Patent ID: 8502985

Claim:
A microfluidic system comprising: a) a microfluidic chip comprising a microfluidic channel opening onto a chip inlet and a chip outlet, wherein the channel comprises: (i) a sensing area having a volume between about 0.1 nl and about 10 nl; and (ii) a fluid delivery area adapted to deliver fluid to the sensing area; and b) a fluidic adaptor adapted to hold the microfluidic chip and comprising a fluidic adaptor channel opening onto an adaptor inlet and an adaptor outlet, wherein the fluidic adaptor channel is adapted to receive a pipette tip through the adaptor inlet, wherein the pipette tip is adapted to deliver between 0.1 microliter and 10 microliters of fluid and the adaptor outlet is directly connected to the chip inlet, wherein receipt of the pipette tip into the adaptor channel creates a direct fluid path between the pipette tip and the microfluidic channel; wherein said adaptor channel and the fluid delivery area have a volume of no more than 1 microliter and a length of no more than 7 millimeters; and wherein the microfluidic system is configured for sensing in the sensing area by interferometry.