Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft of Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, has received US Patent No. 8,096,314, "Fluidic device, fluidic module, and method of handling a liquid." The described device is capable of switching liquids, where the corresponding fluidic structures may also be referred to as switches or valves. These fluidic structures may include a radially interior first fluid chamber, a radially exterior second fluid chamber, and a connection, for example a constriction, at which a meniscus may be built up and stabilized up to a certain rotational frequency. A microarray that includes capture structures for constituents included in the liquid to be switched may be provided in the radially exterior chamber and a means for analyzing the liquid may be included in the second fluid chamber. The switching process is controlled via the interplay of structural geometry, interfacial tension and inertial forces, as well as the centrifugal field induced by the rotational movement of the device.
Nanyang Technological University of Singapore has received US Patent No. 8,097,134, "Addressable chem/bio chip array." The arrays include isolated test cells, each addressable by at least two electrodes for measuring electrical characteristics of probe or test molecule interactions. According to the patent, electrodes are located within a channel to allow for four terminal measurements. Electrodes can be also arranged in rows and columns and interconnected with electrolyte pads used as test sites. Additionally, electrodes can be arranged in cells, with each cell including a counter electrode surrounded by working electrodes.
Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, both of Madrid, and Sener of Biscay, Spain, have received US Patent No. 8,097,209, "Method and apparatus for detecting substances or analytes from the analysis of one or more samples." The method includes mixing the sample with a suitable liquid buffer, homogenizing the sample, adding reagents, filtering it, injecting the sample into the incubation chamber, allowing the sample to react with a biosensor, washing the non-reacted sample excess, and detecting the sample retained in the biosensor. The apparatus includes a sample homogenizer module with an ultrasonic piezoelectric device formed by a converter and a horn; a sample processing module including a homogenization container and a moving frame; a reagent and solution management module including a motorized syringe, a reaction module consisting of a support forming a reaction chamber; and a data-reading module including a laser diode and a CCD camera.
STMicroelectronics of Agrate Brianza, Italy, has received US Patent No. 8,097,222, "Microfluidic device with integrated micropump, in particular biochemical microreactor, and manufacturing method thereof." The device includes a monolithic semiconductor body, a microfluidic circuit, at least partially accommodated in the monolithic semiconductor body, and a micropump. The microfluidic circuit includes a sample preparation channel formed on the monolithic semiconductor body and at least one microfluidic channel buried in the monolithic semiconductor body. The micropump includes sealed chambers provided with respective openable sealing elements. The micropump and the microfluidic circuit are configured so that opening the openable sealing elements provides fluidic coupling between the respective chambers and the microfluidic circuit. The openable sealing elements are integrated in the monolithic semiconductor body.
Genisphere of Hatfield, Pa., has received US Patent No. 8,097,418, "Methods and kits for sense RNA synthesis." A method for the detection of at least one oligonucleotide probe on a microarray is claimed. It includes contacting a microarray with at least one labeled target cDNA molecule; incubating the array and labeled target cDNA molecule for a time and at a temperature sufficient to enable hybridization; washing the array to remove unhybridized labeled target cDNA; and detecting the signal from the hybridized labeled target cDNA molecule.
Intel of Santa Clara, Calif., has received US Patent No. 8,097,421, "Method for performing a multiplex immunoassay using label disassociation and an integrated substrate." A method includes providing a substrate and forming a number of different complexes. These complexes include first binding partners immobilized on the surface of the substrate, different analytes bound to these first binding partners, second binding partners bound to the different analytes, and labels bound to the second binding partners, where each of the different complexes includes an antibody. The labels are then disassociated from the surface of the substrate and drawn through a detection device containing a microfluidic channel. The labels are then detected on an individual basis, where the substrate consists of an integrated circuit, and a multi-well plate or a microarray.