1924 results about "Biological reaction" patented technology

An automated immunostaining apparatus having a reagent application zone and a reagent supply zone. The apparatus has a carousel slide support supporting a plurality of slide supports thereon, and drive means engaging the carousel slide support for consecutively positioning each of a plurality of slide supports in the reagent application zone. The apparatus also has a carousel reagent support having a plurality of reagent container supports thereon, and drive means engaging the carousel for rotating the carousel and positioning a preselected reagent container support in the reagent supply zone. The apparatus also has a reagent delivery actuator means positioned for engaging a reagent container positioned on a container support in the reagent delivery zone and initiating reagent delivery from the reagent container to a slide supported on a slide support in the reagent receiving zone.

A method and apparatus for an automated biological reaction system is provided. In the processing of a biological reaction system, there is a need for consistently placing an amount of liquid on a slide. In order to accomplish this, several methods are used including a consistency pulse and a volume adjust means. Moreover, in order to reliably operate an automated biological reaction system, the dispenser must be reliable, easy to assemble and accurate. Among other things, in order to accomplish this, the dispense chamber is substantially in line with the reservoir chamber, the reservoir chamber piston is removed, and the flow of liquid through the dispenser is simplified. Further, in order to operate the automated biological reaction system more reliably, the system is designed in modular pieces with higher functions performed by a host device and the execution of the staining operations performed by remote devices. Also, to reliably catalog data which is used by the automated biological reaction system, data is loaded to a memory device, which in turn is used by the operator to update the operator's databases. The generation of the sequence of steps for the automated biological reaction device based on data loaded by the operator, including checks to determine the ability to complete the run, is provided.

Provided are microfluidic designs and methods for rapid generation of monodisperse nanoliter volume droplets of reagent / target (e.g., molecule or cell) mix in emulsion oil. The designs and methods enable high-throughput encapsulation of a single target (e.g., DNA / RNA molecules or cells) in controlled size droplets of reagent mix. According to various embodiments, a microfabricated, 3-valve pump is used to precisely meter the volume of reagent / target mix in each droplet and also to effectively route microparticles such as beads and cells into the device, which are encapsulated within droplets at the intersection of the reagent channel and an oil channel. The pulsatile flow profile of the microfabricated pumps provides active control over droplet generation, thereby enabling droplet formation with oils that are compatible with biological reactions but are otherwise difficult to form emulsions with.

A method and apparatus for an automated biological reaction system is provided. In the processing of a biological reaction system, there is a need for consistently placing an amount of fluid on a slide. In order to accomplish this, several methods are used including a consistency pulse and a volume adjust means. Moreover, in order to reliably operate an automated biological reaction system, the dispenser must be reliable, easy to assemble and accurate. Among other things, in order to accomplish this, the dispense chamber is substantially in line with the reservoir chamber, the reservoir chamber piston is removed, and the flow of fluid through the dispenser is simplified. Further, in order to operate the automated biological reaction system more reliably, the system is designed in modular pieces with higher functions performed by a host device and the execution of the staining operations performed by remote devices. Also, to reliably catalog data which is used by the automated biological reaction system, data is loaded to a memory device, which in turn is used by the operator to update the operator's databases. The generation of the sequence of steps for the automated biological reaction device based on data loaded by the operator, including checks to determine the ability to complete the run, is provided.

