Chen C.C., Auner G.W.
Industrial Technology Research Institute, TW & Wayne State University, US
Keywords: flow-through reactor, lab-on-a-chip, microchannel, Multiphysics Simulation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), thermocycling
A flow-through micro polymerase chain reaction (PCR) chip was optimized by using coupled multiphysics computational tools. Comprehensive simulations of temperature and flow profiles were presented for the denaturation, extension, and annealing zones on the flow-through thermocycling chip with ANSYS. The flow simulation shows that the room temperature fluid in the 100 um deep microchannels reached the designated temperature after traveling a few hundred um at the flow rate of 140nl/s. The air gaps between the heating blocks were found to be at least 1mm for proper thermal isolation. The joule heating simulation of the initial design shows a drop of 1.6ºC on both ends of the long heating blocks due to the larger convection on the ends, as well as the less heating efficient aluminum conducting pads and the non-uniform current at the U-turn. After heating compensation by locally alternating the heater patterns, we achieved a perfect flat temperature profile over the 50 mm span of heating blocks.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 2, Technical Proceedings of the 2006 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 2
Published: May 7, 2006
Pages: 589 - 592
Industry sectors: Medical & Biotech | Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topic: Micro & Bio Fluidics, Lab-on-Chip
ISBN: 0-9767985-7-3