Abstract: A connector for providing both a fluidic and electrical connection is disclosed, said connector having a proximal end, a distal end and an elongated body in between, characterized in that the elongated body has an inner cavity spanning throughout its length, and the distal end comprises: a) an inner body portion comprising a first inner electrical contact and b) an outer body portion comprising a second outer electrical contact having a spring element. The connector is easily adaptable to many kind of fluidic actuators and particularly to pipette instruments usually found in laboratory practice and developed to adapt fluidic actuators and pipette instalments to work according to the Coulter principle in every working condition, in particular to adapt the electrical and fluidic connection between a sensing tip and an instrumented pipette.

Abstract: A connector for providing both a fluidic and electrical connection is disclosed, said connector having a proximal end, a distal end and an elongated body in between, characterized in that the elongated body has an inner cavity spanning throughout its length, and the distal end comprises: a) an inner body portion comprising a first inner electrical contact and b) an outer body portion comprising a second outer electrical contact having a spring element. The connector is easily adaptable to many kind of fluidic actuators and particularly to pipette instruments usually found in laboratory practice and developed to adapt fluidic actuators and pipette installments to work according to the Coulter principle in every working condition, in particular to adapt the electrical and fluidic connection between a sensing tip and an instrumented pipette.

Abstract: A sensing tip including a pipette tip having a cavity which communicates with an external environment of the pipette tip through an aperture located at a distal end of the pipette tip, and an impedance sensor having a sensing area including at least two electrodes located respectively outside and inside the pipette tip, wherein the sensing area is arranged within the aperture.

Abstract: The invention concerns an observation device such as cell culture wells comprising an optical element such as a lens or a filter, or even combinations thereof, for compensating an optical effect induced on a sample contained in the observation device and illuminated by a light beam traversing a meniscus. The interaction of a light beam with a meniscus interposed between said light beam and a sample to be visualized, alters the image readout of the sample so that the image thereof results negatively affected. By aligning the optical axis of the optical element with that of the meniscus, an optical effect such as non-uniform light distribution of illumination of the sample can be conveniently compensated. The invention further discloses the optical elements, characterising the observation device, per se.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a pipette tip comprising a thin holed membrane at its distal end, which is designed to be adapted with a system comprising at least an impedance analyser and a fluidic actuator to perform the dispensing and analysis of particles comprised within a conductive medium by exploiting the Coulter counter principle. The pipette tip can comprise attached or floating electrodes at its internal or external side for creating an electrical circuit. Also disclosed therein is a dispensing and analysis system, methods of using thereof and pipette tip's manufacturing methods.

Abstract: The invention relates to a sensing tip (8) comprising a conventional tip (1), such as a pipette tip, which is essentially made of a cavity which communicates with the external environment through an aperture (3) located at the tip distal end; the sensing tip (8) furthermore comprising an electrical impedance sensor made of at least two electrodes (4,5,6) located respectively outside (4) and inside (5,6) said conventional tip (1) and wherein the sensing area is arranged within said aperture (3). The invention also covers the use of the above-cited sensing tip (8).