Air cooling systems and methods for microfluidic devices

An instrument comprising:

• a microfluidic device including:
• one or more microfluidic channels, one or more inlet ports configured to introduce biological material into the one or more microfluidic channels, one or more outlet ports, and one or more heat sinks positioned above the one or more microfluidic channels, wherein the one or more heat sinks and the one or more inlet and outlet ports are located on a first side of the microfluidic device;
• a cooling manifold configured to direct an airflow to the one or more heat sinks of the microfluidic device while the cooling manifold is attached to the first side of the microfluidic device, wherein said cooling manifold is configured to isolate the airflow from the one or more inlet ports, the cooling manifold including:
• an air inlet configured to receive the airflow;
• an air outlet;
• and
• an inlet duct configured to direct the airflow from the air inlet to the one or more heat sinks of the microfluidic device.