Biocartis, Nv

Imec Vzw

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, K.u. Leuven Research & Development

Nicolas Vergauwe

Peter Peumans

Benjamin Jones

Roel Penterman

Ahmed Taher

Geert Meersseman

Bart Van Meerbergen

Thierry Tollenboom

The present invention provides a micro-reactor () adapted to host chemical reactions having at least one microfluidic layer, said micro-reactor () comprising a fluid inlet () and a fluid outlet (); a plurality of micro-reaction chambers () arranged in rows () and columns (), each micro-reaction chamber comprising a chamber inlet () and a chamber outlet (); a plurality of supply channels () for supplying fluid to from said fluid inlet () to said micro-reaction chambers () and further arranged for draining said micro-reaction chambers () to said fluid outlet (), said supply channels () extending in a first direction (D) along the columns () of micro-reaction chambers () and arranged such that there is one supply channel () between adjacent columns (). The micro-reaction chambers () in the columns () are arranged such that the chamber inlets () of a column are in fluid contact with the same supply channel () and the chamber outlets () are in fluid contact with the supply channel () adjacent to the supply channel () arranged in fluidic contact with the chamber inlets (). Further, the plurality of supply channels () comprises a first end supply channel () arranged for supplying fluid to a first end column () of the micro-reaction chambers () and a second end supply channel () arranged for draining fluid from the second, opposite, end column () of said micro-reaction chambers (); and wherein the micro-reactor () further comprises at least one reagent inlet () in fluid contact with the first end supply channeland a reagent outlet () in fluid contact with the second end supply channel such that reagents introduced to the at least one reagent inlet () fill the plurality of micro-reaction chambers () in a second direction (D) along the rows () of micro-reaction chambers () to the reagent outlet ().

Addressable micro-reaction chamber array

The present invention generally concerns an automated system capable of performing quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis of a nucleic acid present in a biological sample together with preparation of a sequencing-ready nucleic acid library from the sample, either simultaneously or sequentially. In a further aspect, the present invention also provides a method for performing qPCR of a nucleic acid present in a biological sample together with simultaneous of sequential preparation of a sequencing-ready nucleic acid library from the sample. Finally, the present invention also provides removable cartridges for use in the automated systems and methods according to the invention.

Optimized clinical sample sequencing

A microfluidic device comprising a plurality of microreactors is provided. Each microreactor includes at least a first inlet and a second inlet for supplying a first fluid and a second fluid, respectively, to said microreactor and at least one waste channel for draining fluid from said microreactor. The device further comprises a shared first microfluidic supply system for supplying a first fluid to the first inlets of the plurality of microreactors, a shared second microfluidic supply system for supplying a second fluid to the second inlets of the plurality of microreactors. At least one of said inlets to each microreactor comprises at least one valve-less fluidic resistance element having a fluidic resistance that is substantially larger than the fluidic resistance of the corresponding shared microfluidic supply system. A chemical reaction sequencer apparatus including the microfluidic device and a method for supplying reagents to a plurality of microreactors are also provided.

Microfluidic distribution scheme

A transfer device for the contamination free transfer of biological material from a sealed chamber to a recipient. The transfer device includes a support having a first docking area and a second docking area. The first docking area has at least one inlet port, each inlet port creating a fluid connection with one sealed chamber. The second docking area has at least one outlet port, each outlet port creating a fluid connection with a recipient. The first docking area further includes a piercing element designed for piercing a sealing element of a sealed chamber in order to allow, together with at least one inlet port, a fluid connection between a pierced sealed chamber and the inlet port, to allow a contamination free transfer of the biological material from the pierced sealed chamber to at least one recipient.

Transfer device of biological material

System for performing biological analysis comprising: a cartridge having a deformable chamber suitable for containing a liquid to be analyzed; a heater having a heating face arranged to heat the liquid contained in the deformable chamber; characterized in that the heating face of the heater is moveable from a first position to at least a second position, different from the first position, to allow an increase of volume of said deformable chamber in order to compensate an increase of pressure in the deformable chamber during the heating of said liquid by said heater.

Growing community of inventors

Borgloon, Belgium

Nicolas Vergauwe