Abstract: A measuring chip is configured for separating and measuring a target component in a sample by rotation around first and second axes of rotation. The measuring chip includes a centrifugal separation tube that centrifugally separates the target component from the sample by rotating the measuring chip around the first axis of rotation; a first holding section installed in the bottom of the centrifugal separation tube, wherein non-target components other than the target component in the sample are introduced therein by rotation around the first axis of rotation, and the first holding section holds the non-target components during rotation around the second axis of rotation; and a measuring section connected to one end of the centrifugal separation tube that measures the non-target components introduced from the centrifugal separation tube by rotation around the second axis of rotation.

Abstract: A measuring chip is configured for separating and measuring a target component in a sample by rotation around first and second axes of rotation. The measuring chip includes a centrifugal separation tube that centrifugally separates the target component from the sample by rotating the measuring chip around the first axis of rotation; a first holding section installed in the bottom of the centrifugal separation tube, wherein non-target components other than the target component in the sample are introduced therein by rotation around the first axis of rotation, and the first holding section holds the non-target components during rotation around the second axis of rotation; and a measuring section connected to one end of the centrifugal separation tube that measures the non-target components introduced from the centrifugal separation tube by rotation around the second axis of rotation.

Abstract: Parenchymal cells are cultivated on cultivated endothelial cells or cultivated fibroblasts which have been separated by a surface of a specific hydrophilic polymer, and which have been patterned. A culture which contains thus formed patterned spheroids of cultivated parenchymal cells is thereby provided by this invention. This culture maintains a function which is specific to the parenchymal cells over a long period of time.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a test chip which allows efficient and convenient separation and measurement. This invention provides a measuring chip for separating and measuring a target component in a sample by rotation around first and second axes of rotation. The measuring chip includes a centrifugal separation tube that centrifugally separates the target component from the sample by rotating the measuring chip around the first axis of rotation; a first holding section installed in the bottom of the centrifugal separation tube, wherein non-target components other than the target component in the sample are introduced therein by rotation around the first axis of rotation, and the first holding section holds the non-target components during rotation around the second axis of rotation; and a measuring section connected to one end of the centrifugal separation tube that measures the non-target components introduced from the centrifugal separation tube by rotation around the second axis of rotation.

Abstract: A corpuscle/plasma separating part is disposed at the lower end of the substrate, and a sensor part connected to the corpuscle/plasma separating part is disposed at the upper end of the substrate, with a calibration solution reservoir being disposed on the lower side of the sensor part, and a calibration solution waste reservoir being disposed on the upper side of the sensor part. A first centrifugal axis is located upper to the corpuscle fraction storing part and lower to the plasma fraction storing part of the corpuscle/plasma separating part, while a second centrifugal axis is located within or close to the sensor part. Conveyance and discharge of the calibration solution can be carried out by performing centrifugation around the first centrifugal axis which is distant from the sensor part at a low speed of rotation, so that the centrifugal force exerted on the sensors would be small.

Abstract: A blood analysis device for centrifugally separating plasma in a channel, wherein conveyance of blood, plasma and calibration liquid is effected within the device without using a pump or the like. The calibrator solution is reliably discharged from a sensor portion so as to make high precision analysis possible. A sensor section is provided in a plasma separating section and disposed on the side associated with a first centrifugal pressing direction as seen from a blood reservoir and a calibrator solution reservoir, while a calibrator solution waste reservoir is disposed in a second centrifugal pressing direction as seen from the plasma separating section (sensor section). The calibrator solution is conveyed to the sensor section by centrifugal operation in the first centrifugal direction. After sensor calibration, the calibrator solution can be reliably discharged from the sensor section by effecting centrifuging in the second centrifugal direction.

Abstract: Parenchymal cells are cultivated on cultivated endothelial cells or cultivated fibroblasts which have been separated by a surface of a specific hydrophilic polymer, and which have been patterned. A culture which contains thus formed patterned spheroids of cultivated parenchymal cells is thereby provided by this invention. This culture maintains a function which is specific to the parenchymal cells over a long period of time.

