98results about "Chemical microanalysis" patented technology

The present invention provides novel microfluidic devices and methods that are useful for performing high-throughput screening assays. In particular, the devices and methods of the invention are useful in screening large numbers of different compounds for their effects on a variety of chemical, and preferably, biochemical systems.

A system for filling a substrate having at least one chamber with a liquid sample is provided. The system in one embodiment includes a substrate defining a network of passageways including at least one chamber for the liquid sample, and an adapter. The adapter includes a fill reservoir for the liquid sample, a vacuum port for attachment to a vacuum source, and at least two channels. One channel allows a vacuum to be imparted to the network, and the other channel allows the liquid sample to be introduced into the network. The system also includes a mechanism that sequentially closes and opens at least one of the channels so that a vacuum can first be introduced to the substrate and thereafter the liquid sample introduced to the substrate for permitting the vacuum to urge the liquid sample to flow from the fill reservoir into the substrate. An apparatus for positioning a substrate with a plurality of sample detection chambers in a detection unit is also provided.

The present invention provides novel microfluidic devices and methods that are useful for performing high-throughput screening assays. In particular, the devices and methods of the invention are useful in screening large numbers of different compounds for their effects on a variety of chemical, and preferably, biochemical systems.

The present invention provides an on-chip packed reactor bed design that allows for an effective exchange of packing materials such as beads at a miniaturized level. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of concentrating an analyte within a microfluidic analysis system, comprising the steps of: a) providing a main channel having a trapping zone suitable for trapping packing material; b) providing a slurry of a reagent treated packing material prepared in a solution having a predetermined composition of a solvent; c) inducing a flow of said packing material into said trapping zone through a flow channel connected to said trapping zone so as to load said trapping zone and form a packed bed of said packing material; d) and flowing a sample containing analytes through said packed bed, said reagent acting to concentrate at least some of said analytes within said trapping zone. The present invention extends the function of microfluidic analysis systems to new applications including on-chip solid phase extraction (SPE) and on-chip capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The design can be further extended to include integrated packed bed immuno- or enzyme reactors.

A micro flow system is provided for separating particles, comprising a microfabricated member having a flow channel (5) defined therein for guiding a flow of a fluid containing the particles through the flow channel, first inlet means (2) positioned at one end of the flow channel for entering the fluid into the flow channel, first outlet means (7) positioned at the other end of the flow channel for discharging the fluid from the flow channel, the flow of the fluid containing the particles being controlled in such a way that one particle at the time passes a cross section of the flow channel, the member being positioned in a field that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the flow channel so that particles residing in the flow channel and being susceptible to the field across the flow channel are deflected in the direction of the field. Further, a micro flow system is provided for analyzing components of a fluid comprising a microfabricated member having a flow channel defined therein for guiding a flow of a fluid through the flow channel, first inlet means for entering particles into the flow channel, first outlet means for discharging of fluid from the flow channel and a plurality of assay sites located in the flow channel and comprising immobilized reagents whereby the fluid may be analyzed for a plurality of components while residing in the flow channel.

A volume sensor-free microdosing device comprises a pressure chamber which is at least partly delimited by a displacer, an actuating device for actuating the displacer, the volume of the pressure chamber being adapted to the changed by actuating the displacer, a media reservoir which is in fluid communication with the pressure chamber, an outlet opening which is in fluid communication with the pressure chamber, and a control mechanism. The control mechanism drives the microdosing device in such a way that a small change of volume of the pressure chamber volume is effected per unit time by a movement of the displacer from a first position to a predetermined second position, the second position of the displacer defining a larger volume of the pressure chamber than the first position, so as to suck a fluid volume into the pressure chamber, and that, in a second phase, a large volume change of the pressure chamber volume is effected per unit time by a movement of the displacer from the second position to the first position, so as to eject a defined fluid volume from the outlet opening in this way.

An on-chip packed reactor bed design is disclosed that allows for an effective exchange of packing materials such as beads at a miniaturized level. Also disclosed is a method of treating a sample within a microfluidic analysis system, comprising: providing a main channel having a trapping zone; providing a slurry of a reagent treated packing material; inducing a flow of said packing material into said trapping zone through a flow channel connected to said trapping zone to load said trapping zone and form a packed bed of said packing material; and flowing a sample containing analytes through said packed bed, said reagent treating the sample. The present invention extends the function of microfluidic analysis systems to new applications including on-chip solid phase extraction (SPE) and on-chip capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The design can be further extended to include integrated packed bed immuno- or enzyme reactors.

