Patent ID: 7763209

Claim:
A sample processing device, comprising: a body having a first end and a second end; a first passage having a first and a second opening and extending between the first and second end; a second passage having a first and a second opening and extending between the first and second end; a first valve configured to allow material from a sample to pass only from the first opening of the first passage toward the second opening of the first passage and into a reservoir of a vacuum source; a second valve configured to allow material from the sample to pass only from the reservoir into the first opening of the second passage toward the second opening of the second passage; and at least one of a liquid retention member or a retention element disposed inside at least one of the first and second passages, wherein the liquid retention member is configured to retain at least a portion of the material from the sample that passes along the passage and the retention element is configured to selectively bind particles of a first type while allowing particles of a second, different type to pass without substantial binding, wherein the first and second passages are arranged and configured so that the vacuum source can be simultaneously coupled to the second opening of the- first passage and the first opening of the second passage, wherein the vacuum source is configured to apply and reduce the pressure in the first and second passages to open and close the first and second valves, and wherein a wall isolates the first and second passages from one another such that material cannot pass between the first and second passages except via the respective first and second openings thereof.