Abstract: Parenchymal cells are cultivated on cultivated endothelial cells or cultivated fibroblasts which have been separated by a surface of a specific hydrophilic polymer, and which have been patterned. A culture which contains thus formed patterned spheroids of cultivated parenchymal cells is thereby provided by this invention. This culture maintains a function which is specific to the parenchymal cells over a long period of time.

Abstract: The present invention provides a blood analysis apparatus which needs no mixing of multiple solutions described above, and has no deterioration of an analysis apparatus by application of a dry chemistry reagent which is good for storage, and thereby makes minimization of apparatus accomplishable, by introducing very small amount (several ?L or less) of blood into a micro-channel which is manufactured on an insulator substrate such as a quartz plate or a polymer resin plate by the centrifugal force to conduct separation, weighing the plasma, introducing it into a flow channel of a dry chemistry reagent which has been weighed by the flow channel volume, introducing light which has the same wavelength of the color development generated by the reaction with the plasma, and measuring the attenuation degree, and a blood analysis method, which allows blood analysis of high accuracy, high reliability and cheap price.

Abstract: A corpuscle/plasma separating part is disposed at the lower end of the substrate, and a sensor part connected to the corpuscle/plasma separating part is disposed at the upper end of the substrate, with a calibration solution reservoir being disposed on the lower side of the sensor part, and a calibration solution waste reservoir being disposed on the upper side of the sensor part. A first centrifugal axis is located upper to the corpuscle fraction storing part and lower to the plasma fraction storing part of the corpuscle/plasma separating part, while a second centrifugal axis is located within or close to the sensor part. Conveyance and discharge of the calibration solution can be carried out by performing centrifugation around the first centrifugal axis which is distant from the sensor part at a low speed of rotation, so that the centrifugal force exerted on the sensors would be small.

Abstract: In a blood analyzer for separating plasma in a flow channel by centrifugal operation, it is intended to effectively utilize a whole blood sample supplied into the flow channel, shorten the flow channel and reduce the apparatus size. It is also intended to reduce the amount of the blood to be collected, thereby reducing the burden on a subject. A blood cell reservoir wherein blood cells are precipitated is provided in a flow channel of a blood analyzer along the centrifugal direction upon centrifugation. Then blood cells are cumulated in the reservoir by centrifugation so that the plasma fraction is allowed to continuously exist in both of the upstream and downstream sides of the U-shaped flow channel without being divided by the blood cell fraction. Thus, the plasma in a required amount can be fed into the analysis means using a smaller amount of the whole blood.

Abstract: A blood analysis device for centrifugally separating plasma in a channel, wherein conveyance of blood, plasma and calibration liquid is effected within the device without using a pump or the like. The calibrator solution is reliably discharged from a sensor portion so as to make high precision analysis possible. A sensor section is provided in a plasma separating section and disposed on the side associated with a first centrifugal pressing direction as seen from a blood reservoir and a calibrator solution reservoir, while a calibrator solution waste reservoir is disposed in a second centrifugal pressing direction as seen from the plasma separating section (sensor section). The calibrator solution is conveyed to the sensor section by centrifugal operation in the first centrifugal direction. After sensor calibration, the calibrator solution can be reliably discharged from the sensor section by effecting centrifuging in the second centrifugal direction.

Abstract: Parenchymal cells are cultivated on cultivated endothelial cells or cultivated fibroblasts which have been separated by a surface of a specific hydrophilic polymer, and which have been patterned. A culture which contains thus formed patterned spheroids of cultivated parenchymal cells is thereby provided by this invention. This culture maintains a function which is specific to the parenchymal cells over a long period of time.

Abstract: A local dry etching method for a SOI wafer capable of flattening an active silicon layer to a layer thickness of a target at a high throughput and to a required accuracy by using a multi-step local dry etching apparatus wherein the apparatus comprises first and second vacuum chambers, a small diameter nozzle, a large diameter nozzle of a diameter larger than that of the small diameter nozzle, an activated species gas generator for generating activated species gases to be blown out of each of the nozzles, each of feeding devices disposed in each of the vacuum chambers for providing a relative speed between the SOI wafer and each of the nozzles to conduct scanning and transportation device, in which the active silicon layer of the SOI waver is etched in the first vacuum chamber to remove the surface unevenness and the active silicon layer is etched to a required layer thickness in the second vacuum chamber.

