Patents Examined by J. Christopher Ball
  • Patent number: 11573198
    Abstract: A fluidic apparatus for detection of a chemical substance, a biosensor, and a method of fabricating the fluidic apparatus. The fluidic apparatus includes a fluidic structure arranged to receive a sample containing a target substance, and a trapping structure, in fluid communication with the fluidic structure and arranged to immobilize the target substance in a detection region, wherein the detection region of the trapping structure is arranged to alter a physical characteristic of an incident light signal which represents a concentration of the target substance contained in the sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: City University of Hong Kong
    Inventors: Stella W. Pang, Shuyan Zhu
  • Patent number: 11567061
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for trapping and electrically monitoring molecules in a nanopore sensor. The nanopore sensor comprises a support structure with a first and a second fluidic chamber, at least one nanopore fluidically connected to the two chambers, and a protein shuttle. The protein shuttle comprises an electrically charged protein molecule, such as Avidin. The nanopore can be a Clytosolin A. A method can comprise applying a voltage across the nanopores to draw protein shuttles towards the nanopores. The ionic current through each or all of the nanopores can be concurrently measured. Based on the measured ionic current, blockage events can be detected. Each blockage event indicates a capture of a protein shuttle by at least one nanopore. Each blockage event can be detected through a change of the total ionic current flow or a change in the ionic current flow for a particular nanopore.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignees: PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
    Inventors: Lene V. Hau, Jene A. Golovchenko, Min Chen
  • Patent number: 11567060
    Abstract: Example nanopore sequencers include a cis well, a trans well, and a nanopore fluidically connecting the cis and trans wells. In one example sequencer, a modified electrolyte (including an electrolyte and a cation complexing agent) is present in the cis well, or the trans well, or in the cis and the trans wells. In another example sequencer, a gel state polyelectrolyte is present in the cis well, or the trans well, or in the cis and the trans wells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Illumina, Inc.
    Inventors: Boyan Boyanov, Rohan N. Akolkar, Jeffrey S. Fisher, Jeffrey G. Mandell, Liangliang Qiang, Steven M. Barnard
  • Patent number: 11559817
    Abstract: Devices and methods for capturing biological materials using a potential well. An electrical signal is applied across a nanopipette having one end in a back-fill chamber and another end in a collection chamber containing a suspending medium including one or more types of particles. The collection end of the nanopipette includes a tip having an opening. The electrical signal applied across the nanopipette is configured to generate the potential well proximate to the tip in which the electrokinetic forces acting on the particles are balanced. The potential well may be configured to selectively trap one or the other types of particles suspended in the suspending medium. The particles may be transferred to a sample collection medium by immersing the tip in the sample collection medium and reversing the polarity of the electrical signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: University of Cincinnati
    Inventor: Leyla Esfandiari
  • Patent number: 11561220
    Abstract: An electrochemical electrode for use in a biosensor. The electrode comprises a substrate, a palladium metal layer manufactured on the substrate, and a palladium oxide-containing layer manufactured on the palladium metal layer. The palladium metal layer has a thickness of no more than 90 nm, and the palladium oxide-containing layer has a thickness of no more than 40 nm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company
    Inventors: Dennis Lee Ashford, II, Spencer Erich Hochstetler
  • Patent number: 11547998
    Abstract: An example device includes a microfluidic channel and a movable element retained in the microfluidic channel to move from a first position to a second position by fluid flow through the microfluidic channel. The device includes a sensor to take a sensor reading to determine fluid flow through the microfluidic channel. The device includes a microfluidic pump to return the movable element from the second position to the first position. The device includes a controller to actuate the microfluidic pump and to determine a flow rate of the fluid flow through the microfluidic channel based on the sensor reading.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alexander Govyadinov, Pavel Kornilovich
  • Patent number: 11542495
    Abstract: A sample containing particles having high-molecular-weight (HMW) DNA is entrapped in a gel matrix, and the gel matrix is exposed to a lysis reagent configured to release the HMW DNA from the particles. The HMW DNA may be purified by subjecting the gel matrix to an electrophoretic field that removes the HMW DNA from the particles, lysis reagents, and/or other sample constituents, from the gel matrix such that the HMW DNA remains. The gel matrix may be subjected with DNA cleavase reagents configured to cleave at specific DNA sequences within the HMW DNA to liberate defined segments of the DNA as fragments of reduced size. The gel matrix may also be subjected to an electrophoretic field, which moves and separates the DNA fragments from uncleaved DNA of the HMW DNA, which remains substantially immobile. The electrophoretically separated DNA fragments may be isolated from the gel matrix.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignees: Sage Science, Inc., Washington University
    Inventors: Robi David Mitra, Jeffrey Milbrandt, Ezra Solomon Abrams, Todd J. Barbera, T. Christian Boles
  • Patent number: 11543379
    Abstract: A method of and an apparatus for manufacturing a measuring cell comprising a tube having a first end capped by a membrane of an ion-selective material, comprising the steps of: providing a paste comprising all constituents of the ion-selective material; mounting the tube onto a stick with a tip such that the stick extends through the tube; dispensing an amount of the paste onto the tip; heating the first end of the tube and the dispensed paste to a temperature causing the dispensed paste to melt and the thus-produced melt to form a film covering the tip and an end surface of the first end of the tube; transforming the film into the membrane joined to the tube by cooling the first end of the tube and the film to a temperature below a melting point of the ion-selective material; and separating the thus-manufactured measuring cell from the stick.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Endress+Hauser Conducta Inc.
