly from the second substrate assembly to define a channel between them. The spacer defines fluid input ports that are in fluid communication with the channel, and the spacer is configured for directing fluid from the fluid input ports into the channel. The spacer has a combed spacer configuration to define the fluid input ports, including alternating teeth that extend into the channel from a base region, and the teeth isolate adjacent fluid input ports from each other. The spacer may contact only a portion of the first and second substrate assemblies to form a spacerless region within the EWOD device, and the spacer includes regions that are in contact with both the first and second substrate assemblies and extend into the channel to define a cell-gap of the channel.

Spacer for side loaded EWOD device

Growing community of inventors

Oxford, United Kingdom

Emma Jayne Walton