Abstract: An apparatus and system for measuring and monitoring fouling parameters in a fluid are provided. The apparatus includes a conduit within a housing, wherein at least a portion of the conduit provides a carbon dioxide permeable membrane through which carbon dioxide in the fluid can permeate in use. A carbon dioxide sensor within the housing is configured to measure carbon dioxide levels at the sensor. The housing further includes a light source that irradiates a portion of the conduit and a light sensor that is configured to measure light transmitted through or reflected by the irradiated portion of the conduit to measure the amount of fouling material within the fluid and attached to the irradiated portion of the conduit in use.

Abstract: The disclosure provides a structured illumination imaging system that utilizes an image sensor (e.g., an active pixel sensor) in an active plane of a patterned sample to increase image resolution. The imaged sample may be patterned and/or aligned over an image sensor such that each light sensor (e.g., pixel) of the image sensor has a respective plurality of features formed and/or mounted above it. In response to illumination, each of the features may emit fluorescent light that is collected by a pixel of the image sensor. During imaging, each pixel of the image sensor may be spatially multiplexed using structured illumination such that only a subset (e.g., one or two) of the features aligned over the pixel are illuminated with structured light during an image read.

Abstract: An example sensor includes a flow cell, a detection device, and a controller. The flow cell includes a passivation layer having opposed surfaces and a reaction site at a first of the opposed surfaces. The flow cell also includes a lid operatively connected to the passivation layer to partially define a flow channel between the lid and the reaction site. The detection device is in contact with a second of the opposed surfaces of the passivation layer, and includes an embedded metal layer that is electrically isolated from other detection circuitry of the detection device. The controller is to ground the embedded metal layer.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of manipulating droplets in a channel area, comprising: —providing a flow of carrier fluid in the channel area; —providing at least one droplet of a first fluid and at least one droplet of a second fluid within the carrier fluid, the first fluid and the second fluid being immiscible with the carrier fluid; —displacing the droplet of first fluid and the droplet of second fluid along the channel area, successively (a) by a flow of carrier fluid in a first direction and at a first flow rate; and (b) by a flow of carrier fluid in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and at a second flow rate different from the first flow rate.

Abstract: Two or more micropipettes are used to increase a microinjection throughput in an automated system for microinjecting adherent cells on a Petri dish. In the system, a motorized stage carrying the Petri dish sequentially visits the cells according to an optimized injection sequence. The sequence is selected by minimizing a total distance traveled by the motorized stage such that each cell is visited once by one of the micropipettes. Using multiple micropipettes advantageously reduces the minimized total distance over using a single micropipette to thereby increase the throughput. The optimized injection sequence is obtained by solving an equality-generalized traveling salesman problem. Each micropipette is mounted on a motorized micromanipulator. The motorized stage and motorized micromanipulators operate coordinately that each micromanipulator goes down or up during movement of the motorized stage to compensate for unevenness between a focus plane and a moving trajectory of the motorized stage.

Abstract: A sampling system includes a graduated sampling chamber configured for fluid connection to a sample source, a pump device configured for fluid connection with the sampling chamber, and a sterile air filter intermediate the pump device and the sampling chamber, wherein the pump device is selectively actuatable to draw a volume of fluid from the sample source into the sampling chamber.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods for determining the antimicrobial susceptibility of a microorganism in a clinical sample said method comprising removing a test aliquot from a clinical sample culture before the culture reaches 0.5 McFarland units, isolating the microbial cells and transferring the cells into a suitable culture medium for microbial growth, and performing an AST assay using the isolated microbes, wherein the concentration of microbial cells in the microbial cells used to set up the AST assay is measured before the degree of microbial growth in the different growth conditions of the AST assay is measured. Devices for determining the antimicrobial susceptibility of a microorganism in a clinical sample are also provided.

Abstract: A microfluidic device for concentrating particles contained in a fluid sample comprises a substrate (11) having a surface where at least one microfluidic arrangement (M) is defined, which comprises: —a loading chamber (14), for loading the fluid sample into the at least one microfluidic arrangement (M); —a plurality of microchannels (13), which have respective inlet ends connected to the loading chamber (14); and —a covering element (12), which is substantially impermeable to the fluid sample and extends at least partially over the plurality of microchannels (13).

Abstract: A bioreactor for growing micro-organisms, has a reaction chamber containing a reaction mixture with a reaction medium and micro-organisms. A draft tube is arranged inside the reaction chamber, which has a gas inlet, an inlet for the reaction mixture at its first end, and an outlet for the reaction mixture at its second end. The bioreactor includes means for generating flow of the reaction mixture within the reaction chamber and a first blade structure arranged inside the reaction chamber, surrounding the draft tube. The first blade structure has blades arranged at, at least one of an angle ?1 with respect to a direction defined by the height of the reaction chamber, or an angle ?2 with respect to a direction defined by the height of the reaction chamber. The bioreactor also includes an inlet for reaction medium and an outlet for withdrawing medium with grown micro-organisms.

Abstract: A biochip packaging structure includes a chip packaging layer, a redistribution layer, and a microfluidic channel. The chip packaging layer includes a resin layer including a biochip and a conductive pillar located on each of two sides of the biochip. The biochip includes a first surface flush with and exposed out of a side of the resin layer. A first end of the conductive pillar is flush with a side of the resin layer opposite the biochip. A second end of the conductive pillar is flush with the first surface of the biochip. The redistribution layer includes a metal winding electrically coupled to the biochip and the adjacent conductive pillar. The metal winding includes a first winding portion coupled to the biochip and a second winding portion coupled between the first winding portion and the conductive pillar. The second winding portion is parallel to the first surface.