Surfactants (e.g., fluorosurfactants) for stabilizing aqueous or hydrocarbon droplets in a fluorophilic continuous phase are presented. In some embodiments, fluorosurfactants include a fluorophilic tail soluble in a fluorophilic (e.g., fluorocarbon) continuous phase, and a headgroup soluble in either an aqueous phase or a lipophilic (e.g., hydrocarbon) phase. The combination of a fluorophilic tail and a headgroup may be chosen so as to create a surfactant with a suitable geometry for forming stabilized reverse emulsion droplets having a disperse aqueous or lipophilic phase in a continuous, fluorophilic phase. In some embodiments, the headgroup is preferably non-ionic and can prevent or limit the adsorption of molecules at the interface between the surfactant and the discontinuous phase. This configuration can allow the droplet to serve, for example, as a reaction site for certain chemical and / or biological reactions. In another embodiment, aqueous droplets are stabilized in a fluorocarbon phase at least in part by the electrostatic attraction of two oppositely charged or polar components, one of which is at least partially soluble in the dispersed phase, the other at least partially soluble in the continuous phase. One component may provide collodial stability of the emulsion, and the other may prevent the adsorption of biomolecules at the interface between a component and the discontinous phase. Advantageously, surfactants and surfactant combinations of the invention may provide sufficient stabilization against coalescence of droplets, without interfering with processes that can be carried out inside the droplets.

This invention pertains to the design, fabrication, and uses of an electronic system which can actively carry out and control multi-step and multiplex reactions in macroscopic or microscopic formats. In particular, these reactions include molecular biological reactions, such as nucleic acid hybridizations, nucleic acid amplification, sample preparation, antibody / antigen reactions, clinical diagnostics, combinatorial chemistry and selection, drug screening, oligonucleotide and nucleic acid synthesis, peptide synthesis, biopolymer synthesis and catalytic reactions. A key feature of the present invention is the ability to control the localized concentration of two or more reaction-dependant molecules and their reaction environment in order to greatly enhance the rate and specificity of the molecular biological reaction.

Methods and apparatus relating to FET arrays including large FET arrays for monitoring chemical and / or biological reactions such as nucleic acid sequencing-by-synthesis reactions. Some methods provided herein relate to improving signal (and also signal to noise ratio) from released hydrogen ions during nucleic acid sequencing reactions.

A method and apparatus for an automated biological reaction system is provided. In the processing of a biological reaction system, there is a need for consistently placing an amount of fluid on a slide. In order to accomplish this, several methods are used including a consistency pulse and a volume adjust means. Moreover, in order to reliably operate an automated biological reaction system, the dispenser must be reliable, easy to assemble and accurate. Among other things, in order to accomplish this, the dispense chamber is substantially in line with the reservoir chamber, the reservoir chamber piston is removed, and the flow of fluid through the dispenser is simplified. Further, in order to operate the automated biological reaction system more reliably, the system is designed in modular pieces with higher functions performed by a host device and the execution of the staining operations performed by remote devices. Also, to reliably catalog data which is used by the automated biological reaction system, data is loaded to a memory device, which in turn is used by the operator to update the operator's databases. The generation of the sequence of steps for the automated biological reaction device based on data loaded by the operator, including checks to determine the ability to complete the run, is provided.

An integrated heat exchange system on a microfluidic card. According to one aspect of the invention, the portable microfluidic card has a heating, cooling and heat cycling system on-board such that the card can be used portably. The microfluidic card includes one or more reservoirs containing exothermic or endothermic material. Once the chemical process of the reservoir material is activated, the reservoir provides heat or cooling to specific locations of the microfluidic card. Multiple reservoirs may be included on a single card to provide varying temperatures. The assay chemicals can be moved to the various reservoirs to create a thermal cycle useful in many biological reactions, for example, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or rtPCR. According to another aspect of the invention, the integrated heat exchanger is an adjacent microfluidic circuit containing fluid that is either independently heated or cooled, or is an exothermic or endothermic material, such that the fluid in the adjacent circuit imparts a change in temperature to the assay fluid in an independent circuit. According to yet another aspect of the invention, a thermal electric cooler (TEC) is used for thermocycling the amplification chamber of a disposable microfluidic card.

The present invention describes microfluidic devices that provide novel fluidic structures to facilitate the separation of fluids into isolated, pico-liter sized compartments for performing multiplexing chemical and biological reactions. Applications of the novel devices including biomolecule synthesis, polynucleotide amplification, and binding assays are also disclosed.

