The array of micro-reactor PCR chips and its control system

Abstract

A kind of low cost micro-reactor polymerase chain reaction (PCR) chips is designed in which there are no temperature sensor and heater, and a temperature control system to the array of this kind of chips is developed. The control system is composed of a unitized macroscopic control subsystem and a distributed microcosmic control subsystem. The temperature that PCR chips need is controlled approximately by unitized macroscopic subsystem in which water as heat medium is pumped through a special heat exchanger. An array of miniature heaters corresponding to the array of PCR chips is made in a flexible printed circuit board that provides temperature compensation to every PCR chip. To be composed a cascade control system and using statistical quality control(SPC) method, the temperature of every chip is controlled quickly and accurately by the miniature heaters cooperating together with the heat exchanger.