University of California

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

California Institute of Technology

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology

Universitè Laval

Autonomous Medical Devices Inc.

National Research Council of Canada

Marc Madou

Rabih Bachir Zaouk

Horacio Kido

Régis Peytavi

Mary Amasia

Chunlei Wang

Benjamin Yong Park

Alireza Mirsepassi

Philip L Felgner

Giulia Canton

Teodor Veres

Michael R Hoffmann

Michel G Bergeron

Josh Shachar

Lawrence Kulinsky

Yoon-Kyoung Cho

Emmanuel Roy

Derek Dunn-Rankin

Kameel Abi-Samra

Tae Hyeong Kim

Xiao Huang

Regis Peytavi

Yujia Liu

Roya Shiri

Snehan Peshin

Alfonso Shin

Robert A Gorkin, Iii

Gobind S Bisht

Sunny Jiang

Jonathan P Siegrist

Alexander Hwu

Hamsa Gowda

Kartikeya Malladi

Xunyi Wu

Lili Taherabadi

Jonathan Siegrist

Jufeng Deng

Xingxu Yan

Robert A Gorkin

The present invention is directed to a recirculation system for use in microfluidic centrifugal disc platforms for reusing and mixing an entire sample. The present invention features a system comprising a reservoir, an input channel, a detection array, a pressure chamber, and a recirculation channel connecting the pressure chamber to the reservoir. The recirculation channel may have a resistance lower than the channel upstream resistance. When the CD platform spins at a high RPM, the liquid may be directed from the reservoir into the pressure chamber. When the RPM of the CD platform decreases rapidly, the liquid may be directed from the pressure chamber through the channel and through the recirculation channel to the reservoir, such that the liquid travels through the recirculation channel faster than the liquid travels through the channel.

Recirculation mechanism using elastic membrane

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating carbon nanostructures by low voltage near-field electromechanical spinning (LV-NFEMS). Processes described herein can produce ˜2-5 nm carbon nanowires with ultrahigh electrical conductivity using top-down and controlled reductive techniques from a polymer. Configurations are also provided to allow for deposition control and fiber elongation/alignment. One embodiment uses a low voltage near-field electromechanical spinning process to produce a polymer fiber from a polymer solution. Another embodiment of the method uses pyrolysis to convert the produced polymer fiber into a ˜2-5 nm carbon nanowire. System configurations provide advancements in polymer droplet control and control of a sustained jet of polymer solution with the use low voltages. Systems and processes described herein can include use of an array of polymer precursor nanofibers suspended onto a silicon substrate and converted to carbon nanowires. In another embodiment, ultra-thin carbon fibers can be integrated onto a carbon electrode scaffold.

Systems and methods for producing carbon nanostructures and ultrathin aligned carbon wires with multilayer turbostratic graphene structure

The illustrated embodiments of the invention include an automated method of assaying a viral and antibody analyte in a sample in a portable, handheld microfluidic reader having a SAW detector with a minimal mass sensitivity limitation. The automated method includes the steps of automatically performing the assay with the SAW detector with enhanced sensitivity as in Optikus I, but also includes the steps of automatically disposing a second portion of the sample on a microarray, selectively automatically probing the second portion of the sample for antibodies corresponding to the at least one selected virus using the microarray, and automatically reading the microarray using a fluorescent camera to identify antibodies in the second portion of the sample.

Automated, cloud-based, point-of-care (POC) pathogen and antibody array detection system and method

A portable pathogen analysis system (PPAS) designed to detect microbial pathogens at the point-of-sample collection. The system comprises a concentration tube used for the concentration of microbes in large volumes of water samples using super absorbent polymer (SAP) beads and a hand-powered centrifuge; and a processing component, which functions as a portable lab-on-a-disc droplet digital nucleic acid amplification system, which integrates DNA extraction, nucleic acid amplification, and post-amplicon analysis in a single unit. The present invention provides a fast, cost-effective, and user-friendly solution for microbial water quality analysis in low-resource settings.

Portable pathogen analysis system for detecting waterborne pathogens

A microfluidic device, a microfluidic system and a method for controlling a microfluidic test device are provided. The microfluidic device includes a rotatable platform including a sample chamber to which a sample is supplied, a first reagent chamber; a first capture conjugate disposed in the first reagent chamber and configured to capture a target material contained in the sample; a second reagent chamber; a signal material disposed in the second reagent chamber and configured to be electrochemically induced by the first capture conjugate; a reaction chamber providing an area in which a biochemical reaction between the sample and the signal material supplied occurs when the platform rotates; a second capture material disposed in the reaction chamber and configured to capture the target material; a detection chamber separated from the reaction chamber, the detection chamber comprising a detector configured to detect an electrochemical signal generated by the signal material; and a plurality of channels connecting the chambers.