An integrated heat exchange system on a microfluidic card. According to one aspect of the invention, the portable microfluidic card has a heating, cooling and heat cycling system on-board such that the card can be used portably. The microfluidic card includes one or more reservoirs containing exothermic or endothermic material. Once the chemical process of the reservoir material is activated, the reservoir provides heat or cooling to specific locations of the microfluidic card. Multiple reservoirs may be included on a single card to provide varying temperatures. The assay chemicals can be moved to the various reservoirs to create a thermal cycle useful in many biological reactions, for example, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or rtPCR. According to another aspect of the invention, the integrated heat exchanger is an adjacent microfluidic circuit containing fluid that is either independently heated or cooled, or is an exothermic or endothermic material, such that the fluid in the adjacent circuit imparts a change in temperature to the assay fluid in an independent circuit. According to yet another aspect of the invention, a thermal electric cooler (TEC) is used for thermocycling the amplification chamber of a disposable microfluidic card.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a synthetic non-viral vector composition for gene therapy. Another aspect of the invention relates to the use of the composition for in vitro, ex vivo and / or in vivo transfer of genetic material. The invention also encompasses a pharmaceutical composition (useful for delivery of nucleic acids to a cell), containing a non-cationic amphiphilic molecule or macro-molecule; or a cationic amphiphilic molecule or macromolecule that transforms from a cationic entity to an anionic, neutral, or zwitterionic entity upon a chemical, photochemical, or biological reaction. Another aspect of the invention relates to multicationic compounds that are composed of three or more amino acids. The present invention also relates to the use of the pharmaceutical composition for delivery of nucleic acids to a cell. Moreover, the invention encompasses the non-viral vector compositions tethered to a surface. The surface-tethered compositions are useful for the delivery of nucleic acids to cells in contact with the surface. An additional embodiment of the invention relates to a hydrogel comprising a composition of the invention, and methods of using same for the delivery of genetic material to a cell.

The present invention is directed to devices and methods for carrying out and / or monitoring biological reactions in response to electrical stimuli. A programmable multiplexed active biologic array includes an array of electrodes coupled to sample-and-hold circuits. The programmable multiplexed active biologic array includes a digital interface that allows external control of the array using an external processor. The circuit may monitor, digitally control, and deliver electrical stimuli to the electrodes individually or in selected groups.

The invention relates to a device for carrying out of chemical or biological reactions with a reaction vessel receiving element for receiving a microtiter plate with several reaction vessels, wherein the reaction vessel receiving element has several recesses arranged in a regular pattern to receive the respective reaction vessels, a heating device for heating the reaction vessel receiving element, and a cooling device for cooling the reaction vessel. The invention is characterized by the fact that the reaction vessel receiving element is divided into several segments. The individual segments are thermally decoupled from one another, and each segment is assigned a heating device which may be actuated independently of the others. By means of the segmentation of the reaction vessel receiving element, it is possible for zones to be set and held at different temperatures. Because the reaction vessel receiving element is suitable for receiving standard microtiter plates, the device according to the invention may be integrated in existing process sequences.

Vaso-occlusive devices for occluding a body cavity include an internal element located within a lumen of the device. The internal element may include an active element configured to stiffen the coil in-situ made from a material that can expand to a desired size, thereby inducing a radial stress to the coil to stiffen the occlusive device. Alternatively, the active element is secured to two points on the occlusive device, and is made from a material that contracts, thereby inducing a compression to stiffen the device. The internal element may additionally include an agent carrier that comprises a bioactive material capable of eliciting a biological reaction after the device is placed in-situ. For example, the bioactive material can be a part of a composition of the agent carrier, absorbed by the agent carrier, or coated as a layer on the agent carrier.

