Patent ID: 8232015

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a cassette comprising the steps of: (a) providing at least one membrane assembly having at least one reagent manifold opening extending through the thickness thereof and at least one sealant manifold opening extending through the thickness thereof; (b) providing at least one first reagent flow field having at least one reagent manifold opening extending through the thickness thereof and at least one sealant manifold opening extending through the thickness thereof; (c) providing at least one second reagent flow field having at least one reagent manifold opening extending through the thickness thereof and at least one sealant manifold opening extending through the thickness thereof; wherein the membrane assembly, the first reagent flow field, and the second reagent flow field are assembled relative to each other such that the reagent manifold openings are aligned, and at least a portion of the sealant manifold openings are aligned; (d) surrounding the stacked formation with a resin; (e) introducing a sealant into the sealant manifold openings, wherein steps (d) and (e) are performed simultaneously at least in part; and (f) sealing the periphery of the cassette and a portion of the cassette surrounding the sealant manifold by applying a pressure differential to the cassette such that 1) the peripheral edges of the membrane assembly, the first reagent flow field, and the second reagent flow field are simultaneously encapsulated together by the resin; and 2) those reagent manifold openings which are not intended to deliver material to a particular flow field are isolated from that flow field by the resin, the sealant or a combination thereof simultaneously with step (f)1).