Microfluidic device, microfluidic system and method for controlling microfluidic test device

A CD-based device for separating plasma from whole blood includes a substrate, a sedimentation chamber disposed in the substrate, and a collection chamber disposed in the substrate and in fluidic communication with the sedimentation chamber through a siphon channel. The sedimentation chamber includes a plurality of finger-like structures disposed along a radially outward edge of the sedimentation chamber, and protruding radially inward relative to the axis of rotation of the substrate. A method for separating plasma from whole blood using the CD-based device includes introducing a blood sample into the sedimentation chamber, rotating the substrate about an axis of rotation at a first rotational speed to separate the plasma from blood cells, and rotating the substrate about the axis of rotation at a second rotational speed, which is lower than the first rotational speed, to move the plasma from the sedimentation chamber into the collection chamber.

Microfluidic device for whole blood sample preparation

A method of forming three-dimensional structures includes forming a conductive layer on a substrate and patterning a resist layer over the conductive layer, the resist layer having contained therein a plurality of vias. An electrically conductive polymer is then electro-deposited in the vias. The electro-deposition operation is then stopped to form one or more of posts, posts having bulbous termini (i.e., mushrooms), or a layer atop the resist layer. The resist may be removed to yield the structure which may be further processed. For example, the structure may be pyrolyzed. In addition, biomolecules may also be adhered or otherwise affixed to the structure.

Polymer-based high surface area multi-layered three-dimensional structures and method of making same

An electrospinning method includes providing a nozzle fluidically coupled to a source of polymer ink and providing a substrate adjacent to the nozzle. A first voltage is applied to the nozzle to initiate electrospinning of the polymer ink onto the substrate, wherein the first voltage is within the range of about 400V to about 1000V. The voltage is then reduced to a second, lower voltage wherein the voltage is within the range of about 600V to about 150V.

Low voltage near-field electrospinning method and device

Methods and devices using a co-radial arrangement of serial siphon structures composed of siphon valves each separated by a capillary valve to save radial space in a fluidic system. Such serial siphon valves allow to sequentially distribute liquids in a fluidic system upon application of successive centripetal accelerations and decelerations applied to a rotary platform.

Serial siphon valves for fluidic or microfluidic devices

A microfluidic system for processing a sample includes a microfluidic CD in the form a rotatable disc, the disc containing a plurality of separate lysis chambers therein. A magnetic lysis blade and lysis beads are disposed in each of the lysis chambers and a plurality of stationary magnets are disposed adjacent to and separate from the microfluidic CD. The stationary magnets are configured to magnetically interact with each of the magnetic lysis blades upon rotation of the microfluidic CD. Each lysis chamber may have its own separate sample inlet port or, alternatively, the lysis chambers may be connected to one another with a single inlet port coupled to one of the lysis chambers. Downstream processing may include nucleic acid amplification using thermoelectric heating as well as detection using a nucleic acid microarray.

Centrifugal microfluidic system for nucleic acid sample preparation, amplification, and detection

Methods for the fabrication of suspended carbon structures using a negative photoresist that is exposed to a source of UV light, and a two step pyrolysis process. Ebeam lithography is used to define the suspended structures. The fabrication method described herein provides a novel carbon microfabrication technique, which has potential applications in carbon based electronics, sensors, batteries, microfluidics, etc.

Fabrication of suspended carbon micro and nanoscale structures

C-MEMS architecture having carbon structures with high surface areas due to high aspect ratios and nanoscale surface enhancements, and improved systems and methods for producing such structures are provided. Specifically, high aspect ratio carbon structures are microfabricated by pyrolyzing a patterned carbon precursor polymer. Pyrolysing the polymer preferably comprises a multi-step process in an atmosphere of inert and forming gas at high temperatures that trail the glass transition temperature (Tg) for the polymer. The surface area of the carbon microstructures is increases by nanotexturing the surface through oxygen plasma exposure, and by integrating nanoscale structures with the carbon microstructures by exposing the carbon microstructures and a catalyst to hydrocarbon gas. In a preferred embodiment, the carbon microstructures are the source of carbon gas.

Surface and composition enhancements to high aspect ratio C-MEMS

Growing community of inventors

Irvine, CA, United States of America

Marc Madou