    Inventors: Jinshan Huo, Dennis Hui, Alden David
  • Patent number: 11536686
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing membranes consisting essentially of an ion-selective material is disclosed. The method comprises: providing a spreadable base material; dispensing a quantity of the base material onto a top side of a tray, wherein the top side includes a set of coplanar flat surface segments, each having a surface area corresponding to a disc area of one of the membranes to be manufactured, and wherein at least the top side of the tray consists essentially of a non-adhesive material; distributing the dispensed base material across the top side of the tray such that a thickness of the distributed base material covering the coplanar surface segments corresponds to a predetermined thickness; transforming the thus-distributed base material into ion-selective material comprising one or more coplanar sheets covering the coplanar surface segments; and removing individual membranes from the tray, each defining a disc-shaped section of the ion-selective material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Endress+Hauser Conducta Inc.
    Inventors: Jinshan Huo, Dennis Hui, Alden David
  • Patent number: 11531003
    Abstract: An analyte detector for detecting at least one analyte in at least one fluid sample is proposed. The analyte detector comprises at least one multipurpose electrode exposable to the fluid sample. The analyte detector further comprises at least one field-effect transistor in electrical contact with the at least one multipurpose electrode. The analyte detector further comprises at least one electrochemical measurement device configured for performing at least one electrochemical measurement using the multipurpose electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.
    Inventor: Alexey Tarasov
  • Patent number: 11530444
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus relating to very large scale FET arrays for analyte measurements. ChemFET (e.g., ISFET) arrays may be fabricated using conventional CMOS processing techniques based on improved FET pixel and array designs that increase measurement sensitivity and accuracy, and at the same time facilitate significantly small pixel sizes and dense arrays. Improved array control techniques provide for rapid data acquisition from large and dense arrays. Such arrays may be employed to detect a presence and/or concentration changes of various analyte types in a wide variety of chemical and/or biological processes. In one example, chemFET arrays facilitate DNA sequencing techniques based on monitoring changes in the concentration of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi), hydrogen ions, and nucleotide triphosphates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Life Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Jonathan M. Rothberg, Wolfgang Hinz, Kim L. Johnson, James Bustillo, John Leamon, Jonathan Schultz
  • Patent number: 11532287
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is an apparatus comprising: a first switch and a second switch; wherein the first switch is configured to apply a drive signal to a first electrode when the first switch receives a control signal; wherein the second switch is configured to electrically isolate the first electrode from a second electrode when the second switch receives the control signal; wherein the second switch is configured to short-circuit the first electrode to the second electrode when the second switch does not receive the control signal; wherein the first electrode and the second electrode face each other and are separated by a gap configured to accommodate a liquid droplet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ping Zhang, Haisheng Wang, Xiaoliang Ding, Yingming Liu, Xueyou Cao, Pengpeng Wang, Likai Deng, Pinchao Gu, Yunke Qin
  • Patent number: 11525800
    Abstract: The present patent disclosure concerns a sensor device comprising a sensor electrode for measuring an analyte concentration in an aqueous solution and a method of preparing a sensor electrode, wherein the sensor electrode comprises a substrate having conductive means, a polymer mixture deposited on the sensor electrode adjacent to and/or in contact with the conductive means, wherein the polymer mixture comprises a semiconducting polymer comprised of monomeric units comprising one or more aromatic, preferably thiophene, moieties along a backbone chain and at least two polar side chains covalently bonded to the backbone chain, wherein the semiconducting polymer has an electron and/or hole mobility of at least 1×10?2 cm2V?1s?1, preferably at least 1×10?1 cm2V?1s?1, and wherein the polymer mixture further comprises a hydrophilic polymer comprised of monomeric units comprising one or more carbon-carbon bonds and one or more of hydroxyl, ester, carbonyl or amide moieties, wherein the semiconducting polymer to hydro
