The present invention relates to a structure comprising a biological membrane and a porous or perforated substrate, a biological membrane, a substrate, a high throughput screen, methods for production of the structure membrane and substrate, and a method for screening a large number of test compounds in a short period. More particularly it relates to a structure comprising a biological membrane adhered to a porous or perforated substrate, a biological membrane capable of adhering with high resistance seals to a substrate such as perforated glass and the ability to form sheets having predominantly an ion channel or transporter of interest, a high throughput screen for determining the effect of test compounds on ion channel or transporter activity, methods for manufacture of the structure, membrane and substrate, and a method for monitoring ion channel or transporter activity in a membrane.

High throughput screen

An analyte monitor includes a sensor, a sensor control unit, and a display unit. The sensor has, for example, a substrate, a recessed channel formed in the substrate, and conductive material disposed in the recessed channel to form a working electrode. The sensor control unit typically has a housing adapted for placement on skin and is adapted to receive a portion of an electrochemical sensor. The sensor control unit also includes two or more conductive contacts disposed on the housing and configured for coupling to two or more contact pads on the sensor. A transmitter is disposed in the housing and coupled to the plurality of conductive contacts for transmitting data obtained using the sensor. The display unit has a receiver for receiving data transmitted by the transmitter of the sensor control unit and a display coupled to the receiver for displaying an indication of a level of an analyte. The analyte monitor may also be part of a drug delivery system to alter the level of the analyte based on the data obtained using the sensor.

Analyte Monitoring Device And Methods Of Use

■ Abstract Fluid flow at the microscale exhibits unique phenomena that can be leveraged to fabricate devices and components capable of performing functions useful for biological studies. The physics of importance to microfluidics are reviewed. Common methods of fabricating microfluidic devices and systems are described. Components, including valves, mixers, and pumps, capable of controlling fluid flow by utilizing the physics of the microscale are presented. Techniques for sensing flow characteristics are described and examples of devices and systems that perform bioanalysis are presented. The focus of this review is microscale phenomena and the use of the physics of the scale to create devices and systems that provide functionality useful to the life sciences.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glennys_Mensing/publication/11260597_Physics_and_applications_of_microfluidics_in_biology/links/5437f5160cf2027cbb206767.pdf

Physics and applications of microfluidics in biology.

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (also called electrochemiluminescence and abbreviated ECL) is the process whereby species generated at electrodes undergo high-energy electron-transfer reactions to form excited states that emit light. The first detailed ECL studies were described by Hercules and Bard et al. in the mid-1960s, although reports concerning light emission during electrolysis date back to the 1920s by Harvey. After about 40 years study, ECL has now become a very powerful analytical technique and been widely used in the areas of, for example, immunoassay, food and water testing, and biowarfare agent detection. ECL has also been successfully exploited as a detector of flow injection analysis (FIA), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), capillary electrophoresis, and micro total analysis (μTAS). Figure 1 illustrates a time line of various events in the development of ECL. A literature survey using SciFinder Scholar reveals that more than 2000 journal articles, book chapters, and patents on various topics of ECL have been published. The overall number of publications, as shown in Figure 2, has increased exponentially over the past 20 years, of which 40–50% were biorelated. Similar amounts of ECL papers could be also found from the Thomson ISI Web of Science as well as † Telephone (601) 266 4716; fax (601) 266 6075; e-mail wujian.miao@ usm.edu. Wujian Miao received his undergraduate diploma in chemistry from Nantong University (Nantong, China) in 1982, his M.Sc. degree in analytical chemistry from Zhongshan University (Guangzhou, China, with Jinyuan Mo) in 1991, and his Ph.D. degree in electrochemistry from Monash University (Melbourne, Australia, with Alan M. Bond) in 2000. He then served as a Research Scientist in CSIRO (Melbourne, Australia), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin with Allen J. Bard in 2001. Since 2004 he has served as an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence and Its Biorelated Applications

An object is to provide a semiconductor device of which a manufacturing process is not complicated and by which cost can be suppressed, by forming a thin film transistor using an oxide semiconductor film typified by zinc oxide, and a manufacturing method thereof. For the semiconductor device, a gate electrode is formed over a substrate; a gate insulating film is formed covering the gate electrode; an oxide semiconductor film is formed over the gate insulating film; and a first conductive film and a second conductive film are formed over the oxide semiconductor film. The oxide semiconductor film has at least a crystallized region in a channel region.

