Patent ID: 8753585

Claim:
A method of performing an assay on a liquid sample for the detection of one or more analytes of interest, said method comprising the steps of: providing a substrate having a non-porous support surface, said non-porous support surface having at least one capillary flow zone, said at least one capillary flow zone being defined by at least one plurality of microstructures projecting from said support surface of said substrate that induce lateral capillary flow of an introduced liquid sample along at least one flow path; providing a sample receiving zone on said substrate for receiving said liquid sample; providing a reaction or incubation zone on said substrate in relation to said at least one capillary flow zone, said reaction or incubation zone having a material having at least one of a chemical or biological functionality, wherein said sample receiving zone is disposed in relation to said at least one capillary flow zone and said reaction or incubation zone for producing an initial lateral capillary flow of said liquid sample; providing a sink downstream in relation to the sample receiving zone and said reaction or incubation zone along said at least one flow path of said at least one capillary flow zone, said sink having a capacity to receive the liquid sample along said at least one flow path and to support or control the flow rate of the sample through the reaction or incubation zone; dispensing a quantity of a sample onto the sample receiving zone, whereby the sample flows by capillary action along said at least one flow path of said at least one capillary flow zone through the reaction or incubation zone and into the sink; and taking a reading to determine the presence or concentration of the one or more analytes; said method further comprising the step of providing an external influence to the sink to regulate the capacity of the sink to receive the liquid sample and wherein the external influence to the sink is selected from the group comprising cooling, irradiation with visible light, heating, infrared irradiation, vibration and application of electric current and wherein said external influence providing step includes the step of dividing said sink into a plurality of zones, said zones being serially subjected to said external influence in order to regulate the capacity of said sink.