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Inventor: Minela Abagiu
  • Patent number: 11504716
    Abstract: Multiwell devices and methods of filtration using the multiwell devices are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Pall Corporation
    Inventors: James George Ferguson, Jeffrey Toma, William Scott Gordon, Bharath Kumar Raghavan, Daniel Dalessio
  • Patent number: 11486849
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system for measuring a property of a sample comprising: a test strip for collecting the sample; a diagnostic measuring device configured to receive the test strip and measure a concentration of an analyte in the sample received on the test strip; and the diagnostic measuring device further comprising a processor programmed to execute an analyte correction for correcting a measurement of the sample due to one or more interferents, comprising: calculating an interferent impedance measurement including a magnitude measurement and a phase measurement using a difference identity to generate a sinusoidal signal with an amplitude proportional to the phase difference; and adjusting the measurement of the analyte in the sample using that the calculated interferent impedance measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Trividia Health, Inc.
    Inventor: Steven V. Leone
  • Patent number: 11486850
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure pertain to ion-selective electrodes that include a metal-organic framework and an electrode surface. The metal-organic framework is associated with the electrode surface in a manner that forms an interface between the metal-organic framework and the electrode surface. Additional embodiments pertain to methods of detecting an ion in a sample by associating the sample with the ion-selective electrodes of the present disclosure. The metal-organic frameworks of the ion-selective electrodes mediate ion-to-electron transduction through the interface between the metal-organic and the electrode surface. Thereafter, the presence or absence of the ion in the sample is detected by detecting a change in potential of the ion-selective electrode and correlating the change in the potential to the presence or absence of the ion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Trustees of Dartmouth College
    Inventors: Katherine A. Mirica, Lukasz K. Mendecki
  • Patent number: 11484861
    Abstract: InGaN offers a route to high efficiency overall water splitting under one-step photo-excitation. Further, the chemical stability of metal-nitrides supports their use as an alternative photocatalyst. However, the efficiency of overall water splitting using InGaN and other visible light responsive photocatalysts has remained extremely low despite prior art work addressing optical absorption through band gap engineering. Within this prior art the detrimental effects of unbalanced charge carrier extraction/collection on the efficiency of the four electron-hole water splitting reaction have remained largely unaddressed. To address this growth processes are presented that allow for controlled adjustment and establishment of the appropriate Fermi level and/or band bending in order to allow the photochemical water splitting to proceed at high rate and high efficiency. Beneficially, establishing such material surface charge properties also reduces photo-corrosion and instability under harsh photocatalysis conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University
    Inventors: Zetian Mi, Md Golam Kibria, Mohammad Faqrul Alam Chowdhury
  • Patent number: 11467118
    Abstract: The present invention provides a method for accurately measuring a blood component despite uneven distribution of blood introduced into a capillary. The measurement method according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of electrode systems for measuring the hematocrit are provided in a capillary of a biosensor to measure the hematocrit at different positions in the capillary. By measuring the hematocrit at the plurality of positions in the capillary as described above, the hematocrit can be measured more accurately despite uneven distribution of blood introduced into the capillary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: PHC Holdings Corporation
    Inventors: Masaki Fujiwara, Yoshifumi Takahara, Takaaki Fujii, Junko Nakayama, Setsuko Yano, Fuminori Kutsuna
  • Patent number: 11463042
    Abstract: A photovoltaic module includes an encapsulated photovoltaic element and an infrared-transmissive decorative overlay simulating conventional roofing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: CertainTeed LLC
    Inventors: Husnu M. Kalkanoglu, Gregory F. Jacobs, Ming Liang Shiao
  • Patent number: 11460436
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides component analysis methods including a measurement process and an analysis process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: ARKRAY, INC.
    Inventor: Jin Yoshida