Microfluidic analytical apparatus

Abstract

A microfluidic analytical apparatus () comprising a microfluidic card pairing () with a corresponding circuit card () and the circuit card pairing () with corresponding conductive fingers (). The microfluidic card () has a plurality of channels () and ports () on a top surface of the card in a desired configuration, the ports () in fluid communication with the channels (). The circuit card () has a plurality of conductive pins () projecting from a bottom surface of the card and having a configuration that corresponds to the particular configuration of the ports () of the microfluidic card () that is paired with. The circuit card () is received within a holder () that provides that provides multiple functions. Conductive pads () are disposed on a top surface of the circuit card (), the pads () in electrical communication with the conductive pins () and corresponding to a configuration of conductive fingers () connected to a power source to provide voltage to the microfluidic card () for analytical operations. Additionally, detection difficulties associates with non-uniformities present on the card surface are overcome using a detection system incorporating a compliantly mounted microscopic head.