MINIATURIZED MULTI-CHAMBER THERMAL CYCLER FOR INDEPENDENT THERMAL MULTIPLEXING

摘要

INDEPENDENT THERMAL MULTIPLEXINGIt is often desirable to be able to perform an array of micro-chemical reactionssimultaneously but with each reaction proceeding at a different temperature and/or for adifferent time. A classic example is the polymerase chain reaction associated with DNAanalysis. In the present invention, this is achieved by means of an apparatus made up ofa chip of plastic, or similar low cost material, containing an array of reaction chambers.After all chambers have been filled with reagents, the chip is pressed up against asubstrate, typically a printed circuit board, there being a set of temperature balancingblocks between the chip and the substrate. Individually controlled heaters and sensorslocated between the blocks and the substrate allow each chamber to follow its ownindividual thermal protocol while being well thermally isolated from all other chambers andthe substrate. The latter rests on a large heat sink to avoid temperature drift over time. Aprocess for manufacturing the apparatus is also disclosed.