Minute or infinitesimal amounts of fluid can be accurately delivered through microchannels formed in an elastic polymeric substrate. External (mechanical) force is applied on the substrate to progressively squeeze the microchannel along its length to push or pull the fluid through the microchannel. Fluids can be delivered at a constant rate and amount regardless of the kind of the fluid since fluid delivery is not affected by the physical properties of the fluid. The delivery rate of the fluid is determined in the ranges between femtoliters / sec and milliliters / sec by the size of the microchannel and the area of the substrate being pressed by the applied external (mechanical) force. Such techniques of fluid delivery can be applied to various fields including lab-on-a-chip technology, monitoring of chemical and biological processing, portable analyzing instruments, fine chemistry, clinical diagnosis and development of new medicines.

The present invention generally provides microfluidic devices which incorporate improved channel and reservoir geometries, as well as methods of using these devices in the analysis, preparation, or other manipulation of fluid borne materials, to achieve higher throughputs of such materials through these devices, with lower cost, material and / or space requirements.

A microfluidic controller and detector system and method for performing screening assays are disclosed. The microfluidic controller and detector system comprises a fluidic chip that includes at least two intersecting channels and a detection zone, a fluid direction system comprising an electrical interface configured for electrical contact with the at least two intersecting channels, an optics block having an objective lens disposed adjacent the detection zone, and a control system coupled to the optics block and adapted to receive and analyze data from the optics block. The electrical interface generally includes electrodes configured for electrical contact with the intersecting channels and coupled to electrode channels for supplying electrical input to the electrodes. A reference channel is optionally provided to calibrate the electrode channels.

This invention relates to technology for analyzing a specific component in a sample liquid, and provides an analyzing tool and an analyzing apparatus. Analyzing tool (Y) includes a liquid inlet (61) at a central portion of the tool and a plurality of channels (51) which communicate with liquid inlet (61) and move the sample liquid introduced through liquid inlet (61) by capillary action from the central portion towards a peripheral portion of the tool. Each channel (51) extends linearly for example from the central portion towards the peripheral portion, and the plurality of channels (51) are arranged radially.

The invention relates to a molecular engram polymer, which is used for metal ion detection. The engram and elution objects are metal complex ions; engram geometric dimensioning and combination point location of the polymer are matched with the specificity of the metal complex ions; the polymer is synthesized in-situ on metal membrane surface of a quartz microbalance and a surface plasma resonance device, the metal complex ions are eluted, the metal ions to be detected are processed by complexation and then are selectively absorbed by the molecular engram polymer, and finally the type and content of the metal ions are detected. In the invention, metal ion complexation is adopted to enlarge small changes of metal ion volume by a large extent, template molecular geometric structure memory performance of the molecular engram polymer is utilized to realize high preferential adsorption to improve metal ion detection selectivity effectively, and mass increase and geometric dimensioning enlargement caused by metal ion complexation help further improve sensitivity and antijamming capability of metal ion detection.

A transport system for transporting and handling microtiter plates, for use in high throughput screening, diagnosis and / or combinatorial chemistry, comprising modules with devices for preparing specimens and / or introducing specimens, and / or for optical readout and / or for plate storage and / or devices for further processing steps or readout steps. The system includes an inter-modular transport system for transporting the microtiter plates between the different devices and at least one central transport system for asynchronous plate transfer between individual modules via input and output buffers.

Disclosed are preloaded analysis modules comprising reagents disposed within a barrier material capable of liberating the reagents, at a time advantageous to a reaction scheme, when exposed to certain activation conditions or reagents. Also disclosed are related methods for analyzing samples with such modules.

The invention belongs to the technical field of analysis, and specifically relates to a method for determining a polyether polyol hydroxyl value. The method comprises the steps of enabling alcohol and acetic anhydride to generate an esterification reaction by utilizing sodium acetate as a catalyst to generate ester and acetic acid, adding water to excess acetic anhydride to hydrolyze to generate acetic acid, neutralizing the acetic acid by utilizing aqueous alkali, adding excess aqueous alkali to cause the ester to generate a saponification reaction; after the saponification reaction is finished, titrating the residual alkali by utilizing acid solution; carrying out a blank test under the same conditions, and computing the content of hydroxyl in alcohol, wherein a difference of acid solutions consumed by the blank test and a sample is the amount of the alkali consumed by the saponification reaction of the ester. The method for determining the alcohol hydroxyl value can be applied to determining the amount of the hydroxyl value in the alcohol, and the accuracy and reproducibility are higher.

