Application of bismuth-telluride thermoelectrics in driving DNA amplification and sequencing reactions

Abstract

Recently, a new application for low-temperature thermoelectric modules has emerged in the fields of biology and medicine. Laboratory instruments that thermally cycle small biological samples for purposes of DNA amplification are now common in research laboratories throughout the world, and instruments based upon several different technologies have been developed. Market forces are increasing showing that thermoelectrics are very well suited to this task, but several hurdles must first be overcome in order to build a quality instrument. Chief among these is the need to build modules optimized for thermal cycling. Data are presented here to document a particularly rugged design of module that works well in this demanding application.