Patents by Inventor Erin Steenblock

Erin Steenblock has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20140179544
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides assays and devices for forming, spacing, and/or detecting droplets. The droplets may be emulsions composed of two or more immiscible fluids. An emulsion can be a double emulsion, such as water-in-oil droplets that are present in a continuous aqueous phase. The double emulsion can be formed when the water-in-oil droplets are contacted with one or more streams of aqueous fluid(s). This disclosure also provides a variety of additives that can be added to the fluids.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2013
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Applicant: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Erin Steenblock, Amy L. Hiddessen, Ben Hindson, Kevin Ness
  • Publication number: 20140170665
    Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, devices, and methods for sample preparation and/or analysis comprising a droplet generator having a first channel in fluid communication with a carrier fluid reservoir and a second channel in fluid communication with a sample reservoir. The first channel and second channel may meet at an intersection that receives a sample from the sample reservoir and a carrier fluid from the carrier fluid reservoir and generates one or more droplets that flow along a droplet channel to a droplet reservoir. An energy application member in thermal communication with the intersection, at least a portion of the droplet channel, the sample reservoir and/or the carrier fluid reservoir may provide energy to an individual droplet of the one or more droplets, such as at the intersection and/or as the droplet moves along the droplet channel to the droplet reservoir.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2013
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: BIO-RAD LABORATORIES, INC.
    Inventors: Amy L. Hiddessen, Erin Steenblock
  • Publication number: 20140134623
    Abstract: Provided herein, are droplet mixture compositions and systems and methods for forming mixtures of droplets. The system may comprise two or more droplet generation units. Each unit may include at least one first input well, a second input well, and an output well connected to the first and second input wells by channels that form a droplet generator. The combined droplet populations can be mixed, heated, and collected for multiple uses, such as for use as calibration standards for instrument testing and analysis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2013
    Publication date: May 15, 2014
    Inventors: Amy Hiddessen, Erin Steenblock
  • Patent number: 8629098
    Abstract: Modular aAPCs and methods of their manufacture and use are provided. The modular aAPCs are constructed from polymeric microparticles. The aAPCs include encapsulated cytokines and coupling agents which modularly couple functional elements including T cell receptor activators, co-stimulatory molecules and adhesion molecules to the particle. The ability of these aAPCs to release cytokines in a controlled manner, coupled with their modular nature and ease of ligand attachment, results in an ideal, tunable APC capable of stimulating and expanding primary T cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Assignee: Yale University
    Inventors: Tarek Fahmy, Erin Steenblock
  • Publication number: 20100284965
    Abstract: Modular aAPCs and methods of their manufacture and use are provided. The modular aAPCs are constructed from polymeric microparticles. The aAPCs include encapsulated cytokines and coupling agents which modularly couple functional elements including T cell receptor activators, co-stimulatory molecules and adhesion molecules to the particle. The ability of these aAPCs to release cytokines in a controlled manner, coupled with their modular nature and ease of ligand attachment, results in an ideal, tunable APC capable of stimulating and expanding primary T cells.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2009
    Publication date: November 11, 2010
    Inventors: Tarek Fahmy, Erin Steenblock