Formfactor, Inc.

Berkeley Lights, Inc.

Bruker Cellular Analysis, Inc.

Other

L-3 Communications Corporation

Phenomex Inc.

Eric D Hobbs

Keith J Breinlinger

Benjamin N Eldridge

Gaetan L Mathieu

Andrew W McFarland

Alexander H Slocum, Jr

Mark P White

J Tanner Nevill

Daniele Malleo

Makarand S Shinde

Steven W Short

Troy A Lionberger

Justin K Valley

Brandon R Bruhn

Kevin T Chapman

Gary W Grube

John A Tenney

A Nicholas Sporck

Randall D Lowe, Jr

John K Gritters

Volker L S Kurz

Xiaohua Wang

Paul M Lebel

Thomas N Watson

Lunyu Ma

Steven T Murphy

Kai W Szeto

Andrew W Mcfarland

Michael J Armstrong

Treliant Fang

Carl V Reynolds

Roy John Henson

Douglas S Ondricek

Tommie Edward Berry

Dorian Liepmann

Eric Sackmann

Shawn Powell

Marc Loranger

Nobuhiro Kawamata

Joshua Tanner Nevill

Keith Joseph Breinlinger

Yoichi Urakawa

Jun Jason Yao

Kevin Youl Yasumura

Maria Jimena Loureiro

Eric K Sackmann

James M Porter, Jr

Kevin S Chang

Christopher D McCoy

Peter B Mathews

Sangtae Park

Frank M Zalar

Adrian S Wilson

Jr Lowe Randall D

Volker Ls Kurz

Some configurations of a microfluidic apparatus can comprise a fluidic circuit of interconnected fluidic structures into which a plurality of different media can be introduced or extracted. A variety of operations can be performed with the different media including isolating with a second medium one or more of the fluidic structures that is filled partially or fully with a first medium. Discrete volumes of a medium can be moved through the isolating second medium to deliver materials or micro-objects to or remove micro-objects or materials from a fluidic structure that is otherwise isolated by the second medium. Some configurations of a microfluidic apparatus can isolate microfluidic structures in a microfluidic apparatus using flow rates or blocking structures, and some configurations can manage bubbles in fluidic structures.

Isolating microfluidic structures and trapping bubbles

A method of processing and storing biological cells includes introducing a flowable medium into a microfluidic device, the flowable medium including biological cells; sequestering one or more biological cells from the flowable medium in one or more isolation regions of the microfluidic device; and freezing the microfluidic device including the one or more biological cells sequestered therein.

Freezing and archiving cells on a microfluidic device

Apparatuses and methods are described for the use of optically driven bubble, convective and displacing fluidic flow to provide motive force in microfluidic devices. Alternative motive modalities are useful to selectively dislodge and displace micro-objects, including biological cells, from a variety of locations within the enclosure of a microfluidic device.

Microfluidic devices for optically-driven convection and displacement, kits and methods thereof

A microfluidic device can include a base an outer surface of which forms one or more enclosures for containing a fluidic medium. The base can include an array of individually controllable transistor structures each of which can comprise both a lateral transistor and a vertical transistor. The transistor structures can be light activated, and the lateral and vertical transistors can thus be photo transistors. Each transistor structure can be activated to create a temporary electrical connection from a region of the outer surface of the base (and thus fluidic medium in the enclosure) to a common electrical conductor. The temporary electrical connection can induce a localized electrokinetic force generally at the region, which can be sufficiently strong to move a nearby micro-object in the enclosure.

Lateral/vertical transistor structures and process of making and using same

A microfluidic device can comprise at least one swept region that is fluidically connected to unswept regions. The fluidic connections between the swept region and the unswept regions can enable diffusion but substantially no flow of media between the swept region and the unswept regions. The capability of biological micro-objects to produce an analyte of interest can be assayed in such a microfluidic device. Biological micro-objects in sample material loaded into a microfluidic device can be selected for particular characteristics and disposed into unswept regions. The sample material can then be flowed out of the swept region and an assay material flowed into the swept region. Flows of medium in the swept region do not substantially affect the biological micro-objects in the unswept regions, but any analyte of interest produced by a biological micro-object can diffuse from an unswept region into the swept region, where the analyte can react with the assay material to produce a localized detectable reaction. Any such detected reactions can be analyzed to determine which, if any, of the biological micro-objects are producers of the analyte of interest.

Microfluidic devices having isolation pens and methods of testing biological micro-objects with same

Optically-actuated microfluidic devices permit the use of spatially-modulated light to manipulate micro-objects such as biological cells. Systems and methods are described for providing sequences of light patterns to move and direct a plurality of micro-objects within the environment of a microfluidic device. The sequenced light patterns provide improved efficiency in directing the transport of the plurality of micro-objects. Other embodiments are described.

Light sequencing and patterns for dielectrophoretic transport

Individual biological cells can be selected in a micro-fluidic device and moved into isolation pens in the device. The cells can then be lysed in the pens, releasing nucleic acid material, which can be captured by one or more capture objects in the pens. The capture objects with the captured nucleic acid material can then be removed from the pens. The capture objects can include unique identifiers, allowing each capture object to be correlated to the individual cell from which the nucleic acid material captured by the object originated.

Capturing specific nucleic acid materials from individual biological cells in a micro-fluidic device

A microfluidic apparatus is provided having one or more sequestration pens configured to isolate one or more target micro-objects by changing the orientation of the microfluidic apparatus with respect to a globally active force, such as gravity. Methods of selectively directing the movements of micro-objects in such a microfluidic apparatus using gravitational forces are also provided. The micro-objects can be biological micro-objects, such as cells, or inanimate micro-objects, such as beads.

Movement and selection of micro-objects in a microfluidic apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Livermore, CA, United States of America

Eric D Hobbs