A reagent management system for an automated biological reaction apparatus including an automated biological reaction apparatus including at least one reagent dispenser for applying a reagent to a sample, a memory device containing data for a reagent device selected from the group consisting of a reagent dispenser or a reagent kit used in the automated biological reaction apparatus, a host device comprising a processor and a host device memory connected to the processor, the host memory device including a reagent table, and a scanner for transferring the memory device data to the host device memory,

The present invention describes a synthetic non-viral vector composition for gene therapy and the use of such compositions for in vitro, ex vivo and / or in vivo transfer of genetic material. The invention proposes a pharmaceutical composition containing 1) a non-cationic amphiphilic molecule or macromolecule and its use for delivery of nucleic acids or 2) a cationic amphiphilic molecule or macromolecule that transforms from a cationic entity to an anionic, neutral, or zwitterionic entity by a chemical, photochemical, or biological reaction and its use for delivery of nucleic acids. Moreover this invention describes the use of these non-viral vector compositions in conjunction with a surface to mediate the delivery of nucleic acids. An additional embodiment is the formation of a hydrogel with these compositions and the use of this hydrogel for the delivery of genetic material. A further embodiment of this invention is the use of a change in ionic strength for the delivery of genetic material.

An integrated heat exchange system on a microfluidic card. According to one aspect of the invention, the portable microfluidic card has a heating, cooling and heat cycling system on-board such that the card can be used portably. The microfluidic card includes one or more reservoirs containing exothermic or endothermic material. Once the chemical process of the reservoir material is activated, the reservoir provides heat or cooling to specific locations of the microfluidic card. Multiple reservoirs may be included on a single card to provide varying temperatures. The assay chemicals can be moved to the various reservoirs to create a thermal cycle useful in many biological reactions, for example, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or rtPCR. According to another aspect of the invention, the integrated heat exchanger is an adjacent microfluidic circuit containing fluid that is either independently heated or cooled, or is an exothermic or endothermic material, such that the fluid in the adjacent circuit imparts a change in temperature to the assay fluid in an independent circuit. According to yet another aspect of the invention, a thermal electric cooler (TEC) is used for thermocycling the amplification chamber of a disposable microfluidic card.

An integrated heat exchange system on a microfluidic card. According to one aspect of the invention, the portable microfluidic card has a heating, cooling and heat cycling system on-board such that the card can be used portably. The microfluidic card includes one or more reservoirs containing exothermic or endothermic material. Once the chemical process of the reservoir material is activated, the reservoir provides heat or cooling to specific locations of the microfluidic card. Multiple reservoirs may be included on a single card to provide varying temperatures. The assay chemicals can be moved to the various reservoirs to create a thermal cycle useful in many biological reactions, for example, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or rtPCR. According to another aspect of the invention, the integrated heat exchanger is an adjacent microfluidic circuit containing fluid that is either independently heated or cooled, or is an exothermic or endothermic material, such that the fluid in the adjacent circuit imparts a change in temperature to the assay fluid in an independent circuit. According to yet another aspect of the invention, a thermal electric cooler (TEC) is used for thermocycling the amplification chamber of a disposable microfluidic card.

A sewage treatment process is provided, which includes the following steps: a) sewage feeding step, comprising introducing raw sewage into a biological reaction tank (1) to a predetermined time or liquid level; b) reaction step comprising performing aeration and stirring intermittently in the biological reaction tank (1); c) treated water discharging step, comprising performing solid-liquid separation of the mixed liquor in the biological reaction tank (1) by a membrane separation device (2) to obtain a first permeate, which is taken as the final treated water; d) standby step comprising stopping aeration in the biological reaction tank (1); and e) phosphorus-enriched water discharging step, comprising keeping anaerobic condition in the biological reaction tank (1) and performing solid-liquid separation of the mixed liquor in the biological reaction tank (1) by a membrane separation device (2) to obtain a second permeate, the second permeate entering inside a phosphorus recycling unit (5) which is set independent from the biological reaction tank (1), the phosphorus recycling unit (5) removing phosphorus from water, the second permeate becoming low-phosphorus water, and the low-phosphorous water flowing back to the biological reaction tank (1); the sewage treatment process runs in cycle by repeating above steps. A corresponding treatment system is also provided.

Methods and apparatus relating to FET arrays for monitoring chemical and / or biological reactions such as nucleic acid sequencing-by-synthesis reactions. Some methods provided herein relate to improving signal (and also signal to noise ratio) from released hydrogen ions during nucleic acid sequencing reactions.