The illustrated invention defines an analytical titration chip comprising an optically transparent substrate such as glass or plastic that defines a fluid inlet port, plural microfluidic sample carrying channels communicating with the inlet, and plural titration chambers fluidly communicating with the channels. Each titration chamber contains a different concentration of the same titrant to define a spectrum or range of titrations. An air management chamber is in fluid communication with the titration chambers to facilitate capillary flow of fluid into the titration chambers.

A method for measuring vanadium in vanadium-nitrogen alloy belongs to the technical field of analytical chemistry. The advantages of this method lie in that the reagents used in the determination process are few in type, the time is short, the operation is simple, and the method has high precision and accuracy, and is especially suitable for the analysis of a large number of samples. The present invention adopts mixed acid to dissolve the sample, under the acidity of 12% to 25%, adding ammonium persulfate to oxidize vanadium (IV) to pentavalent, using N-phenyl-substituted anthranilic acid as an indicator, using ferrous ammonium sulfate as an indicator Standard solution titration. Chromium, manganese and cerium do not interfere with the determination.

A channel (140) is divised into portions (142, 144). The sidewalls of each channel portion (142, 144) have surface charges of opposite polarity. The two channel portions (142, 144) are physically connected together by a salt bridge (133), such as a glass frit or gel layer. The salt bridge (133) separates the fluids in channel (140) from an ionic fluid reservoir (135). To impart electroosmotic and electrophoretic forces along the channel (140) between parts A and B, respectively. Additionally, a third electrode (137) is placed in the reservoir (135).

The manufacture method for micro-flow injector chemical luminous chip comprises: with silicon piece, PDMS and SU-8 photoresist as material, manufacturing micro-channel and interfaces by standard micro-manufacturing technique; manufacturing mold structure by standard photo-etching technique, using molding cast and solidification technology to prepare the micro-chip structure; finally, irreversible packing the channel. This invention is simple and reliable, and is high sensitive with a little sample.

The present invention provides simple and an accurate apparatuses for forming bilayer membranes by the contact of amphipathic monolayers. In one apparatus, amphipathic monolayers are brought into contact and fused by controlling the pressure of liquids introduced from microchannels forming an intersection containing a chamber. In another apparatus, the chamber includes a number of compartments and at least one construction portion. In this apparatus, a droplet is formed within each compartment and contact of amphipatic monolayers is accomplished by adjusting the size of the droplets.

The invention relates to a full desaeration system of a chromatogram high-performance total analysis on-line monitoring device and a desaeration process of the full desaeration system. The invention adopts the oil sample quantitiveness for oil path circulation, can calculate the circulation times required by cleaning so as to achieve the cleaning of dead oil of the system; meanwhile, the inventionadopts a method which combines direct oil return and oil discharge, thereby fully returning the rest oil sample to a transformer.

A flow path formed in a chip is opened without contents in the flow path being contaminated. A flow path (107a) and a flow path (107b) provided in a substrate (103) are covered by a lid (113) pressed to the surface of the substrate (103), the lid (113) being constituted of a resin layer (102) and a plate-like lid (101). A fixing device has a press-down plate (104) for pressing a plate-like lid (101) of a chip (112), a table (108) on which the substrate (103) is placed, and a screw (106). In covering the flow path (107a) and the flow path (107b), the screw (106) is turned down to press the lid (113) against the substrate (103) and the lid is fixed. Further, in opening the upper parts of the flow path (107a) and the flow path (107b), the screw (106) is turned up to release a pressure, and the lid (113) is removed from the upper part of the substrate (103).