Abstract: The present disclosure is to provide a measurement chip, a measuring device, and a measuring method which can accurately estimate an analyte concentration with a simple configuration. A measurement chip may include a propagation layer, an introductory part, a drawn-out part and a reaction part. Through the propagation layer, light may propagate. The introductory part may introduce the light into the propagation layer. The drawn-out part may draw the light from the propagation layer. The reaction part may have, in a surface of the propagation layer where a reactant that reacts to a substance to be detected is formed, an area where a content of the reactant changes monotonously in a perpendicular direction perpendicular to a propagating direction of the light, over a given length in the propagating direction.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are devices, apparatuses and methods for generating self-sustaining gaseous and non-gaseous gradients across a cell support structure and for culturing one or more cells or tissues under hypoxic conditions. Methods of generating one or more gas gradients across a cell support structure include providing a luminal container having a bottom wall that is a gas permeable membrane, positioning a cell support structure above the bottom wall, positioning one or more cells or tissues on the cell support structure, and generating one or more gas gradients between the bottom wall, across the cell support structure and into a luminal reservoir. An apparatus to produce hypoxic conditions for cell cultures includes a luminal container having a bottom wall, a cell support structure on the bottom wall, and a cover that sealably closes the open top, such that a hypoxic condition can be generated in the luminal reservoir.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a microfluidic particle analysis device comprising an inlet and an outlet in fluid communication via a main channel defining a main flow direction from an inlet end to an outlet end, the main channel being defined by a main channel wall extending from the inlet end to the outlet end and having a first cross-sectional dimension in the range of 20 ?m to 120 ?m and a second cross-sectional dimension of at least 100 ?m, the main channel wall at a vertex having an opening extending along the main flow direction and being open to an analysis section having surfaces at an analytical distance in the range of 5 ?m to 50 ?m and a sensor system for detecting a particle. The present invention also relates to a method of using the microfluidic particle analysis device for detecting particles or monitoring the concentration of particles.

Abstract: A biosensor includes a reaction part including a magnetic nanoparticle complex, a first electrode, and a second electrode; and a sample introduction part forming a passage so that a sample can be introduced into the reaction part from an outside of the biosensor. The magnetic nanoparticle complex includes a first capturing substance for capturing a first target substance, a magnetic nanoparticle, and a reaction substance that performs at least one of an oxidation reaction and a reduction reaction.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for separating single cells. The apparatus includes: a fluid channel having an upper panel, a lower panel, and a flow path formed therebetween that is configured to convey a sample including a single cell; a single cell measuring unit including first and second electrodes provided on the fluid channel in a predetermined spaced relationship for applying electrical signals to the sample in the flow path, and a detection electrode provided between the first and second electrodes to detect the single cell in the sample in the flow path, such that the single cell measuring unit applies the electrical signals to the sample in the flow path, detects the electrical signals of the sample, and detects whether there is the single cell in the sample; and a single cell separation control device which outputs a single cell separation control signal when the single cell is detected by the detection electrode.

Abstract: A specimen processing apparatus performs processing on a specimen contained in a container. The specimen processing apparatus includes: holders having different shapes, each of the holders being configured to hold the container; a holder placement unit that comprises holder receiving portions having different shapes, the shapes of the holder receiving portions corresponding to the shapes of the holders; and a specimen processing unit that performs processing on the specimen contained in the container held by one of the holders placed on the holder placement unit.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an optochemical sensor element, comprising: a substrate layer having a first substrate side facing toward a measuring medium and a second substrate side opposite the first substrate side; a functional layer arranged on the first substrate side and is subdivided into functional segments separate from one another, wherein a first functional segment has a second reference dye and a second functional segment has an indicator dye, wherein the second reference dye comprises an organic material and is insensitive to oxygen, and is suitable to emit a second luminescence signal upon stimulation with a first stimulation signal, wherein the indicator dye comprises an organic material and is sensitive to oxygen, and is suitable to emit a third luminescence signal upon stimulation with the first stimulation signal, wherein the substrate layer is transparent to the stimulation signal and to the second and third luminescence signals.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for performing detection of microorganisms (e.g., viruses) with high sensitivity. The apparatus and method are well suited for point-of-care (POC) testing in resource-limited regions and are capable of being operated with very little manual intervention and without the need for lab equipment. A variety of viruses can be detected with high sensitivity, including, for example, coronaviruses, Zika virus and flu viruses.

Abstract: A device for treating fluids, particularly body fluids, comprises a receiving container for receiving the fluid from a body, a filter device which comprises a filter element for filtering out pathogenic particles from the fluid, and a cultivation device configured to incubate the filtered pathogenic particles on a nutrient medium, the filter device being coupled to the cultivation device such that the pathogenic particles can be transferred from the filter element into the cultivation device without contamination. A corresponding method is also provided.

Abstract: A system for electronically and optically monitoring biological samples, the system including: a multi-well plate having a plurality of wells configured to receive a plurality of biological samples, each of the wells having a set of electrodes and a transparent window on a bottom surface of the well that is free of electrodes; an illumination module configured to illuminate the wells; a cradle configured to receive the multi-well plate, the cradle having an opening on the bottom that exposes the transparent windows of the wells; and an optical imaging module movable across different wells of a same multi-well plate to capture images through the windows.