A PCR microreactor machinery with passive micropump and battery-powered heater for thermo-cycled amplifications of clinical-level and multiplexed DNA targets

A self-contained polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform with miniaturized power-system is introduced. It is powered by portable lithium batteries and integrated continuous-flow PCR amplification platform. Generally speaking, traditional commercial thermal cyclers rely on external electric supply and thus they are too big in instrument size. This prevents real-timely and field testing during PCR diagnosis. The authors are introducing a continuous-flow 3D spiral microreactor for DNA amplifications and high-resolution multiplexed targets’ detection by utilizing the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing-polymer to fabricate the microreactor for the first time. The whole setup (that can all be placed in one hand) includes (a) the thermo-cycled control (5.5 cm width, 10 cm length and 11 cm height), (b) the passive continuous-flow control, and (c) the trapezoidal PCR microreactor. The PCR platform can work for 4.5 h continuously. With minimal accessories and operations, the total cost of the self-contained PCR machinery is