The invention discloses a method for detecting a mixed acid solution in the manufacturing process of a polycrystalline silicon solar cell. The method is used for detecting a mixed acid system which consists of hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid and fluorosilicic acid. The method comprises the following steps of: detecting the total acid concentration of the solution by using an acid-base neutralization method; heating and boiling the solution which is subjected to acid-base neutralization, decomposing fluorosilicate to generate hydrogen ions, determining the content of the hydrogen ions by alkali liquor titration, and thus obtaining the concentration of the fluorosilicic acid by calculation; detecting the concentration of the nitric acid in the mixed acid solution by using an oxidation-reduction titration method; and subtracting the concentration of the fluorosilicic acid and the concentration of the nitric acid from the total acid concentration, and thus obtaining the concentration of the hydrofluoric acid. The method is simple in flow, easy to operate and low in economic investment and can be applied to long-term monitoring of a texturing process and an etching process in the production process of the polycrystalline silicon solar cell and stability of equipment, manpower resources are saved, high-end equipment is eliminated, detection accuracy can be over 95 percent.

A tool and device for analyzing a specific component in a sample liquid. An analyzing tool (Y) has a liquid-introducing opening (61) provided at the central part of the tool and plural flow passages (51) that are penetrated to the liquid-introducing opening (61) and allow the sample liquid introduced from the liquid-introducing opening (61) to flow from the central part toward a peripheral edge portion using a capillary phenomenon. Each of the flow passages (51) extends, for example, linearly from the central part to the peripheral edge portion, and the plural flow passages (51) are radially arranged.

This invention relates to a method and system for determining the composition of an unknown sample. The present invention is directed to a method of calibrating an x-ray spectrometer that does not require measuring all possible elements under the operating conditions used to measure the unknown sample to be analyzed. According to a preferred embodiment, the local instrument can be calibrated from an x-ray spectrum of a single elemental standard. The instrument will have a stored library containing high quality spectra for all elements being analyzed. The analysis of the single element is compared to the library spectra for that element to define a transformation that is used to create a calibrated spectra library that includes a calibrated spectrum for each spectrum in the original library. The spectra generated by the local instrument can be compared to the calibrated library spectra to determine the elements in an unknown mineral.

The invention relates to a microfluidic arrangement for metering one or more first metered amounts of liquid (A) and for separating the latter from a second amount of liquid (B), having the following features: the arrangement has a first channel and one or more one or more second channels; the first channel has one inlet and one outlet; in the area of the outlet the arrangement has a capillarity, which is greater than or equal to the capillarity in the area of the inlet; the one or more second channels branch off from the first channel at one or more branch points; the one or more second channels have a greater capillarity than the first channel at the branch points; and the one or more second channels have a predetermined volume. In the arrangement as depicted in the invention a liquid is transported in the first channel from the inlet to the outlet. At the branch points one portion of the liquid at a time enters the one or more second channels and fills them completely with the first metered amounts of liquid (A). The portion of the liquid remaining after the last branch point in the first channel emerges as the second amount of liquid via the outlet from the first channel. The amounts of liquid (A) metered in the one or more second channels are separated from the remaining amount of liquid (B) by a gas, which is located in the first channel after filling all second channels.

A plate for use in mixing and testing materials in the pharmaceutical industry is formed by a method in which an array of sample cells contain a U-shaped structure having two vertical apertures connected by a horizontal passage in a bottom sheet; reagents are drawn in to the vertical passages by capillary action or other forces and react in the horizontal passage. An optional version of the invention includes a relatively large reservoir for containing rinsing fluids.

The invention relates to a chromium ion detection agent, and specifically relates to a preparation method of a Cr<3+> color indicator based on a rhodamine B-diethylene triamine derivative. According to the invention, a rhodamine B-diethylene triamine derivative is synthesized by using rhodamine B and diethylene triamine. A water-ethanol mixed solution based on the rhodamine B-diethylene triamine derivative can be used as a Cr<3+> color indicator. The high-efficiency color indicator used for rapidly analyzing specific Cr<3+> content in water sample has high anti-interference capacity against other metal ions (Cu<2+>, Zn<2+>, Fe<3+>, Cd<2+>, Pb<2+>, Hg<2+>, Mn<2+>, Fe<2+>, Ba<2+>, and Ag<+>). An applicable pH range is from weakly acidic to neutral. The color indicator is an ideal Cr<3+> color indicator. A response time of the Cr<3+> color indicator upon Cr<3+> is 5min, and a lower detection limit is 5.2*10<-7>mol / L. The color indicator provided by the invention has the advantages such as simple synthesis process, low cost, simple operation, good selectivity, high sensitivity, high response speed, low detection limit, wide application prospect, and the like. The color indicator can be used in complicated sample real-time and rapid detection, and can be used in semi-quantitative detections of micro / trace Cr<3+> in environment samples of different sources.