Semiconductor device, and manufacturing method thereof

This paper presents the design, fabrication and testing of a hollow microneedle array with integrated, fluidic microchannels. The microneedles are machined from single crystal silicon to a shank height of 250–350 μm with 300 μm center-to-center spacing. The needle size, density and shape are controlled by independent processing steps. Piercing of the protective stratum corenum layer of the skin by the microneedles, providing access to the living epithelial layers underneath, is successfully demonstrated. Filling of the integrated microchannels by capillary action with both non-biological fluids (glycerol, ethanol, surrogate interstitial fluid (ISF) and water) as well as biological fluids (ISF and whole blood) is demonstrated. The ability to extract interstitial fluid from human skin is successfully achieved and verified by the in situ measurement of glucose concentration. The microchip presented here represents the first step towards the realization of a transdermal, ISF extraction and analysis microsystem.

Microneedle array for transdermal biological fluid extraction and in situ analysis

A physical model is presented which quantitatively describes the threshold voltage instability, commonly known as drift, in n-channel Si3N4-gate and as well as Al2O3-gate pH ISFETs. The origin of the so-called drift is postulated to be associated with the relatively slow chemical modification of the gate insulator surface as a result of exposure to the electrolyte. The chemical modification of the surface is assumed to result from a transport-limited reaction whose rate is modeled by a hopping and/or trap-limited transport mechanism known as dispersive transport. The change in the chemical composition of the insulator surface leads to a decrease in the overall insulator capacitance with time, which gives rise to a monotonic temporal increase in the threshold voltage.

A physical model for drift in pH ISFETs

Electrochemical microsensors formed of a substrate containing means for sensing potential or current, including active and passive electronic devices and electronic circuits, and a micromachined structure containing at least one cavity overlying the sensing means, wherein the structure and substrate are bonded together at a temperature less than about 400° C., in the absence of high voltage fields, using means not requiring highly planarized surfaces. A wide variety of materials can be utilized for both the substrate and overlying structure. Diverse embodiments are possible, having in common a cavity containing a chemically sensitive material and means for sensing potential or current. The resulting structural organization of materials transduces a chemical signal, such as concentration, to an electrical signal, which is then "processed" by the underlying FET or metallic connections. The present invention resolves the problems of the prior art in combining sensing devices with chemically sensitive material(s) to form a functional microsensor in a conveniently manufacturable fashion.

Electrochemical microsensors and method of making such sensors

A physical model is presented which quantitatively describes the threshold voltage instability, commonly known as drift, in n-channel Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/-gate pH ISFET's. The origin of the so-called drift is postulated to be associated with the relatively slow conversion of the silicon nitride surface to a hydrated SiO/sub 2/ or oxynitride layer. The rate of hydration is modeled by a hopping and/or trap-limited transport mechanism known as dispersive transport. Hydration leads to a decrease in the overall insulator capacitance with time, which gives rise to a monotonic temporal increase in the threshold voltage.

A physical model for threshold voltage instability in Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/-gate H/sup +/-sensitive FET's (pH ISFET's)

A new assembly technology is presented which enables the modular interconnection, assembly and packaging of individual microfabricated components and/or modules (e.g., pumps, valves, reaction chambers, control circuitry, etc.). This technology can be used to make compression seal fittings utilizing self-aligning, interlocking, mechanical bonding structures and photo-patternable silicone O-ring seals. Two distinct types of fluidic interconnects for microfluidic system assembly are demonstrated using this technology. The first type demonstrates a means of interconnecting multiple, vertically stacked layers of micromachined channels. The second type demonstrates a means of connecting micromachined channels to tubing or other micromachined channels within the same plane. An important feature of these interconnects are that they are reversible, i.e., interconnections can be repeatedly made with the same structures allowing flexible system assembly.

Scott D. Collins

Papers

Microneedle array for transdermal biological fluid extraction and in situ analysis

A physical model for drift in pH ISFETs

Electrochemical microsensors and method of making such sensors

A physical model for threshold voltage instability in Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/-gate H/sup +/-sensitive FET's (pH ISFET's)

Fluidic interconnects for modular assembly of chemical microsystems