Abstract: A blood analyzing apparatus is provided, which includes a microcapillary fabricated on a substrate by a micromanufacturing technique and used for sampling, filtering, separating, and moving blood and a detector so as to conduct a process from sampling blood to analyzing it using the substrate. A blood analyzing method is also provided for conducting a process from sampling blood to analyzing it by using the blood analyzing apparatus.

Abstract: A wafer flattening process designed to flatten the entire surface of the wafer including the outer rim of the wafer by inserting dummy data corresponding to the data of the outer rim of the wafer in the data of the outside of the wafer, and a storage medium for the same. An area S is set at an outside position exactly an etching radius r from an outer rim Wc of the wafer Wc ahd the nozzle relative speed at the position-speed data D of points P4-1 to P4-3 closest to an imaginary line L passing through the point P4 inside the area S near the outer rim Wc is set to be the same as the nozzle relative speed of the position-speed data D of the point P4. Due to this, the nozzle spraying the activated species gas G moves as if along the imaginary line L and the portion of the point P4 is etched flat by superposition of the activated species gas G of the nozzle passing through the points P4-1 to P4-3, the point P4, and the point P6.

Abstract: A method of etching silicon oxide with high selectivity to a photoresist mask and to a silicon-containing substrate comprising exposing the silicon oxide to a plasma of a precursor etch gas of a fluorocarbon and an organic silane containing at least one organic group. When at least about 10% by weight of the silane is present in the etch gas, the selectivity between the silicon oxide and the photoresist mask layer, and between the silicon oxide and the silicon-containing substrate, increases markedly. High aspect ratio, submicron size openings can be etched.

Abstract: A wafer etching method wherein hydrogen gas, ammonia gas or mixed gas containing one of these gases is added to sulfur hexafluoride gas to suppress the occurrence of white turbidity on the surface of the wafer at the time of etching and to enable high quality mirror polishing of the wafer. In one embodiment, a mixed gas obtained by mixing SF6 gas G1 of a bomb 31 and H2 gas G2 of a bomb 32 in a predetermined ratio is fed to a discharge tube 2 and a microwave M is generated from a microwave oscillator 4 to cause plasma discharge. Further, the entire surface of the silicon wafer W can be flattened by locally etching the surface of the silicon wafer W by an activated species gas G sprayed from the nozzle portion 20.

Abstract: A wafer flattening system is provided to consecutively and automatically remove the natural oxide film from a wafer and flatten and smooth the wafer so as to improve the surface roughness of the wafer and improve the work efficiency. A step of immersing the wafer in an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid of a natural oxide film removing device is performed so as to remove the natural oxide film, then followed by a step of locally etching the surface of the wafer at a local etching apparatus by an activated species gas produced from SF6 gas to flatten the surface. Then, a step of giving a mirror finish to the wafer surface by a CMP apparatus is performed to smooth it.

Abstract: A local etching apparatus, and a local etching method are provided to give a high etching rate and enable fine etching. A quartz discharge tube 2 passes through a chamber 9 and has a spray port 21 of a nozzle portion 20 facing a silicon wafer W. A plasma generator 1 causes plasma discharge of a gas fed to the quartz discharge tube 2 so as to produce radicals. An exhaust portion 6 has an exhaust pipe 60 arranged near the nozzle portion 20 so that the spray port 21 of the nozzle portion 20 projects out to the silicon wafer W side from the suction port 60a. The exhaust portion 6 draws into the suction port 60a of the exhaust pipe 60 the reaction products G produced when locally etching the silicon wafer W by the radicals R and exhausts them to the outside of the chamber 9. Desirably, an etching region limiting portion 7 can be provided to feed into the chamber 9 a gas of a predetermined pressure for suppressing the spread of the radicals R sprayed from the spray port 21 of the nozzle portion 20.