The present invention is generally directed to compositions, methods, and systems for performing single-molecule, real-time analysis of a variety of different biological reactions. The ability to analyze such reactions provides an opportunity to study those reactions as well as to potentially identify factors and / or approaches for impacting such reactions, e.g., to either enhance or inhibit such reactions. In certain preferred embodiments, RNA templates are used in single-molecule real-time sequencing reactions.

A reagent cartridge including (a) a support having reservoirs; (b) a main channel within the support, the channel having first and second ends exiting the support; (c) a pump channel that connects to the main channel between the first and second ends; (d) a valve manifold in the support, including (i) a first passage at the first end of the main channel, (ii) a second passage at the second end of the main channel, (iii) a first master valve between the pump channel and the first end of the main channel, (iv) a second master valve between the pump channel and the second end of the main channel, and (v) reservoir valves for regulating flow from individual reservoirs to the main channel. The valves can be normally closed diaphragm valves formed by magnetic pistons attached to an elastomeric sheet that is sandwiched in the support.

An automated immunostaining apparatus having a reagent application zone and a reagent supply zone. The apparatus has a carousel slide support supporting a plurality of slide supports thereon, and drive means engaging the carousel slide support for consecutively positioning each of a plurality of slide supports in the reagent application zone. The apparatus also has a carousel reagent support having a plurality of reagent container supports thereon, and drive means engaging the carousel for rotating the carousel and positioning a preselected reagent container support in the reagent supply zone. The apparatus also has a reagent delivery actuator means positioned for engaging a reagent container positioned on a container support in the reagent delivery zone and initiating reagent delivery from the reagent container to a slide supported on a slide support in the reagent receiving zone.

The invention relates to a treatment method of high-concentration wastewater. The treatment method comprises the following steps: (1) pretreatment; (2) flocculent sedimentation treatment; (3) biochemical treatment; (4) membrane biological reaction treatment; (5) adsorption treatment; (6) oxidation treatment; (7) filtration treatment; (8) membrane treatment; (9) disinfection treatment; and (10) evaporative crystallization treatment. The method disclosed by the invention has the advantages that the wastewater with the COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) concentration up to 96000mg / L can be treated and the COD removing rate is up to 99.98% to ensure that the treated wastewater meets the standards of drinking water and an unexpected technical effect is brought; compared with a dozen or dozens of hours in the prior art, the aerobic reaction time and the anaerobic reaction time are greatly shortened and the treatment efficiency is obviously increased; and the concentrated solution finally generated in the method only accounts for below 2% of water inflow, which is greatly reduced compared with the prior art, so that the waste of water is obviously reduced and the treatment cost is saved.

A method and apparatus for an automated biological reaction system is provided. In the processing of a biological reaction system, there is a need for consistently placing an amount of fluid on a slide. In order to accomplish this, several methods are used including a consistency pulse and a volume adjust means. Moreover, in order to reliably operate an automated biological reaction system, the dispenser must be reliable, easy to assemble and accurate. Among other things, in order to accomplish this, the dispense chamber is substantially in line with the reservoir chamber, the reservoir chamber piston is removed, and the flow of fluid through the dispenser is simplified. Further, in order to operate the automated biological reaction system more reliably, the system is designed in modular pieces with higher functions performed by a host device and the execution of the staining operations performed by remote devices. Also, to reliably catalog data which is used by the automated biological reaction system, data is loaded to a memory device, which in turn is used by the operator to update the operator's databases. The generation of the sequence of steps for the automated biological reaction device based on data loaded by the operator, including checks to determine the ability to complete the run, is provided.

Systems and methods for containing and manipulating fluids, such as those involving collapsible bags and rigid containers that may be used as mixing systems, and as reactors for performing chemical, biochemical and / or biological reactions, are provided. A series of improvements and features for fluid containment systems such as containers including bag wrinkle removing systems, leak detection systems, and electromagnetic agitation systems are described.