Sandia Corporation

Tecan Trading Ag

Qiagen Sciences, LLC

Thomas D Perroud

Kamlesh D Patel

Tiffany Lay

Daniel Hoffmeyer

Ronald Francis Renzi

Anne R Kopf-Sill

Adrian Sager

Manjeet Dhindsa

Robert Meagher

Dan Tran

Daniel Tran

Oscar Negrete

Mark R Claudnic

Michael Benjamin Franklin

Michel Georges Perbost

A digital microfluidics system with electrodes attached to a substrate and covered by a hydrophobic surface and a control unit for manipulating liquid droplets by electrowetting, providing in close proximity to electrodes a magnetic conduit for directing a magnetic field of a backing magnet to the first hydrophobic surface, providing on the hydrophobic surface a liquid droplet that has magnetically responsive beads moving by electrowetting the liquid droplet with the magnetically responsive beads until a part of which is placed atop of the magnetic conduit, actuating the backing magnet of the magnetic conduit and attracting/concentrating magnetically responsive beads while actuating the backing magnet, moving by electrowetting the liquid droplet with decreased number of magnetically responsive beads away from the specific magnetic conduit. Also disclosed are a method for suspending magnetically responsive beads in liquid portions or droplets in digital microfluidics and a disposable cartridge to carry out the methods.

Magnetic conduits in microfluidics

A digital microfluidics system with electrodes attached to a substrate and covered by a hydrophobic surface, and a control unit for manipulating liquid droplets by electrowetting; providing in close proximity to electrodes a magnetic conduit for directing a magnetic field of a backing magnet to the first hydrophobic surface; providing on the hydrophobic surface a liquid droplet that has magnetically responsive beads; moving by electrowetting the liquid droplet with the magnetically responsive beads until a part of which is placed atop of the magnetic conduit; actuating the backing magnet of the magnetic conduit and attracting/concentrating magnetically responsive beads; and while actuating the backing magnet, moving by electrowetting the liquid droplet with decreased number of magnetically responsive beads away from the specific magnetic conduit. Also disclosed are a method for suspending magnetically responsive beads in liquid portions or droplets in digital microfluidics and a disposable cartridge to carry out the methods.

Digital microfluidics system with electrodes attached to a PCB has control unit for manipulating liquid droplets by electrowetting, cartridge accommodation site for taking up a disposable cartridge having a working gap in-between two hydrophobic surfaces, and magnetic conduit/backing combination. A barrier element on an individual electrode of the PCB for narrowing the working gap. A disposable cartridge is positioned at the cartridge accommodation site, its flexible working film touching there and of the barrier element an uppermost surface. In the working gap and above a path of selected electrodes a liquid portion or liquid droplet with magnetically responsive beads moves by electrowetting on the electrode path until a magnetic field of the magnetic conduit is reached. The backing magnet is activated before and during the moving to thereby attract and remove magnetically responsive beads therefrom.

Bead separation in microfluidics

A flowcell for a sequencing instrument. The flowcell includes a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, a flow channel formed between an at least partially transparent cover and a base and fluidly connecting the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet, and a capture substrate provided in the flow channel. The capture substrate includes microretainers configured to each receive a single microspot having a microspot diameter, and microretainer is separated from adjacent microretainers by an interstitial gap distance that is equal to or greater than the microspot diameter. A particle separator may be fluidly connected to the flowcell. The particle separator may include a microfluidic channel having an array of micropillars to transfer a plurality of the microspots to a loading buffer that may be delivered to the flowcell.

Flowcells with microretainers and particle separators for discrete seeding microspots

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

Disclosed herein are methods of making micropores of a desired height and/or width between two isotropic wet etched features in a substrate which comprises single-level isotropic wet etching the two features using an etchant and a mask distance that is less than 2&#xd7; a set etch depth. Also disclosed herein are methods using the micropores and microfluidic devices comprising the micropores.

Micropores and methods of making and using thereof

We have developed an microelectroporation device that combines microarrays of oligonucleotides, microfluidic channels, and electroporation for cell transfection and high-throughput screening applications (e.g. RNA interference screens). Microarrays allow the deposition of thousands of different oligonucleotides in microscopic spots. Microfluidic channels and microwells enable efficient loading of cells into the device and prevent cross-contamination between different oligonucleotides spots. Electroporation allows optimal transfection of nucleic acids into cells (especially hard-to-transfect cells such as primary cells) by minimizing cell death while maximizing transfection efficiency. This invention has the advantage of a higher throughput and lower cost, while preventing cross-contamination compared to conventional screening technologies. Moreover, this device does not require bulky robotic liquid handling equipment and is inherently safer given that it is a closed system.

Microelectroporation device for genomic screening

Disclosed herein are methods of immobilizing a particle which comprise focusing the flow of a sample fluid containing the particle into a virtual channel which flows towards an unoccupied hydrodynamic trap in a microfluidic channel such that the particle flows into the hydrodynamic trap and becomes immobilized therein. Also disclosed are microfluidic devices which comprise at least one microchannel having at least one hydrodynamic trap, at least one focusing fluid inlet, said focusing fluid inlet is upstream of the hydrodynamic trap such that a focusing fluid introduced therein results in a virtual channel of a sample fluid when present which preferentially flows toward the hydrodynamic trap.

Methods and devices for immobilization of single particles in a virtual channel in a hydrodynamic trap

Disclosed herein are methods and devices utilizing a fluid displacer in a closed-loop fluid circuit.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Thomas D Perroud